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Displaying 1 - 25 of 29

Toxic Potency Values for Smoke from Products and Materials

October 12, 2021
Author(s)
J L. Neviaser, Richard Gann
Many devices have been used to generate data on the toxic potency of smoke from burning products and materials. This paper critically reviews those apparatus and sorts them by the combustion conditions (related to a type of fire) producing the smoke, the

Estimating the Impact of 16 CFR Part 1633 on Bed Fire Outcomes

November 18, 2020
Author(s)
Stanley W. Gilbert, David Butry, Rick D. Davis, Richard Gann
Effective July 1, 2007, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission promulgated a standard to severely reduce the heat release rate and the early heat output from mattresses and foundations when ignited by a flaming ignition source. This study estimates

The Roles of Standard Cigarettes in Assuring the Ignition Resistance of Soft Furnishings

November 18, 2020
Author(s)
Richard G. Gann, Ickchan Kim, Steven P. Lund, William F. Guthrie, Rick D. Davis
Regulations for cigarette ignition resistance (CIR) of soft furnishings (beds and upholstered furniture) and less fire-prone cigarettes have contributed substantially to the decrease in losses from cigarette-initiated fires over time. Two Standard

Estimating the Impact of 16 CFR Part 1633 on Bed Fire Outcomes

April 28, 2020
Author(s)
Stanley W. Gilbert, David T. Butry, Richard G. Gann, Rick D. Davis
Effective July 1, 2007, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission promulgated a Standard that would severely reduce the heat release rate and the early heat output from mattresses and foundations that had been ignited by a flaming ignition source

Flame Retardants: An Overview

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Richard Gann, Jeffrey W. Gilman
Flame retardant additives are ubiquitous in commercial products. They reduce fire losses by decreasing the likelihood of ignition and the rate of heat release of the products in which they are compounded. This article outlines the definition, applications

NIST: A Century in the Business of Fire Safety

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Richard Gann
This year, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), formerly the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), turned 100 years old. During that century, NBS/NIST measurement technology has done much to enable the business of fire safety. Today

Real Fire Performance of Partition Assemblies: Insulated and Non-Insulated Assemblies

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Samuel Manzello, Richard Gann, S R. Kukuck, Kuldeep Prasad, Walter W. Jones
Two gypsum wall assemblies were exposed to intense real-scale compartment fires, from the time of ignition to beyond flashover. The construction of each assembly (2.44 m by 2.44 m) was identical, with the exception that one of the wall assemblies was

Smoke Toxicity Data for Fire Hazard and Risk Assessment of Cable Products

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Richard Gann, Richard D. Peacock, Jason D. Averill, Marc R. Nyden
This report presents the methodology for and results from a series of room-scale fire tests to produce data on the yields of toxic products in both pre-flashover and post-flashover fires. Trays of common household electric cable burned in a room with a

Testing of an Alternate Smoking Material

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Richard Gann
ASTM test method E2187-02b is not appropriate for measuring the ignition strength of a cigarette-shaped smoking material that does not have a tobacco column that burns during smoking. This letter reports a measurement of the relative ignition strength of

Validating Smoke Toxicity Tests

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Richard Gann
This paper is the executive summary of NIST Technical Note 1453 (May 2003). The original abstract follows.This report presents the methodology for and results from a series of room-scale fire tests to produce data on the yields of toxic products in both

Investigation of Surrogate Smoldering Ignition Sources for Testing Soft Furnishings

March 1, 2015
Author(s)
Richard G. Gann, Morgan Bruns, Amanda Robbins, Edward Hnetkovsky, Michael Ladas
The introduction of cigarette ignition propensity standards has led to a reduction in the availability of high ignition propensity commercial cigarettes. Since high ignition propensity cigarettes are needed for soft furnishing flammability tests, a

Reducing the Risk of Fire in Buildings and Communities

January 1, 2014
Author(s)
Anthony Hamins, Jason D. Averill, Nelson P. Bryner, David Butry, Richard Gann, Rick D. Davis, Daniel M. Madrzykowski, Alexander Maranghides, Jiann C. Yang, Matthew Bundy, Samuel Manzello, Jeffrey W. Gilman, Francine K. Amon, William E. Mell
Fire costs and losses are a significant life safety and economic burden on society comprising about two percent of the United States gross domestic product. This paper presents the results of a roadmap developed by the National Institute of Standards and

Alternate Smoldering Ignition Sources: A Literature Review with Analysis

October 1, 2011
Author(s)
Richard G. Gann, Amanda P. Robbins
Current existing and proposed U.S. flammability standards for soft furnishings such as mattresses and upholstered furniture specify a "standard" cigarette as the ignition source in smoldering resistance performance tests. With the prevalence of reduced

Advanced Technology for Fire Suppression in Aircraft

November 6, 2007
Author(s)
Richard G. Gann
In its decade of systematic research (1997-2006), the NGP revitalized the field of fire suppression science. The NGP arose as a result of a discovery that garnered the Nobel Prize for two accomplished chemists and legislation that turned science into

Improving Survivability in Motor Vehicle Fires

September 5, 2007
Author(s)
Ken H. Digges, Richard Gann, Steve J. Grayson, Marcelo M. Hirschler, Richard E. Lyon, David A. Purser, Jim G. Quintiere, Rody R. Stephenson, Archie Tewarson
Automobile fires are consistently among the largest causes of fire deaths in the United States and the U.S. motor vehicle industry has spent $14 million over the last ten years studying this problem. The authors of this review have analyzed the auto
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