Mobile Home Fire Studies: Summary and Recommendations.
Mobile Home Fire Studies: Summary and Recommendations.
(4180 K)
Budnick, E. K.; Klein, D. P.
NBSIR 79-1720; 94 p. March 1979.
Sponsor:
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington,
DC
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB-293527
Keywords:
ASTM E84; tunnel tests; fire growth; fire tests; flame
spread; flashover; interior finish; kitchen fires; life
safety; mobile homes; room fires
Abstract:
Since 1974, a major research project has been ongoing at
the National Bureau of Standards to investigate various
aspects of fire growth and spread in typical single-wide
mobile homes. The objective of this project is to
provide recommendations for possible changes to the
Federal Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standard
promulgated in June, 1976 by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development. These Changes are Intended to
provide an improved an improved level of fire safety in
mobile home construction. This report provides a summary
of the important findings from previously reported parts
of the project which involved the conduct of full-scale
fire tests in the kitchen, corridor, living room and
bedroom areas of typical mobile homes. Also included in
this summary are the findings from a previously
unreported series of full-scale living room tests, which
are discussed in some detail in Appendix A. This report
describes the rationale upon which the overall
experimental approach based, and provides a series of
recommendations, some in the form of design options, for
possible changes to the standard. A limited impact
assessment is included to provide a relative measure of
the potential impact of each of three design options for
flame spread requirements for interior wall and ce iling
materials. This assessment is based on the likely effect
of each option on fire severity, and does not include an
economic analysis.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899