- Author
-
Mitchell, N. D.
- Title
- Fire Hazards Tests With Masonry Chimneys.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Journal
-
NFPA Quarterly,
Vol. 43,
No. 2,
117-134,
October 1949
- Report
-
NFPA Q 43-7; 1M-11-49-LP,
1949,
20 p.
- Keywords
-
chimneys
|
masonry
|
fire hazards
|
fire tests
|
test methods
|
temperature rise
|
occupants
- Abstract
- Loss of dwellings and the lives of their occupants from fire in the United States are appalling. Many of these fires are attributable to defective chimneys and fuel-fired heating equipment. Prior to the investigation reported here there were few technical data available from tests with conventional masonry chimney construction, and regulations governing the construction of such chimneys and their surroundings were largely based on judgment and experience. Unfortunate experiences with various types of chimneys which caused fires in government housing during the war prompted the National Housing Agency, now the Housing and Home Finance Agency, to request the National Bureau of Standards to make tests of various types of conventional masonry chimneys to determine the hazards they present and to detemine what could be done to reduce any hazards found in the test program. Two series of tests of masonry chimneys have been made and preliminary reports have been issued on each. A report consolidating the data of the two series has recently been submitted to the sponsoring agency.