Simulation of the Dynamics of a Fire in a Two-Story Duplex, Iowa, December 22, 1999 (NISTIR 6854)

Published

January 1, 2002

Author(s)

Daniel M. Madrzykowski, Glenn P. Forney, William D. Walton

Abstract

This report describes the results of calculations using the NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) that were performed to provide insight on the thermal conditions that may have occurred during a fire in a two-story duplex house on December 22, 1999, in Iowa. Input to the computer model was developed from 3 sources; investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), investigators with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and from material properties taken from the FDS database.An FDS model scenario was developed that best represented the actual building geometry, material thermal properties, and fire behavior based on information and photographs from ATF. The results from this model scenario are provided with this report.The FDS calculations that best represent the reported fire conditions indicate that a fire originating on the kitchen stove spread through the house resulting in flames that engulfed the stairwell to the second floor within approximately 9 min from the start of flaming ignition on the stove.The critical event in this fire was the on-set of flashover conditions in the kitchen. Within 60 s after the flashover occurred in the kitchen, the flames had spread through the dining room, living room and up the stairway.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 6854

Report Number

6854

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.6854

Keywords

cfd models, computer graphics, fire dynamics, fire fatalities, fire fighters, fire investigations, fire models, fire simulations, flashover ventilation

Citation

Madrzykowski, D. , Forney, G. and Walton, W. (2002), Simulation of the Dynamics of a Fire in a Two-Story Duplex, Iowa, December 22, 1999 (NISTIR 6854), NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.6854 (Accessed October 28, 2025)