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

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1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

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5,000

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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

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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

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Ignition Smoke Detector Processing Flashover Staffed Unstaffed

Fire Dept. vs. FlashoverTime in Seconds

allows 240 seconds for travel time

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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

jwaters@umtownship.org