Part 1: The NIST Station Night Club Fire Investigation: Physical Simulation of the Fire

The focus of this article is an overview of the physical testing and computational modeling that was conducted to develop an understanding of the fire growth and spread in the nightclub, the development of untenable conditions, and the potential impact of fire sprinklers on the both the fire and con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fire protection engineering 2006-07 (31), p.34
Main Authors: Madrzykowski, Daniel, Bryner, Nelson, Kerber, Stephen I
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Accident investigations
Building failures
Computer simulation
Experiments
Fires
Nightclubs
Sprinkler systems
Temperature
Testing
Tests
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The focus of this article is an overview of the physical testing and computational modeling that was conducted to develop an understanding of the fire growth and spread in the nightclub, the development of untenable conditions, and the potential impact of fire sprinklers on the both the fire and conditions inside the nightclub. Four test series were conducted: 1 polyurethane foam characterization; 2 cone calorimeter heat release measurements of interior finish materials; 3 pyrotechnic device tests; and 4 fire growth measurements in realscale mockups of the platform, main floor, and alcove. The length of time exposed, the rate of change of the environmental conditions, possible antagonistic effects, and the susceptibility of the individual all play a role.
ISSN:1524-900X