NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.
Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Alexander Maranghides, Eric D. Link, Christopher U. Brown, William Mell, Steven Hawks, Mike Wilson, Will Brewer, Robert Vihnanek, William D. Walton
The Camp Fire ignited on November 8, 2018 in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Butte County, California. The first 24 hours were characterized by a fast-moving fire with initial spread driven by high winds up to 22 m/s (50 mi/h) and long-range spotting
Wind plays an important role in the built environment. Large outdoor fires in the built environment are no exception. Under strong wind, firebrands fly far, which leads to quick fire spread. In this study, the effect of structure to structure separation
Alexander Maranghides, William Mell, Steven Hawks, Mike Wilson, Will Brewer, Eric D. Link, Christopher U. Brown, Cartier P. Murrill, Erin Ashley
The Camp Fire started in the vicinity of Pulga Rd and Camp Creek Road, in Butte County on November 8 at 6:29 am. The cause of ignition is under investigation. The incident was classified as a vegetation fire. The Unified Command Agencies responsible for
Large outdoor fires are of concern all over the world. While fire spread processes are noted for their immediate destruction and loss of life, the generation of particulate matter from the combustion of both vegetative and structural fuels in the event of
The magnitude of destruction from fire spread processes are hard to imagine during large outdoor fire outbreaks. Even though these disasters are of great public concern and intense media interest, much knowledge is still needed to validate computational
Samuel L. Manzello, Sayaka Suzuki, Sara McAllister, Brian Lattimer, Daniel Gorham, Alexander Filkov, Maria Theodori, Xinyan Huang
Two virtual workshops of the permanent working group, sponsored by the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS), entitled Large Outdoor Fires and the Built Environment (LOF&BE), were held this past August (2020). The first session was held
Alexander Maranghides, William Mell, Steven Hawks, Eric D. Link, Christopher U. Brown, Cartier P. Murrill, Erin Ashley
The Camp Fire started in the early morning of November 8, 2018 in vegetative fuels to the northeast of Concow, California. Concow is an unincorporated community and census-designated place of primarily residential with a population of 762 in the Sierra
Due to the increased concern for the environment, sustainable construction materials are getting increased attention. Wood is considered a renewable, sustainable construction material. The problem with wood is that it is a fire-prone material. With an
Emily H. Walpole, Erica D. Kuligowski, Lauren B. Cain, Alicea N. Fitzpatrick, Christin Salley
To gain insight into the emergency communication and evacuation decision-making surrounding the 2016 Chimney Tops 2 fire, NIST conducted (via a small business survey research contractor) an online survey targeting homeowners in the Gatlinburg, TN area from
Fences and mulch contribute to the spread of WUI fires. They act as both ignition targets and as sources that may themselves ignite nearby objects through direct flame contact and firebrand generation. The linear nature of fences gives them the capability
Fire spread occurs via radiation, flame contact, and firebrands. While firebrand showers are known to be a cause of spot fires which ignite fuels far from the main fire front, in the case of short distance spot fires, radiation from the main fire may play
Large outdoor fires are one of the prominent fire problems in the world. Spot fires, caused by firebrands, are known as a key mechanism of rapid fire spread. Firebrands ignite unburned fuels far ahead of fire front. In large outdoor fires, firebrands are
A shared feature in the rapid spread of large outdoor fires are the production or generation of new, far smaller combustible fragments from the original fire source referred to as firebrands. A simplified experimental protocol has been developed that
Ten commercial fire-retardant coatings (FRCs) designed for wood in outdoor applications, either film-forming or non-film forming (stains), and five top-coatings (used in combination with a FRC to increase its durability) were characterized by microscale
This study documents the measurement of the wind resistance of different types of vegetation. The measurements are made in a wind tunnel with a 2.0 m test section and 0.5 m by 0.5 m cross- section. Samples of vegetation have been cut into cubical volumes
A new approach to characterize airborne firebrands during Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fires is detailed. The approach merges the following two imaging techniques in a single field-deployable diagnostic tool: 1/ 3D Particle Tracking Velocimetry (3D-PTV)
Roof assemblies are known to be vulnerable to firebrands in urban and wildland-urban interface fires. In the 2016 urban fire in Japan (Itoigawa-City Fire), at least 10 structures were ignited by firebrand showers and three of these structures were ignited
A simple laboratory-scale experimental method was developed to study firebrand generation processes. As part of these experiments, Japanese wind facilities were used to elucidate the effect of wind speed on the firebrand generation. It was found that very
A shared feature in the rapid spread of large outdoor fires are the production or generation of new, far smaller combustible fragments from the original fire source referred to as firebrands. A simplified experimental protocol has been developed that
Fire spread occurs via radiation, flame contact, and firebrands. While firebrand showers are known to be a cause of spot fires which ignite fuels far from the main fire front, in the case of short distance spot fires, radiation from the main fire may play
As part of recent building code change discussions, it has been suggested that by increasing the spacing of boards, it may be possible to mitigate ignition of wood decking assemblies from wind-driven firebrand showers. An experimental series was undertaken
Samuel L. Manzello, Sayaka Suzuki, Michael Gollner, A C. Fernandez-Pello
Large outdoor fires are an increasing danger to the built environment. Wildfires that spread into com- munities, labeled as Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fires, are an example of large outdoor fires. Other examples of large outdoor fires are urban fires