Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Group

Welcome

Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Program conducts research to reduce risk of fire hazard in WUI communities. This research includes mission-related measurement science research and services to develop wildland-urban interface fire risk exposure metrics; predict the spread of fires in WUI communities, assess fire performance of structures and communities, and mitigate effects of WUI fires on structures and communities through science-based codes and standards.

Specific areas of research currently being solicited through the Disaster Resilience Grant 2020 funding opportunity include the development, advancement, and deployment of measurement science to:

Predict spot fire ignition for development of a computational infrastructure for forecasting and reconstruction of major large outdoor fire events.

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

Draft California Fire Code Includes NIST Tool to Evaluate Wildfire Hazard

September 13, 2021

Severe wildfire disasters are often the product of numerous factors — vegetation, drought, a lack of firefighting resources, and many others — coalescing

Illustration of a burning tree generating embers next to a device composed of four cameras fixed to the ends of metal arms.

NIST’s Emberometer Could Gauge Threat of Wildfire-Spreading Embers

August 18, 2021

As wildfire fronts advance through landscapes or communities on the ground, they also attack from above, launching volleys of glowing embers into the air. Also

New Timeline of Deadliest California Wildfire Could Guide Lifesaving Research and Action

February 8, 2021

On a brisk November morning in 2018, a fire sparked in a remote stretch of canyon in Butte County, California, a region nestled against the western slopes of

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 help from residents of Sevier County

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

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

Wildland fires that spread into urban areas, termed Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fires, are becoming more and more common across multiple locations of the

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

WUI Building and Fire Codes and Standards Project

Although over 46 million residential structures in the United States are in areas of risk of wildfires, building and fire codes and standards do not provide the

Fire Risk Reduction in Communities Program

This program reduces community fire risk by 1) increasing the fire resilience of wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities and 2) enhancing the safety and

Publications

Firebrands generated in Shurijo Castle Fire on October 30th, 2019

September 14, 2021

Author(s)

Samuel Manzello, Sayaka Suzuki

A fire started in Shurijo Seiden, or the main hall of Shurijo Castle, Naha-city, Okinawa, Japan on the morning of October 30th, 2019. The fire resulted in loss

Ignitibility of Structural Wood Products Exposed to Embers During Wildland Fires: A Review of Literature

April 27, 2021

Author(s)

Shonali Nazare, Isaac T. Leventon, Rick Davis

Ignitability of structural components due to ember accumulation is a common cause of structural fires in wildland urban interface (WUI) communities. To fire

Ignition Vulnerabilities of Combustibles around Houses to Firebrand Showers: Further Comparison of Experiments

March 6, 2021

Author(s)

Samuel Manzello, Sayaka Suzuki

Wildland fires and wildland urban-interface (WUI) fires have become a significant problem in recent years. The mechanisms of home ignition in WUI fires are

A Perspective on Forest Fuel Bed Ignition by Firebrands

February 19, 2021

Author(s)

Jiann C. Yang

A different perspective on forest fuel bed ignition by firebrands is presented to obtain a correlation between the ignition time of a fuel bed by a glowing

Awards

2017 - Bronze Medal Award---Kathryn Butler, Susanne Furman

For development of science-based guidance on the use of evacuation elevators that enhances the safety of people with mobility impairments during fire emergencies.

2017 - Samuel Wesley Stratton Award---Samuel L. Manzello

For groundbreaking engineering and scientific research enabling the protection of structures and communities from the devastating effects of large-scale wildland fires.

2016 - Silver Medal Award---Kevin McGrattan, Randall McDermott, Glenn Forney, Craig Weinschenk, Richard Peacock, Anthony Hamins, Blaza Toman

For development of the Fire Dynamics Simulator fire model, an achievement in the practical application of science to fire-safe design of structures.