- Author
-
Budnick, E. K.
- Title
- Estimating Effectiveness of State-Of-The-Art Detectors and Automatic Sprinklers on Life Safety in Residential Occupancies.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
-
Fire Techology,
Vol. 20,
No. 3,
5-22,
August 1984
- Report
-
NBSIR 84-2819,
January 30, 1984,
81 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
fire losses
|
life safety
|
residential buildings
|
sprinkler systems
|
smoke detectors
|
residential sprinklers
|
occupants
- Abstract
- The report provides a qualitative assessment of the life safety impact of early warning fire detection and automatic sprinkler technology in residential occupancies. This assessment is based on the results of full scale studies and statistics on residential fire fatalities from the NFIRS data base. Estimates of the impact of three alternatives, smoke detectors, standard automatic sprinklers, and residential sprinklers, are provided for major fire hazard scenarios in residential occupancies. The results of this study indicate that significant life safety benefits can be derived from broad application of detectors and sprinklers in all residential buildings. Further work is necessary to reduce the gaps which exist in our understanding of the performance limits, cost-effectiveness, and reliability of these devices. In addition, there are residential scenarios, for example, occupants intimately exposed to a fire, where the impact of these devices appears marginal. A quantitative approach is outlined that can lead to a more accurate assessment of the impact of detectors and sprinklers. An initial framework is presented which identifies the key parameters for residential like safety. A mathematical expression is proposed as a success criterion. Work is underway to extend the framework to sufficient detail to permit formulation of appropriate analytical expressions necessary for quantitative evaluation of specific parameters and their interelationships.