the institution of fire engineers united states of america branch fire service deployment: meeting...
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THE INSTITUTION OF FIRE ENGINEERS
United States of America Branch
Fire Service Deployment:
Meeting the Standards of Cover Performance Criteria
Indianapolis, April 2002Indianapolis, April 2002
FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE TIMES
What would it take to make a difference?
John R. Waters, CFPS, EFO
• Chief Fire Marshal
• Director of Safety and Codes Enforcement
• Upper Merion Township, PA
NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY
Executive Fire Officer Program
RESPONSE TIMES
• Why take the time to study them?
BUDGETS!
• response times translate to travel distance
• travel distance translates to number of stations
• number of stations translates to $$$$$$$$
• Volunteer vs. Career also translates to $$$$$
It doesn’t matter who provides the service.
• proprietary• by contract
• response times response times changes impacts changes impacts budgetsbudgets
UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION
1987
“The United States has one of the highest fire death rates per capita in
the world.”
JOHN HALL & ARTHUR COTE 1997
“As a nation, the United States appears to do a better job in
protecting property than protecting its citizens, at least compared to other fully industrialized democracies.”
NFPA Standard 403 - Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting
Services(1996)
“The principle objective of a rescue & firefighting service is to save lives. ...Demonstrated response time to any point on the operational runway shall
be 2 minutes or less....”
Fire Incidents vs. Fatalities
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
FiresFatalities
Fire Incidents vs. Injuries
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
FiresInjuries
Fire Statistics% Residential
0102030405060708090
FatalitiesInjuries
George Miller (1999)
“…while the overall number of home fire deaths dropped in 1997, the percentage of home fire deaths
rose…we’re winning the battle but we’re winning the battle but losing the war.”losing the war.”
PREVENTING RESIDENTIAL FIRE FATALITIES & INJURIES
IS THE KEY
Is this news?
Benjamin Franklin (1770)
“It appears to me of great importance to build our dwelling houses, if we can, in a manner more secure from
fire”
1st National Fire Prevention Convention (1913)
“At the outset of the work we established a statistical table of fires, returned monthly by the
fire marshals; and for two years that table has read exactly alike each month and, at the end of at the end of
the year, totals up the same percentage of the year, totals up the same percentage of figures, with the astounding result that 60% of figures, with the astounding result that 60% of
the fires occur in the homes of peoplethe fires occur in the homes of people.”.”
America Burning (1973)
Residential fires account for about half of all fire deaths and a third of all
property loss. The structures in The structures in which Americans live must be the which Americans live must be the prime focus of a national effort to prime focus of a national effort to
reduce fire lossesreduce fire losses.”
M. Karter (1993)
“If we examine deaths by the type of properties in which they occurred, we find that the increase in civilian deaths was due in large part to a rise in deaths in residential properties…with home fire with home fire deaths accounting for 78.4% of all fire deaths, deaths accounting for 78.4% of all fire deaths,
residential fire safety initiatives remain the key to residential fire safety initiatives remain the key to reduction in the overall fire death tollreduction in the overall fire death toll.”.”
Fatalities by type of residential use
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Deaths
1 & 2 FamilyDwellingsManufactured Homes
Apartments
Rooming Houses
Hotels/Motels
Dormitories
Home Hotels
Other ResidentialProperties
Injuries bytype of residential use
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
140001 & 2 FamilyDwellingsManufactured Homes
Apartments
Rooming Houses
Hotels/Motels
Dormitories
Home Hotels
Other ResidentialProperties
Yet, in 1998, there were no Yet, in 1998, there were no performance standards for performance standards for
fire department response to fire department response to house fires!house fires!
NFPA 1710 Committee appointed - January 1999
1st Meeting - February 1999
Adopted - May 2001
NFPA Standards 1710 & 1720(2001)
Deployment Standards
Standard 1710 - Career Fire Departments
Standard 1720 - Volunteer Fire Departments
A Philosophical Question
Compartment fires, do they differ when the structure protected is served
by career or volunteers?
If not, why two standards?If not, why two standards?
Fire Department Response Times
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
• At which point does a fire in a structure become deadly?
• What would it take for the fire department to respond and intervene prior to that point?
1st Research Question
• At which point does a fire in a structure become deadly?
James Milke (1984)
“Flashover is considered the point of transition from a ‘small’ fire to a ‘large’ fire involving all
objects in the room. Once a fully developed room fire exists, life safety for occupants within life safety for occupants within that room is no longer of concern because the that room is no longer of concern because the room is obviously untenable after flashoverroom is obviously untenable after flashover.”.”
Richard Bukowski & Richard Peacock (1995)
“The occurrence of flashover within a room is of considerable interest…it is perhaps the ultimate
signal of untenable conditions within the room of origin as well as a sign of greatly increased risk to
other rooms within the building.”
T.T. Lie (1997)
“Thus the time interval between the start of the fire and the occurrence of flashover is a major factor in the time that is available for safe evacuation of
the fire area.”
John Hall (1998)
“The majority of people killed in home fires (51.5%) are killed in a room other than the
room of origin by a fire that spreads beyond the room of origin, which suggests flashover
in the room of origin.”
Victim Location1994-1998
Intimate w/ignitionIn Room of OriginNot in Room of OriginNot classified
WHAT IS “FLASHOVER?”
A stage in the development of a contained fire in which all exposed surfaces reach ignition
temperatures more or less simultaneously and fire spreads rapidly throughout the space.
NFPA 555 (1996)
Richard Custer (1997)
• Triggering conditions for flashover– temperature of upper gas layer of 600C– radiant flux of 20kW/meter2
How long to flashover?
National Bureau of Standards (1980)
• < 4 minutes– heavy flame pouring our the full height of
doorway
• 6 minutes– average gas temperature at 700C
National Bureau of Standards (2001)
• 2 minutes 12 seconds– living room flashes over
Fire Power (1986)
first flame to flashover took only
3 minutes 41 seconds
Fire:Countdown to Disaster
first flame to flashover took only
2 minutes 12 seconds
Institute for Research in Construction
Fire Evaluation and Risk Assessment System
Modeled restaurant kitchen fire
flashover occurred in
4 minutes 30 seconds
Flashover Time (average)
• 4.3 minutes
• It is interesting to note, that the for the purpose of NFPA Standard 1710, the committee used the standard time-temperature curve, as it relates to flashover, as the basis for fire department response times..
2nd Research Question
• What would it take for the fire department to respond and intervene prior to flashover?
Fire Department Response Time(Traditional)
(Total)
• ignition and pre-burn
• smoke detector activates and sends alarm
• alarm arrives to central station & is processed to dispatch center
• dispatch center processes alarm
• dispatch
• turn-out time
• travel time
• set-up time
Alarm to central station & transferred to dispatch
• 15 seconds to arrive
• 30 seconds to process
• TOTAL - 45 seconds
Dispatch Time (average)
• 56 seconds
Turn-Out Time (average)
• leaving the fire station– staffed - 57 seconds– unstaffed -184 seconds
• NFPA 1710 allows 60 seconds for turn-out
Travel Time
• from fire station to arrival at fire scene
• NFPA 1710 defines this as response time– from time apparatus clears the station to arrival on
scene• 4 minutes for 1st unit
• 8 minutes for balance of 1st alarm
Set-Up Time
• arrival at fire scene
• disembark apparatus
• pull hoseload from apparatus to front door
• charge hoseline
• don SCBA masks
• advanced hoseline into the building
• apply water
Set-Up Time (average)
• 98 seconds
Compare
• average time to flashover - 4.3 minutes
• average FD response time – not including detection time– not including travel time
• staffed 4.2 minutes
• unstaffed 6.3 minutes
Fire Dept. vs. FlashoverTime in Seconds
Does NOT include travel time
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Ignition Smoke Detector Processing Flashover Staffed Unstaffed
Fire Dept. vs. FlashoverTime in Seconds
allows 240 seconds for travel time
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Ignition Smoke Detector Processing Flashover
Staffed Turnout Unstaffed Turnout Staffed Travel Unstaffed Travel
Staffed Set-Up Unstaffed Set-Up
Compare
• average time to flashover - 4.3 minutes
• NFPA standard response time – 30 seconds to answer the call (NFPA 1221NFPA 1221)– 60 seconds to dispatch the call (NFPA 1221NFPA 1221)– 60 seconds to hit the street (NFPA 1710NFPA 1710)– 240 seconds to travel to the scene (NFPA 1710NFPA 1710)
• TOTAL 6.5 minutes
Conclusion(s)
• We can’t beat flashover
• Alternatives– non-combustible construction - possibly– non-combustible furnishings -unlikely– non-combustible contents - nearly impossible
The Long-Term Answer?
The widespread use of fixed protection (read sprinklers) in all new construction, with an emphasis on residential occupancies, including
single-family dwellings.
With whom do we work to solve the problem?
• International City Managers Association
• National Fire Protection Association
• International Code Council• Elected Officials
Associations• Building Officials
Associations• Insurance Service Office
Upper Merion’s Modifications to the Model Building Codes
International Building Code Modifications
• Section 903 (as modified) requires sprinklers in all use groups if over 2,000 square feet in area or 35 feet in height– Exception: open parking structures
• originally adopted in 1987originally adopted in 1987
International Residential Code Modifications
• Section 317 (as modified) requires an automatic sprinkler system to be installed in all new One and Two Family Dwellings
• originally adopted in 1988originally adopted in 1988
John R. Waters, CFPS
Executive Fire Officer
Chief Fire MarshalDirector of Safety and Codes Enforcement
175 W. Valley Forge Road
King of Prussia, PA 19406
610-205-8513