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Research on fire toxicity undertaken by the Fire Research Section of the National Research Council of Canada is presented. Work to date has been directed towards quantitative analysis of decomposition products and subsequent assessment of toxicity. The fire toxicity concept proposed by the authors provides indications of the relative importance of toxic species produced from a given material, and the propensity of materials for generating toxic decomposition products., Reprinted from: Fire Retardants, Proceedings of 1976 International Symposium on Flammability and Fire Retardants, p. 241-248., Proceedings of the International Symposium on Flammability and Fire Retardants: 06 May 1976, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Flammability and Fire Retardants: 18 May 1978, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Many of the nitrogen containing polymers produce HCN when involved in fires. Various methods of HCN determination in fire gases are reviewed. The methods discussed are colorimetric tubes, specific ion electrode, wet chemical analysis and gas chromatography. Two common problems in HCN determination are concentration decrease by absorption and interferring reactions. Authors recommend that at least two different methods be employed in order to avoid errors caused by interference and absorption., Reprinted from: Journal of Combustion Toxicology, v. 3, November 1976, p. 363-370. ISSN: 0362-1669

The fire risk posed by soft furnishings such as bedding materials and upholstered furniture and the strategies being developed to reduce the number of fire-related casualties are reviewed from a Canadian point of view. Statistics from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom indicate that a substantial reduction in the number of fire deaths would be possible if the ability of assemblies of materials to resist ignition by smokers' materials, such as cigarettes and matches, could be improved. The post- ignition performance of furnishings that results in generation of heat, smoke and toxic gases is also important from a safety point of view. A need exists for both full- scale and small-scale fire tests, and for mathematical modelling for present and future control strategies., Reprinted from: Fire and Materials, v. 6, no. 1, 1982, p. 16-22. ISSN: 0308-0501. DOI: 10.1002/fam.810060106

Toxic gases and vapours produced by combustion are responsible for the majority of deaths at building fires. For this reason fire authorities would like to consider regulations to restrict use of materials that produce large amounts of smoke and toxic gases. The present state of knowledge of toxic combustion products is probably not sufficient to guide the designer in his choice of combustible materials to be used in buildings. This Digest was prepared to keep him abreast of the problem and the efforts that are being made in this field.

Dry chemical extinguishers have been increasingly used in the past twenty years for protection against flammable liquid fires. As the portable dry chenical extinguishers proved to be very effective in dealing with small spill fires, the possibility of developing large-scale equipment was considered. This development was mainly directed toward use against aircraft crash fires. One obvious disadvantage of dry powder is its inability to prevent reignition of the fuel. In order to overcome this problem the combined use of dry powder and protein foam has been widely adopted., Reprinted from: Fire International, v. 2, no. 14, October 1966, p. 32-41. ISSN: 0015-2609

An investigation directed toward the development of a small-scale fire extinguishment test to assess the performance potential of mechanical foam over a wide range of characteristics was described in a previous report. The purpose of the present study was to investigate further the potentialities of the new fire test.

A fire test using a 2ft. by 2ft. tank has been developed for assessing the potential extinguishing effectiveness of foam. The test developed represents conditions often encountered in the extinguishment by foam of a flammable liquid fire. The adjustable foam generator permits study of the foam parameters on extinguishing effectiveness. The radiometer used for determining control time reduces inconsistencies resulting from visual observation and observer's judgement. The use of a small tank permits tests to be conducted indoors on a year-round basis and relatively inexpensively. The 2ft. by 2ft. test appears to be as adequate as a 10ft. by 10ft. test as a means for assessing the effectiveness of foam. The reproductibility of results was slightly better for the 2ft. by 2ft. test than for the 10ft. by 10ft. test.

This report describes work carried out to assist the Fire Marshal's Branch, Construction Engineering Directorate, R.C.A.F., in the evaluation of chemical foam extinguishers. It is included in the regular report series of the Division, but with the identity of the proprietary products concealed by coding, so that the description of the methods used may be made available to others. The chief characteristic to be evaluated was the ability of the foam to adhere to the inclined metal surfaces of certain parts of aircraft for protection when applied during hangar fires.

The present report deals with studies to determine suitable experimental conditions for extinguishment of 2- by 2-ft flammable liquid fires

The Inspection Services of the Department of National Defence requested the National Research Council to conduct studies directed toward the development of a performance test to ensure a certain degree of foam compatibility of dry chemical extinguishing powder for future procurements. A test method devised in compliance with this request and a limited number of experimental results are given in this report.

Fatal fires are often attributed to smoking in bed, and it is found in some cases that the only material consumed is the victim's bedding. The mode of burning of cotton wadding in mattresses ignited in this way is unusual: there is no flame or glow, but heat and smoke are released. In a series of experiments with varying degrees of ventilation, the products of combustion were measured and the temperature recorded. On the basis of published information on toxicity, estimates were made of the duration of human survival in each case; this is found to be of the order of one hour either in a sealed room or one where the door is opened 2 in. Some simple passive defence measures against this type of fire were tested and found effective., Les morts au cours des incendies sont souvent causées par l' habitude de fumer au lit, et on découvre parfois que seule la literie a brûlé. La combustion du capitonnage de coton allumé ainsi se déroule de facon inhabituelle. Il ne se produit ni flamme ni incandescence, mais de la chaleur et de la fumée. Les auteurs ont réalisé une série d'expériences dans différentes conditions de ventilation, et ont mesuré les quantités de produits de combustion et les tempé ratures. Ils ont établi des estimations de la durée de survie de l'occupant du lit dans chaque cas, en se fondant sur les données de toxicité publiées; cette durée atteint une heure dans une pièce close ou dans une pièce dont la porte est entr'ouverte de 2 pouces. Les auteurs ont essayé quelques méthodes simples de défense préventive contre ce danger, et ils les ont trouvé efficaces., Reprinted from: Proceedings, Second Annual Meeting of the Information Council on Fabric Flammability, held in New York City, December 1968, p. 204-229., Réimprimé de : Proceedings, Second Annual Meeting of the Information Council on Fabric Flammability, held in New York City, December 1968, p. 204-229., Proceedings, 2nd Annual Meeting of the Information Council on Fabric Flammability: 1968-12, New York, NY, USA

The author describes a method developed to determine the effectiveness of various high expansion foaming agents based on the rate of foam production and film stability. Three foaming agents were studied in detail. The parameters governing the foam production, such as the nature and concentration of the foaming agents were investigated as a basis for the design of a foam generator., L'auteur a mis au point un essai de détermination de l'efficience des agents producteurs de mousse se basant sur les critères de rapidité de formation de la mousse et de son taux d'affaissement. Il a entrepris des études en vue d'élaborer des agents actifs. Il a utilisé un matériel de type habituel pour l'étude des paramètres régissant la production de mousse, tels la nature de l'agent, la forme et les matériaux constitutifs du réseau formateur., DIE Erzeugung grosser Mengen von stark blahendem Schaum wurde vor etwa 10 Jahren als eine neue Methode zur Grubenbrandbekampfungl eingefiihrt. Feuer in Untertagestrecken sind mit konventionellen Feuerbekampfungsmethoden oft schwer zuganglich und zu bekampfen, da die Entfernungen vom Anfang der Strecke bis zum Brandherd oft betrachtlich sind und die Entfernung, aus der mit Wasserstrahlen gearbeitet werden kann, durch die geringe Firstenhohe begrenzt ist. Experimente die von der Forschungsanstalt fur Grubensicherheit in Grossbritamien und dem US Bureau of Mines1-3 durchgefiihrt wurden, haben gezeigt, dass Schaum schnell in grossen Mengen hergestellt werden kann, leicht durch Schachte oder Strecken transportiert werden und verfiillt werden kann. Dabei sind nur verhaltnismassig geringe Druckunterschiede erforderlich, um ein Feuer in betrachtlicher Entfernung unter Kontrolle zu bringen oder auszuloschen. In der letzten Zeit sind stark blahende Schaume zur Bekampfung von Hausbranden in Erwagung gezogen worden. Da die Mehrzahl der Hausbrande in stadtischen Gebieten, besonders in Kleinstadten, wirkungsvoll durch konventionelle Liischmethoden bekampft werden konnen, scheint der Einsatz von stark blahendem Schaum bei grossen schwierigen Feuern eine bessere Chance zu bieten. Die Feuenvehrmamer sehen sich grossen Schwierigkeiten gegeniiber, wenn grosse Rauchmengen entwickelt werden. Mangelnde Sicht hindert sie oft daran, den Sitz des Feuers auszumachen und das Wasser direkt auf den Brandherd zu richten. Unter derart ungiinstigen Umstanden kann stark blahender Schaum verwendet werden, um von der Aussenseite des Gebaudes unzugangliche Feuer zu bekampfen. Schaum mit einem Blahverhaltnis von 500 : l bis zu 1000 : 1 kann leicht in solchen Mengen und in solcher Zeit hergestellt werden, dass Teile eines Gebaudes oder selbst ganze Gebaude in verhaltnismassig kurzer Zeit gefiillt werden konnen. Die Abteilung fur Bauforschung im Forschungsrat interessiert sic11 fur die Moglichkeit stark blahende Schaume zur Brandbekampfung in Gebauden zu venvenden. Es wurde daher eine Untersuchung iiber den effektvollen Einsatz dieser Mittel bei Hausbranden unternommen. Es wurden Laborversuche zur Entwicklung geeigneter Schaummittel vorgenommen. Ausserdem wurden Studien unter Venvendung von Geraten wie sie bei anderen Methoden venvendet werden durchgefiihrt, urn verschiedene Werte bei der Schaumherstellung zu untersuchen., Reprinted from: Fire International, v. 2, no. 16, April 1967, p. 46-56. ISSN: 0015-2609, Réimprimé de : Fire International, v. 2, no. 16, April 1967, p. 46-56. ISSN: 0015-2609

The Fire Research Section of the Division of Building Research in 1959 began studies of the use of retardants and suppressants for forest fire control. The range of possible studies is broad. Those made to date and now reported have been largely exploratory, involving consideration of the general problem, examination of laboratory evaluation procedures and investigation of one type of retardant.