- Author
- Gann, R. G.
- Title
- NIST/NBS Fire Research and FRCA: 25 Years of Progress.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Book or Conf
- Fire Safety and Technology: Turmoil - Progress - Opportunities - 1973-1998-2000+. Proceedings. Fire Retardant Chemcials Association. March 22-25, 1998, Fire Retardant Chemicals Assoc., Lancaster, PA, Atlanta, GA, 77-84 p., 1998
- Keywords
- fire retardants | flame retardants | fire safety | technology utilization | reserach facilities | fire research | fire retardant materials | test methods
- Identifiers
- NBS and the first generation of fire test methods
- Abstract
- The National Bureau of Standards's Center for Fire Research and the Fire Retardant Chemicals Association were formed within a year of each other. The former has undergone major organizational changes, NBS having become NIST, and fire research now being part of the mission of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory. A continuing theme has been a close relationship with materials manufacturers and their associations in helping to accelerate the acceptance of materials and products with improved fire safety performance. Throughout its history the Fire Research Program has had a focus on less flammable materials and products. This talk will present a brief overview of how that focus has manifested itself through the years, and the major impacts that have resulted. As both organizations reached an increasing degree of maturity, their programs became synergistic. Changes continue to occur. The fire performance of materials and products will undergo significant improvement in the next decade. New opportunities are already arising, and this paper looks into the future from a fire science perspective.