Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the purpose of the NIST National Fire Research Lab? 

The fire lab allows researchers to conduct accurate measurements of real-scale fires in a controlled environment. This research improves our understanding of fire behavior and allows us to test our predictions of complex fire phenomena.

When was it established?

NIST has been conducting experimental fire research for more than a century. The existing lab here in Maryland was built in 1974 and expanded in 2015 to increase the fire capacity and add structural loading capabilities.  

How was it designed and built? What changes have been made over the years?

The fire lab was custom designed to safely handle the extreme heat and smoke generated from a large fire.  The original facility included a townhouse and smokestack in the center of the lab.  In the 1990s, NIST developed large fire calorimeters and in the early 2000s the lab was retrofitted with two additional overhead canopy hoods and a pollution control system to reduce environmental impact. A major construction project began in 2012 to triple the size of the lab.  The new lab has a strong floor, hydraulic loading systems, overhead cranes that allow us to build multi-story structures and study the performance for realistic fire scenarios. 

What tools are needed to study fire? What are the most important ones?

Practicing fire safety engineers use a variety of calculation methods to design fire safety systems that satisfy building and fire code requirements. Our lab supports testing and validation of these methods by way of high-resolution digital video and measurements of pressure, temperature, velocity, gas concentrations, forces, and displacements. The heat released by a fire is a critical measurement to describe the hazard of a fire.  People often think that temperature is the most important parameter describing a fire, but the rate of heat release (measured in kilowatts) is often more useful in understanding the potential hazard of a fire. 

Have those tools changed over the years?

Yes, these tools are continuously evolving as new technology becomes available. Newer technology allows improved accuracy and higher experimental throughput. NIST works to improve both conventional measurements which benefits other fire laboratories around the world and to explore and develop novel measurement techniques to understand fire behavior and its impact on the built environment.

Why does fire need to be studied?

Unfortunately, fire continues to have a large negative impact on society.  In recent years, there has been a significant increase in wildfires and expansion of communities in high-risk areas. New construction methods, and new materials and commodities in buildings and communities bring new fire safety challenges. Our ability to predict and model the behavior of fire is continually improving, but more work is needed to develop these tools for realistic scenarios. 

Is your research focused on general fire-related topics, or have scientists studied specific, real-life, high-profile fires as well?

We study both general research topics, such as pool fire dynamics, and real-life and high-profile cases such as the collapse of the World Trade Center and the Station nightclub fire which occurred in Rhode Island in 2003 and killed 100 people. Much of our work lies somewhere in between these extremes. For example, we work with federal agencies like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to provide guidance that can reduce the risk of a particular fire scenario in electrical power plants.

How does one become interested in fire science?

There is no single path to work in fire science and the field benefits from the diversity of subject matter expects that work on the topic. While many fire researchers at NIST come from backgrounds in combustion science, chemistry, or fire protection engineering, over the years our team has included a range of experts, such as mathematicians, civil engineers, psychologists, and sociologists. As an organization with a focus on both experimental and theoretical research, our engineering technicians also play a crucial role in the work we do.

What's the difference between studying fire in a real-life setting and studying it in the lab? How do the tools and methods change?

The lab allows control of more variables and allow some measurements that would not be possible in a “real-life” setting. There are many challenges making detailed measurements in a harsh fire environment. 

 What have been the results of NIST fire research -- changes in laws, building codes, materials used in construction?

The research conducted here has enabled the improvement of analytical models for fire safety engineering, informed forensic investigations, improved material fire safety, led to improvements in firefighter equipment and tactics.  A new mattress flammability standard was developed in this lab in partnership with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and with the support of the mattress industry trade association.  This standard has likely saved more than 1000 lives since its adoption in 2007. 

 Is this lab only for NIST researchers or can non-government researchers use it as well?

Most of the users are NIST researchers and federal partners.  We also collaborate with academic institutions, industry, and guest researchers from similar labs overseas.

 Describe the inside of the building, what it feels like in general and during a fire test.

People are often surprised about the conditions in the lab.  It is very dependent on the weather conditions outside and what type of experiment we are conducting.  It can be brutally hot or cold or very comfortable. We are very careful to control the ventilation, so no one is exposed to smoke and we create an exclusion zone to prevent exposure to heat or hot surfaces.  We conduct routine safety briefing and coordinate all activities with the fire department.  People are often surprised that they can’t smell smoke during a test. 

 How hot does it get in there? What kind of training do researchers need?

We don’t typically run tests when the temperature rises above 35 °C (95 °F) inside the lab.  Because the hot gases from the fire are collected and evacuated by the canopy hood, the fire usually does not have a large effect on the lab air temperature. Surfaces exposed to radiation from the fire can become very hot, and we work to shield and protect critical components. For very large and long duration fires the radiative heating can have a significant effect on the lab temperature and actively cool the walls and floor with water. 

The staff completes many hours of formal safety training yearly as well as on the job training with experienced staff.  We also work with trained professional fire fighters to conduct our larger tests. 

 What's the biggest thing ever burned in the lab?

The largest test specimen by mass was probably a studio apartment with cross laminated timbers walls.  More than 4000 kg (4 1/2 tons) of material was burned during one of these tests.  We have also conducted tests on a full-size passenger bus, although the fire was suppressed after it spread form the wheel well into the cabin.  We have conducted tests with 18 foot tall dry pine trees that produced extremely large fires (34 MW, the power equivalent of 340,000 x 100 W light bulbs) over a short duration (one minute).  In 2022, we completed a project involving a two-story multiple room structure with a composite concrete and steel floor exposed to post flashover room fires for up to 3 hours. This was one of the largest and most complicated projects to date. 

How can the public access your data?

The results of the research conducted in the laboratory are available to the public for free. Results are rigorously documented in NIST reports (Technical Notes) as well as peer reviewed journal publications. In 2017, we began making all our data available in electronic form through the NIST Fire Calorimetry Database (FCD). The FCD contains hundreds of measurement results of fire experiments conducted since 2017 at NIST. The FCD is used by fire protection engineers to support engineering analysis including performance-based design, as well as by fire safety science researchers interested in information about specific types of items.