Simulation of the Dynamics of a Fire in a One-Story Restaurant, Texas, February 14, 2000.
Simulation of the Dynamics of a Fire in a One-Story
Restaurant, Texas, February 14, 2000.
(3243 K)
Vettori, R. L.; Madrzykowski, D.; Walton, W. D.
NISTIR 6923; 27 p. October 2002.
Available from:
: National Technical Information Service
(NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161.
Telephone:
1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000;
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Website:
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Order number: PB2003-101575
Keywords:
building fires; fire simulation; computational fluid
dynamics; fire models; computer graphics; fire dynamics;
fire fatalities; fire fighters; fire investigations;
wood trusses
Abstract:
[CD version of this report is available by contacting
Daniel Madrzykowski at daniel.madrzykowski@nist.gov]
This report describes the results of calculations using
the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) that were performed
to provide insight on the thermal conditions that may
have occurred during a fire in a one-story restaurant on
February 14, 2000 in Texas. A FDS model scenario was
developed that represented the building geometry,
material thermal properties, and fire behavior based on
information and photographs from investigations by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH), the City of Houston Fire Department, and the
Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). The
results from this model scenario are provided with this
report. The FDS (version 2.0) calculations that best
represent the reported fire conditions indicate that a
fire originating in the office area of the restaurant
spread into and throughout the attic space between the
ceiling and roof. Upon the arrival of the fire
department, the model results show this space had become
a high temperature, oxygen depleted environment.
Temperatures in this area ranged from 400 C to 1000 C
(750 F to 1800 F) with an oxygen concentration of
approximately 2%. The FDS model also indicates that the
use of positive pressure ventilation, as illustrated in
this scenario, did not have a marked effect on the
intensity of the fire. Additional simulations were
performed to provide insight as to whether or not
lifting a ceiling tile just inside the entry door used
by the initial firefighting crew could have given them
an indication of the thermal conditions within the attic
area. In this simulation the FDS model predicted that
this would have indicated the presence of fire in the
attic area.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899