- Author
-
Budnick, E. K.
- Title
- Mobile Home Living Room Fire Studies: The Role of Interior Finish.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Sponsor
- Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC
- Report
-
NBSIR 78-1530,
September 1978,
163 p.
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900; Rush Service (Telephone Orders Only) 800-553-6847; Website: http://www.ntis.gov
- Keywords
-
ASTM E84
|
tunnel tests
|
carbon dioxide
|
carbon monoxide
|
fire growth
|
fire tests
|
flame spread
|
flashover
|
interior finishes
|
life safety
|
mobile homes
|
radiant heat
|
room fires
|
occupants
- Abstract
- A series of sixteen full-scale fire tests was conducted in the living room of a typically constructed single-wide mobile home. These tests were designed (1) to evaluate the effect of a variety of combinations of wall and ceiling materials on fire growth and spread and the production of smoke and toxic gases when exposed to an incidental fire, and (2) to determine the relationship between the surface flame spread properties of the interior finish materials as determined by the ASTM E-84 Tunnel Test and the behavior of the materials as installed under actual full-scale conditions. The test procedure was based on a fire scenario in which the interior wall finish was exposed to an incidental fire from a standardized 6.4 kg (14 lb) wood crib or a 16 kg (35 lb) upholstered chair positioned in a corner in the living room. Performance of the various combinations of wall and ceiling materials was evaluated based on (1) the rate of fire buildup and extent of living room involvement, and (2) changes in the environment in the corridor and bedroom areas which may adversely affect the life safety of the occupants. Measurements utilized in the evaluation of changes in the environment due to fire growth and spread included gas temperatures, irradiance, concentrtions of carbon monoxide, crbon dioxide and oxygen, and smoke densities. Under this set of conditions it was found that the fire properties of the interior finish materials directly affected the rate of fire growth and spread, the severity of the fire, and the resulting effects on life safety.