Description Under the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program, UL examined fire service ventilation practices as well as the impact of changes in modern house geometries. There has been a steady change in the residential fire environment over the past several decades including larger homes, more open floor plans and volumes, and increased synthetic fuel loads. This series of experiments examine this change in fire behavior and the impact on firefighter ventilation tactics.
Two houses were constructed in the large fire facility of UL in Northbrook, IL.. Fifteen experiments were conducted varying the ventilation locations and the number of ventilation openings. This online firefighter training program details the results of these experiments to provide knowledge the fire service can use to examine their thought processes, standard operating procedures and training content. Several tactical considerations were developed utilizing the data from the experiments to provide specific examples of changes that can be adopted based on a departments current strategies and tactics.
Course Topics
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Module 1 – Background
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Module 2 – Modern Residential Fire Challenges
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Module 3 – Furnace Tests
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Module 4 – House Experiments
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Module 5 – Fire Service Tactical considerations
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