Office Building Fire Research Program: An Engineering Based Approach to Fire Safety Design.
Office Building Fire Research Program: An Engineering
Based Approach to Fire Safety Design.
(911 K)
Madrzykowski, D.
Fire and Materials '98 International Conference, 5th.
Proceedings. Interscience Communications Ltd. February
23-24, 1998, San Antonio, TX, Interscience
Communications Ltd., London, England, 23-33 pp, 1998.
Keywords:
office buildings; fire research; fire safety; fire
hazards assessment; algorithms; occupants
Abstract:
The U.S. General Services Administration has sponsored
the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology to
develop and support their Engineering Fire Hazard
Assessment System. The GSA Engineering Fire Hazard
Assessment System is a method for addressing fire safety
issues based on performance instead of prescription. To
enable this system, GSA found it needed additional data,
algorithms, verification and guidelines for their
engineers. The Office Building Fire Research Program
was developed to respond to those needs by quantifying
the impact of large fires on buildings and their
occupants,investigating the use of current
technology/resources for mitigating hazards, and
developing new techniques and information as required
for implementing an engineering based fire safety
system. This paper provides an overview of the
components and the results of the Office Building Fire
Research Program to date.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899