FSRI Releases Fire Service Summary Report on PPA-PPV

The fire service summary report for the “Study of the Effectiveness of Fire Service Positive Pressure Ventilation During Fire Attack in Single Family Homes Incorporating Modern Construction Practices” is now available. This work was performed by UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) as part of a research study funded by the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. 

The full scientific report provides the fire service scientific data to further understand a tool and tactic that has been in use for over 30 years. It includes an outline of the entire project, a detailed description of the results from the two compartment burns, 24 cold flow experiments, 25 full scale fire experiments and two smoke exhaust experiments along with the tactical considerations. The tactical considerations, developed by the project technical panel, provide concepts to enhance the understanding of how positive pressure attack and positive pressure ventilation affect the fire dynamics in a residential structure. The accompanying fire service summary report provides a condensed overview of the project along with all of the same tactical considerations found in the full scientific report. 

This work would not have been possible without the support and dedication of the project technical panel. The 24-member panel guided FSRI through each step of the project. Their tireless work is what makes this research applicable to fire service members world-wide.

Abstract

There is a continued tragic loss of firefighter and civilian lives, as shown by fire statistics. One significant contributing factor is the lack of understanding of fire behavior in residential structures resulting from the use of ventilation as a firefighter practice on the fire ground. The changing dynamics of residential fires as a result of the changes in home construction materials, contents, size and geometry over the past 30 years compounds our lack of understanding of the effects of ventilation on fire behavior. Positive Pressure Ventilation (PPV) fans were introduced as a technology to increase firefighter safety by controlling the ventilation. However, adequate scientific data is not available for PPV to be used without increasing the risk to firefighters.

This fire research report details the experimental data from cold flow experiments, fuel load characterization experiments and full scale fire experiments. During the project it was identified that the positive pressure attack (PPA) and positive pressure ventilation (PPV) were often used interchangeably. For the purpose of this report they have been defined as PPA for when the fan is utilized prior to fire control and PPV for when the fan is used post fire control. The information from the full scale tests was reviewed with assistance from our technical panel of fire service experts to develop tactical considerations for the use of PPV fans in residential single family structures.

Research Project: Effectiveness of Fire Service Positive Pressure Ventilation
Report Title: Fire Service Summary Report: Study of the Effectiveness of Fire Service Positive Pressure Ventilation During Fire Attack in Single Family Homes Incorporating Modern Construction Practices
Report Authors: Robin Zevotek and Steve Kerber
Download the Report: https://dx.doi.org/10.54206/102376/NCCK4947
Release Date: May 4, 2016