- Author
-
Shorter, G. W.
- Title
- St. Lawrence Burns. General Report.
- Coporate
- National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
- Report
-
DBR Internal Report No. 150
November 1959
63 p.
- Keywords
-
building fires
|
bedrooms
|
combustible materials
|
carbon monoxide
|
compartment fires
|
gas analysis
|
noncombustibles
|
residential buildings
|
radiant temperature
|
temperature measurements
|
room fires
|
large scale fire tests
|
ventilation
|
noise (sound)
|
oxygen
|
survival
|
smoke density
|
schools
- Identifiers
- occupant survival; smoke and sound measurements; radiant temperature of openings
- Abstract
- In January and February, 1958, a number of buildings in the area to be flooded by the St. Lawrence Power Project were burned by tie Fire Section of the Division of Building Research, National Research Council, with the object of studying building fires under controlled conditions. The demolition of structures which could not be moved from the area was originally envisaged by Civil Defence authorities as a rare opportunity to study mass fires, and they approached the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario to arrange for a number of buildings to be made available for equipment. As the federal agency concerned with the study of fires, the Division of Building Research was given the opportunity for making controlled tests on individual buildings, which further discussion suggested would be of benefit and prove more practicable. After careful survey, therefore, by the Division's Fire Section and a representative of the federal Civil Defence Authority of the eight villages and towns to be inundated, six houses and two larger structures were selected from approximately 100 buildings. In the village of Aultstville, on the north bank of the St. Lawrence. Of similar size and layout, many of brick construction, the residences chosen appeared to be suitable for tests. An invitation to participate in the burns was extended to the British Fire Research Organization, who not only assisted in the planning of the operation and in the fabrication of instruments, but also sent one of their senior scientific officers to lend support. A similar invitation was extended to the Division of Building Technology, U.S. National Bureau of Standards, who sent a member of their staff as an observer, in spite of the pressure of work at that time. Further assistance was provided by the National Film Board, who were requested to film the operation in order to preserve a pictorial record of the burns for future reference.