Hosting PPA-PPV Testing Visitor Day in Northbrook, IL

As part of the 2012 DHS Grant looking at positive pressure ventilation in residential structures, UL Research Institutes' Fire Safety Research Institute conducted full-scale fire tests during the month of January. A total of 24 experiments were constructed in the large-scale fire test lab in Northbrook, IL. Test setups configured as a single-story ranch home (1200 sq. ft.) and a two-story colonial (3200 sq. ft.) were used to fully understand the science between positive pressure ventilation and attack. Each structure was outfitted with over 150 sensors to collect data on temperature, heat flux, gas concentration, and velocity through openings. As designed by our fire service technical panel, the experiment's results will answer questions about when positive pressure attack is effective.

At the Fire Safety Research Institute, we strive to open the research process and invite the fire service to be part of it. To continue this tradition, we invited members of the fire service to attend a Visitor Day to witness two of our experiments first-hand. Visitors were given an opportunity to tour the test houses before the experiments began, including an explanation of all instrumentation. Through the observation room on the second floor of UL’s fire lab in Northbrook, IL, visitors were able to see the full experiment in action from a safe location. Once the smoke cleared and it was safe to do so, visitors were welcomed back into the lab to discuss what they had just seen. In addition to seeing the research in person, visitors could network with the project technical panel and our advisory board members, and share best practices from around the world.