Fuels Management
When I recently purchased new living-room furniture, I glanced at the label and asked the salesperson if the material was flame-resistant? She said yes, but I knew better.
Last month I attended Underwriters Laboratories‘ two-day Smoke Characterization Seminar. The sessions covered fire smoke basics, hazards and research, and the audience included firefighters, training officers, arson investigators, Centers for Disease Control officials, and smoke alarm manufacturers.
“When I look at this room, I don‘t think of tables and chairs, I think about fuel,” said J. Thomas Chapin, Ph.D., UL‘s director of research and development in his keynote address about fire and the smoke continuum. “You can‘t have a fire if you don‘t have fuel.”
Chapin quickly translated scientific terms into understandable language. He explained the fire event timeline, mitigation operations and the concept of fire rewind. “One of the most significant ways to improve life safety is with early intervention,” he said. “By rewinding the fire event, we can focus on new and improved forms of intervention.”
Chapin suggested five means of early intervention:
- Early detection with smoke and fire detectors;
- Early suppression with residential sprinklers;
- Efficient containment with fire doors, walls and floors;
- Creation of a hardened environment with fire-resistant furnishings; and
- Improved education and training for key audiences.
Chapin showed video of tests conducted to study fire and the differences between mattresses, one that was Consumer Product Safety Commission–compliant and one that was not. He also showed an upholstered chair fire that was an eye-opener.
“Upholstered chairs have three-times the chemical energy of wood,” Chapin cautioned. “The energy we’re building into our homes is three-times higher.” That’s because the raw materials are different, and much of it is imported
Chapin added that a frequent problem in universities and colleges is that students will bring foam padding to put on top of their dorm beds. The synthetic fibers add to the potential fuel load.
“Synthetics are a part of our lives — polyurethane material in the soles of shoes, cellulose in newspapers and polyesters in fleece materials,” he said.
At home, I pulled the label under my couch‘s cushion and looked closer: polyurethane foam and polyester fiber. According to Chapin‘s PowerPoint, my couch has a heat of combustion of over 10,000 BTUs per pound — that‘s not a couch, that’s kindling.
Make your choice in gifts cotton and wool this holiday season; they are fire-safe choices.
December 14th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Very good article. Unfortunately when it comes to fire safety, people are told too many lies, much as you were when purchasing your sofa. When I built my new home, I was told by my insurance agent that residential sprinkler systems cause far more damage to homes than they prevent. I was told that if I installed a system, I would pay DOUBLE for homeowner’s insurance. Less than 9 months later, we had a fire in my home. A sprinkler system would have made it a non-event.
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