Newswise — Worcester, Mass. – Sept. 7, 2011 – A new study funded by a $1 million award from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) aims to answer questions stemming from 9/11 and other disasters about the risks of fighting high-rise fires and the efficacy of existing methods for responding to these emergencies, while also evaluating new approaches to firefighting and building design that could make high-rise firefighting more effective and safer for the fire service. The study will be led jointly through a longstanding partnership between the Department of Fire Protection Engineering (FPE) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPE), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Urban Institute (UI).
“High-rise fires are some of the most challenging and hazardous situations firefighters face," said Kathy Notarianni, professor and head of the FPE Department. "Unfortunately, fire codes provide little guidance on how to respond to fires in tall buildings, and fire and city officials have little or no quantitative data to draw on as they evaluate various deployment configurations or building code changes that could make high-rise fighting safer. This study will provide the data, the analysis and the guidance they need."
Notarianni said the study will be conducted in tall buildings in urban areas. In a series of experiments, actual working firefighters will be deployed to simulated multi-alarm high-rise fires. Crews consisting of more than 90 firefighters will provide realistic data on the time required to complete critical tasks and milestones on the fireground. Various crew sizes, fire apparatus configurations, and deployment and firefighting schemes will be evaluated. The study will also evaluate the benefits of firefighters using elevators, in addition to or instead of stairs, to reach and attack fires.
"As the 9/11 disaster made clear, moving firefighters and supplies up 10, 20, or even 30 stories is an arduous task, especially if you have to move against a stream of evacuees," Notarianni said. "If not properly managed, no one will reach the fire with enough stamina to actually fight it. Using elevators can dramatically improve response time and effectiveness, but the elevators have to be reliable and dedicated to the fire service, which is often not the case. We want to quantitatively measure the impact of employing elevators, and provide guidance that could influence codes for elevator design and placement in new high-rise construction."
The high-rise building study will build on the results of previous national studies conducted by WPI and its national partners with funding from the DHS. Earlier this year, they completed a multi-phase study looking at crew size and resource management for fire department deployment to residential structure fires. Many municipalities, facing tighter budgets and less revenue in tough fiscal times, will be using the study’s recommendations to analyze their firefighting resources and make more informed decisions. Last January, WPI co-sponsored a National Data Summit that focused on identifying and collecting data from a wide variety of sources, and organizing the data into a resource that municipalities can use to improve their response capabilities, decision making, and resource management.
“We have seen the impact of our work grow in recent years,” said Notarianni. “Fire departments in large cities and metropolitan areas as well as those in smaller communities are quicker to adopt innovations and new ideas with the publication these national studies and the building confidence of this national partnership."
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI was one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its13 academic departments and School of Business offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees. WPI's world-class faculty work with students in a number of cutting-edge research areas, leading to breakthroughs and innovations in such fields as biotechnology, fuel cells, information security, materials processing, and nanotechnology. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 25 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.
Contact:Michael Dorsey, Director of Research CommunicationsWorcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester, Massachusetts508-831-5609, [email protected]
RSS