Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Group

Welcome

The Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Group also carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to develop risk exposure metrics; predicts the spread of fires in WUI communities; assesses fire performance of structures and communities; mitigates effects of WUI fires on structures and communities; and conducts disaster and failure studies to reduce risk of fire hazard in WUI communities.

Highlights

Watch the video: With Its Dragon, NIST Aims to Reduce the Toll of Wildfires

NIST's Firebrand Generator (also known as the "Dragon") produces showers of burning embers—or firebrands. Ingesting wood chips and exhaling firebrands, the novel equipment is used in research to better understand the behavior of wildfires that spread to communities.

Staff Directory

News and Updates

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Gatlinburg Welcome Center sign is half-burned, leaving only the Gatlinburg name and a white arrow. Debris lies on the ground in front of the sign.

Official NIST Survey to Support Data Collection on Chimney Tops 2 Fire, Improve Emergency Communications

March 29, 2019

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking

A rectangular-shaped model of a thatched roof is attacked by embers emitted from the pipe-shaped mouth of the NIST Dragon device.

A Fire-Breathing Dragon Helps Fight Ember Attacks on Thatched-Roof Buildings

December 17, 2018

Visitors to the historic mountain villages in central Japan marvel at the elegance of the steep thatched-roof farmhouses

A member of a joint NIST-Texas Forest Service study team collects data on a Amarillo, Texas, building damaged by wildfires in February 2011.

North Texas Wildfires Spark Historic Federal-State Collaborative Study

August 2, 2011

Two wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires* earlier this year outside of Amarillo, Texas, destroyed 70 homes, burned more

Industry Impacts

Reducing Impact of Wildland-Urban Interface Fires

Fires within communities surrounded by natural areas are the most dangerous and costliest fires in North America. Growing at a staggering 4,000 acres per day

Projects and Programs

Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Data Collection on Parcel Vulnerabilities

The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) is defined as the location where structures and communities meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland. In the U.S., over

Improving WUI Community Fire Protection- Fire Resistant Building Design and Materials

The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) is defined as the location where structures and communities meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland. In the U.S., over

Reduced Ignition of Building Components in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires

Over the past 60 years, the fire safety science community has developed extensive knowledge on fire dynamics within buildings. Research into wildland-urban

Ember Exposure Characterization in WUI Fires

The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) is defined as the location where structures and communities meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland. In the U.S., over

Publications

Special Section on Global Overview of Large Outdoor Fire Standards

February 6, 2020

Author(s)

Samuel L. Manzello

This is a guest editorial.

Garnering understanding into complex firebrand generation processes from large outdoor fires using simplistic laboratory-scale experimental methodologies

February 2, 2020

Author(s)

Samuel L. Manzello, Sayaka Suzuki

A simple laboratory-scale experimental method was developed to study firebrand generation processes. As part of these experiments, Japanese wind facilities were

A Review of Social Media Use During Disaster Response and Recovery Phases

January 31, 2020

Author(s)

Camila E. Young, Erica D. Kuligowski, Aashna Pradhan

Under the National Construction Safety Team Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducted an investigation of the May 22, 2011

On the Cooling of a 360º Video Camera to Observe Fire Dynamics In Situ

December 11, 2019

Author(s)

Jiann C. Yang

An analysis was performed to provide design guidance on the cooling of an NIST-developed in situ fire visualization device, called Burn Observation Bubble (BOB)