Simulation of the Dynamics of a Fire in a Two-Story Duplex, Iowa, December 22, 1999.
Simulation of the Dynamics of a Fire in a Two-Story
Duplex, Iowa, December 22, 1999.
(1515 K)
Madrzykowski, D.; Forney, G. P.; Walton, W. D.
NISTIR 6854; 28 p. January 2002.
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
(NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161.
Telephone:
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Order number: PB2002-102135
Keywords:
computational fluid dynamics; fire models; computer
models; fire dynamics; fire fatalities; fire fighters;
fire investigations; flashover; ventilation
Abstract:
This report describes the results of calculations using
the NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) that were
performed to provide insight on the thermal conditions
that may have occurred during a fire in a two-story
duplex house on December 22, 1999, in Iowa. Input to the
computer model was developed from 3 sources;
investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and
Firearms (ATF), investigators with the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and
from material properties taken from the FDS database. An
FDS model scenario was developed that best represented
the actual building geometry, material thermal
properties, and fire behavior based on information and
photographs from ATF. The results from this model
scenario are provided with this report. The FDS
calculations that best represent the reported fire
conditions indicate that a fire originating on the
kitchen stove spread through the house resulting in
flames that engulfed the stairwell to the second floor
within approximately 9 min from the start of flaming
ignition on the stove. The critical event in this fire
was the on-set of flashover conditions in the kitchen.
Within 60 s after the flashover occurred in the kitchen,
the flames had spread through the dining room, living
room and up the stairway.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899