- Author
-
Bwalya, A. C.
- Title
- Extended Survey of Combustible Contents in Canadian Residential Living Rooms.
- Coporate
- National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
- Report
-
Research Report No. 176; RR-176,
November 8, 2004,
25 p.
- Keywords
-
living rooms
|
combustibles
|
surveys
|
fire load
|
residential buildings
|
furniture
|
electronic equipment
|
carpets
|
housing
|
floors
|
windows
- Identifiers
- fire load density; fire load survey; questionnaire structure; weights and combustion data for furniture; main floor living rooms; basements; comparison with the results of the pilot survey; weight and heat of combustion values; furniture arrangements
- Abstract
- This report presents the results of an extended survey of combustible items in residential living rooms located on the main floor and basement levels. The survey was conducted using a web-based questionnaire. The objective of the survey was to enhance the validity of the results of an earlier pilot study by surveying a substantially larger number of homes across Canada. The survey attracted 598 respondents and identifies the main types of combustible furniture. The types of furniture on the main floor and in basement living rooms were found to be similar, but basements contained a greater variety of furniture. The average fire load densities (410 MJ/m2 for main floor living rooms and 360 MJ/m2 for basement living rooms) calculated using estimated weights of furniture were within the range of the values found in the literature. There was no substantial difference in fire load density among the various housing categories.