Fire Effluent, People, and Standards: Standardization Philosophy for the Effects of Fire Effluent on Human Tenability ON HUMAN TENABILITY

Published

November 11, 2008

Author(s)

Richard G. Gann

Abstract

It has been known for decades that people die from inhaling fire gases and that visible smoke presents challenges to people trying to escape from fires in homes, transportation vehicles, and commercial buildings. Within the current decade, there has been an invigorated effort, especially in ISO TC92 SC3, Fire Threat to People and the Environment, to develop a coherent and comprehensive set of fire safety standards and guidance documents for life safety. This paper provides an overview of the broad role of fire effluent (toxic gases, visible smoke, and heat) in affecting life safety. It examines what aspects of fires constitute a risk to survival and what should comprise a set of fire safety standards to contain that risk to a level that a jurisdiction decides is desirable. This paper serves as a philosophical preamble to the 2008 Conference on Hazards of Combustion Products.

Proceedings Title

Hazards of Combustion Products: Toxicity, Opacity, Corrosivity, and Heat Release

Conference Dates

November 10-11, 2008

Conference Location

London, UK

Pub Type

Conferences

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Local Download

Keywords

fire, fire research, fire standards, smoke, smoke toxicity, TC92

Citation

Gann, R. (2008), Fire Effluent, People, and Standards: Standardization Philosophy for the Effects of Fire Effluent on Human Tenability ON HUMAN TENABILITY, Hazards of Combustion Products: Toxicity, Opacity, Corrosivity, and Heat Release, London, UK, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=861647 (Accessed December 1, 2024)