Carbon Monoxide Production in Compartment Fires: Full-Scale Enclosure Burns (NISTIR 5499)

Published

September 1, 1994

Author(s)

Nelson P. Bryner, Erik L. Johnsson, William M. Pitts

Abstract

Recent studies attribute a large percentage of fire injuries and deaths to the generation of carbon monoxide (CO) and indicate that in roughly two-thirds of the fire deaths the fire victims have fatal or incapacitating levels of carboxyhemoglobin in their blood. A series of natural-gas fires within reduced- and full-scale rooms have been designed to improve the understanding of and to develop a predictive capability for CO formation in compartment fires. The findings will be used in realistic fire models and in the development of strategies for reducing the number of deaths attributed to carbon monoxide.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 5499

Report Number

5499

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.5499

Keywords

fire research, carbon monoxide, compartment fires, large scale fire tests, enclosures, generation, natural gas

Citation

Bryner, N. , Johnsson, E. and Pitts, W. (1994), Carbon Monoxide Production in Compartment Fires: Full-Scale Enclosure Burns (NISTIR 5499), NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.5499 (Accessed October 23, 2025)