- Author
- Peacock, R. D. | Bukowski, R. W. | Reneke, P. A. | Averill, J. D.
- Title
- Development of a Fire Hazard Assessment Method for Evaluating the Fire Safety of Passenger Trains.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Book or Conf
- Fire Risk and Hazard Assessment Research Application Symposium. Research and Practice: Bridging the Gap. Proceedings. Fire Protection Research Foundation. July 24-26, 2002, Baltimore, MD, 392-403 p., 2002
- Keywords
- fire risk | fire hazards assessment | fire suppression | fire detection | fire research | fire safety | fire protection | passenger trains | fire hazards assessment | fire models | test methods | hazard analysis | heat release rate | railroads | transportation
- Abstract
- U.S. passenger train fire safety has historically been addressed primarily through the citation of small-scale flammability and smoke emission tests and performance criteria promulgated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). This approach has focused on the primary combustible materials of rail car components such as seats and wall and ceiling panels. As fire safety regulations for buildings move toward performance codes, there has been interest in the application of fire hazard assessment to passenger rail cars using modeling techniques. To develop such an alternative approach, a systematic study of the fire performance characteristics of current rail car materials was coducted. First, the heat release and smoke production of actual materials in use were characterized in the Cone Calorimeter. Next, full-scale assembly tests of components such as seats and interior panels constructed of these same materials were conducted in a furniture calorimeter. Finally, full-scale tests of passenger rail cars incorporating the tested components were conducted. The predictive accuracy of fire hazard modeling techniques was assessed against the full-scale test results. The models utility in evaluating alternative fire safety improvements, such as automatic suppression or smoke exhaust was demonstrated. The paper provides an overview of work to date. It is expected that this work could lead to the recognition of fire hazard-based methods as an alternative to the current prescriptive requirements for passenger rail and transit vehicles.