Fire dynamics & science

News and Updates

Building that has been destroyed by a tornado

NIST, NSF Award More Than $7.6 Million to Support Disaster Resilience Research

May 4, 2022

The agencies are funding 20 projects to be conducted across 24 institutions through the Disaster Resilience Research Grant (DRRG) program, which they manage

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

Projects and Programs

Public Health Risks to First Responders

Ongoing

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

The NIST 20 MW Calorimetry Measurement System – Exhaust Flow Calibration Using Tracer Gas Dilution

May 10, 2022

Author(s)

Rodney A. Bryant

Exhaust flow measurements have been found to be a significant source of uncertainty for measurements of heat release rate in large-scale fire experiments

The Design and Performance of a Second-Generation Phi Meter

January 5, 2022

Author(s)

Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Thomas Cleary

This report documents the design and performance of a second-generation phi meter used in multi-scale experimental applications. A constructed second-generation

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

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