Fire dynamics & science

News and Updates

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

Firefighters spray water into a burning concrete building with a sign saying "NIST Fire Research."

How AI Could Alert Firefighters of Imminent Danger

June 1, 2021

Firefighting is a race against time. Exactly how much time? For firefighters, that part is often unclear. Building fires can turn from bad to deadly in an

New Fire-Simulating Tool Could Improve In-Flight Fire Safety

March 24, 2021

Some of the most dangerous fires are the ones you don’t see coming. That goes not only for fires in buildings but for those kilometers off the ground, aboard

Projects and Programs

Public Health Risks to First Responders

There is growing evidence that firefighters (FF) are being exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) associated with their gear. The source of the

Publications

A calibration and sampling technique for quantifying the chemical structure in fires using GC/MSD analysis

September 23, 2021

Author(s)

Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Kimberly Harris, Kunhyuk Sung, Tianshui Liang, Anthony Hamins

This work presents an approach to measure, calibrate, and verify local concentrations of combustion products in pool fires steadily burning in a quiescent

The Influence of COVID-19 Stay at Home Measures on Fire Statistics Sampled from New York City, London, San Francisco, and Tokyo

September 21, 2021

Author(s)

Sayaka Suzuki, Samuel Manzello

The COVID-19 pandemic kept people at home, in either a voluntary or non-voluntary capacity, in many countries. These suggested countermeasures were prominent in

Velocity and Temperature Structure of Medium-Scale Pool Fires

June 22, 2021

Author(s)

Kunhyuk Sung, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Anthony Hamins

A series of measurements was conducted using a bidirectional probe to characterize the upward speed in the plumes of medium-scale pool fires burning a variety

The Thermal Character of a 1 m Methanol Pool Fire

June 15, 2021

Author(s)

Kunhyuk Sung, Jian Chen, Matthew Bundy, Marco G. Fernandez, Anthony Hamins

This is the second edition of this study, which presents a series of measurements conducted to characterize the structure of a 1 m diameter methanol pool fire

Tools and Instruments

Fire Calorimetry Database (FCD)

The National Fire Research Laboratory (NFRL) operates calorimeters to measure the heat and combustion products for fires in the range of 50 kW to 20,000 kW