Attic Fire Experiments Visitor Days
As part of the 2011 DHS Grant looking at Residential Attic Fire Mitigation Tactics and Exterior Fire Spread Hazards on Fire Fighter Safety, the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes invited visitors to witness full-scale attic fire tests this month in UL’s large-scale fire test laboratory in Northbrook, IL. A total of four attics, each 36’ long, 30’ wide and 8’ tall, with an 8’ space were constructed inside the lab.
The structures were Type V construction with a plywood roof deck. The attic was separated from the space below by 6” lay-in fiberglass insulation, providing thermal separation, and a finished gypsum wall board ceiling. Gabel, eave and ridge vents provided ventilation to the space and were utilized in testing the various attic fire mitigation tactics. Each attic was burned twice to test a total of eight different attic fire tactics. The attics and space below were instrumented for temperature, pressure, and airflow through vents, along with conventional and infrared video. Input from the project technical panel was sought for the tactics and conditions to be tested.
Tests were conducted in two sets, the first four on Monday November 18th and Tuesday November 19th, followed by the second four on Monday November 25th and Tuesday November 26th.
