A Manual for Fire Commanders, Fire Design Engineers, Architects, Students and Building Regulators. 6,701 BUILDING FIRES Survive in the Flow-path Euro Firefighter 2 Firefighting Tactics and Fire Engineer’s Handbook Paul Grimwood PhD, FIFireE Kent Fire and Rescue Service Published by D&M Heritage Press Unit 7, Park Valley Meltham Road Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD4 7BH www.dandmheritage.co.uk www.firebookshop.co.uk First published 2017 Text and images © Paul Grimwood, unless otherwise attributed The moral right of Paul Grimwood to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-911148-10-4 (paperback) ISBN: 978-1-911148-12-8 (hardback) Contents Foreword by Battalion Commander Jerry Tracy FDNY (retired) i The Author iii Acknowledgements vi Introduction viii European to USA Conversion Factors xvii Chapter 1 Firefighting – Knowledge Gaps 1 1.1 Common Design Approaches in the USA 2 1.2 Common Design Approaches in the UK and Europe 3 1.3 Knowledge Gaps that exist 4 1.4 Research by NIST, USA 5 • Coordinating Tactical Ventilation with Fire Attack 6 • Transitional Attack 6 • Positive Pressure Ventilation (PPV) 7 • Wind driven Fires and Ventilation Flow-paths 9 • NIST Lessons learned 10 • ‘Smart Firefighting’ Project (Future and ongoing 10 Research by NIST) 1.5 Research by UL, USA 11 • Firefighter exposure to Smoke Particulates wearing 11 PPE (Contaminants) • The Performance of Engineered Floor Systems in 14 Domestic Dwellings • UL Study of the effectiveness of the Fire Service Positive 15 Pressure Ventilation during Fire Attack in Single Family Homes incorporating modern Construction Practices 1.6 Hazards that should be considered when using PPA 22 1.7 20 key tactical considerations from UL Research 23 1.8 Negative Pressure Attack (NPA) Flow-path control 24 1.9 RECEO-REVAS-RICE and SLICERS 26 1.10 Staffing issues and limited crewing arrangements 30 • Firefighting or Search and Rescue first? 30 • Tactical Objectives 31 • Search and Rescue 33 1.11 Equipment trends 34 1.12 Corridor Fires 34 Chapter 2 The Building – what the Firefighter needs to know 36 2.1 Firefighting Access and Facilities (UK Fire Codes) 36 • Firefighting Access 36 • Firefighting Shaft 37 • Firefighting Lift 38 • Firefighting Stairs 46 • Rising Fire Mains (Standpipes) 47 2.2 Smoke Control to assist Firefighting 47 • System Categories 47 • System Types 48 • System Configurations 48 • Possible impacts on Fire Behaviour 49 2.3 Horizontal Fire Mains 50 2.4 Identifying Residential Construction Types 52 • Traditional Construction 52 • Non-traditional Construction 52 • Modern methods of Construction 52 2.5 Behaviour of Materials and general Structural Forms in Fire 53 2.6 Lightweight Construction 62 • Lightweight timber Frame 62 • Lightweight steel modular Construction 63 • Firefighting Tactics in lightweight Construction 66 2.7 Heavyweight engineered Wood Products (EWPs) 67 • Structural timber composites (STC) 67 2.8 Fire Dynamics in EWP mass timber Buildings 73 2.9 Recent Research into the Fire performance of 77 CLT timber Walls and Floors • Fire Resistance 79 • 18-storey EWP High-rise in Canada 2016 79 2.10 Encapsulation of mass timber with 84 Gypsum – how effective? • Fire Resistance 84 Chapter 3 Practical Fire Dynamics & extreme Fire Behaviour 87 3.1 Fuel-controlled Fire 88 3.2 Ventilation-controlled fire 89 3.3 Under-ventilated fire 89 3.4 Fire Load 89 3.5 The Heat Profile 90 3.6 Heat, Temperature and Heat flux 90 3.7 Fire Growth-rate (time to Flashover) 91 3.8 Fire Spread-rate (time taken for Fire to travel vertically or horizontally) 91 3.9 Smoke layer ‘rate of drop’ 92 • The Hot Gas Layer and Neutral Plane 92 3.10 Heat Release-rate (HRR) (Fire intensity) 95 3.11 Energy and Power (Fire intensity) 95 3.12 Tactical actions (control measures) by Firefighters 96 3.13 ‘Adequate’ Firefighting Water 97 3.14 Ventilation Profile 99 3.15 Compressed Air Foam (CAF) 100 3.16 A changing Environment may require new Tactics 102 3.17 Design Fire Loads (Fire Engineering) and ‘Design Fires’ 102 • The impact of including ‘Permanent Fire Load’ 106 in Total Fire Load Calculations 3.18 Travelling Fires in large open-plan Compartments 107 • Time Temperature curves 108 3.19 Do modern Compartment Fires burn ‘faster’ and ‘hotter’? 111 • Maximum HRR as a function of available Oxygen 111 • The role of Thermal inertia 112 • The six main Parameters that have the greatest 115 impact on Compartment Fire intensity • Thermal runaway 118 3.20 Phase change Materials (PCMs) 119 3.21 Extreme Fire Behaviour 120 • Flashover 121 • Backdraft 121 • Fire Gas Ignitions (FGIs) 122 • The differences between a Backdraft and a 124 Smoke Explosion 3.22 Flashover or Backdraft – can one follow the other? 127 3.23 The Kings Cross Underground Railway Fire 130 – London 1987 Chapter 4 The ‘House Fire’ 133 4.1 ‘Go in together – come out together’ 133 4.2 Working in Smoke 134 4.3 The Risk Profile of a House Fire 135 4.4 Changing Levels 135 Chapter 5 The ‘Apartment (Flat) Fire’ 136 5.1 RICE (Rescue – Intervention – Containment – Evacuation) 136 5.2 Smoke Blocker – Door Control Curtain 137 5.3 NHBC Foundation Fire Research 137 • The Fire Performance of new lightweight steel and 141 timber-framed residential Buildings 5.4 Stair-shaft fires 142 • Un-vented Stair-shaft Fire 142 5.5 Corridor fires 142 Chapter 6 The ‘Office Fire’ 145 6.1 Office Fire (CCAB) Chicago 2004 146 Chapter 7 The Town Centre ‘Shop Fire’ 151 7.1 The Town Centre Shop Problem 151 7.2 Firefighting Tactics at Town Centre Shop Fires 151 Chapter 8 The ‘Warehouse or Industrial Unit Fire’ 153 8.1 Sprinkler experience in US Warehouses 154 8.2 The Life Safety Issue 155 8.3 Removal of Sprinklers (Fire Engineer’s Table-top Exercise) 155 • The Firefighter’s Perspective 161 8.4 Firefighting Operations in large Industrial 164 Buildings and warehouses • The most hazardous Environment 164 • Structural Stability and interior Fire Service Operations 164 • Firefighting Access 165 • Firefighting Water 166 • Firefighting Deployments 166 • Firefighter Tenability 166 • Firefighter Physiology 166 • Crew relief Cycles 166 • Crew briefing and debriefing 168 • National guidance on the deployment 168 of Firefighters wearing BA • 2014 guidance provided by the Fire Brigades Union for extended relief Firefighting Operations 168 • Research into Firefighter Body Core Temperatures 169 Chapter 9 The ‘Car Park Fire’ 172 9.1 Car Park Fire Statistics (UK) 173 9.2 Ventilation of Underground Car Parks 174 • Design for Ventilation by Code – BS 7346 175 • Clause 9 Systems: impulse Ventilation to achieve Smoke Clearance (Post-fire) 175 • Clause 10 systems: impulse Ventilation to assist Firefighting Access (during Firefighting) 175 • Clause 11 systems: impulse Ventilation to protect means of escape) 176 9.3 Sprinklers in Underground Car Parks 176 • Some of the findings of the BRE Research on Fire Spread in Car Parks 176 Chapter 10 The ‘High-rise Fire’ 178 10.1 Report by Fire Officer Karel Lambert (Brussels Fire Service – Belgium) 179 10.2 Rising Fire Mains (wet and dry Pipes) – Design Specifications 179 10.3 Nozzle reaction force 182 10.4 BDAG research 2004 – minimum K-Factor 184 Nozzle requirements • 51mm Hose – optimised for High-rise Firefighting 186 10.5 Telstar House Office Fire – London 2003 188 10.6 Hose-line and Nozzle configuration for High-rise 188 Chapter 11 Compartment Fire Behaviour Training (CFBT) 191 11.1 Andy Fredericks FDNY Squad 18 New York City 192 11.2 Little Drops of Water – Lloyd Layman – Royer/Nelson – UK FRS 194 11.3 Fire Brigade Intervention Model (FBIM) 197 Australia-New Zealand 11.4 London, October 1984 199 11.5 The first use of Swedish Water-fog Tactics in the UK 200 11.6 A Decade of Fire-ground experience using Swedish Water-fog Tactics 201 11.7 ‘100 Fires’ in London 1989 202 11.8 The Catalyst for Tactical Changes in the UK – February 1996 205 11.9 Is the Knowledge Gap met by Fire Behaviour Training 208 being effectively transferred onto the Fire-ground in its current Format? 11.10 Analysis of 3D Water-fog’s Gas and Flame cooling capabilities 210 11.11 Leeds University (UK) Research into 3D Water-fog Tactics 212 11.12 Thermal Classes 217 • The accuracy of ‘Thermal Classes’ and Temperature 218 monitoring against Firefighter Thermal Exposures in live Fire Training Scenarios • Firefighter Tenability – Personal Alarms 221 11.13 Knowledge Gaps in Training and Tactics 221 • Communication 221 • Tactical Ventilation and Flow-path Control 221 • Strategic Placement of Hose-lines 222 • Door Entry Procedures 222 • Advancing the right Nozzle – using the right 223 Techniques – for the Job at Hand • Fire Behaviour in ‘Big-box’ Buildings 224 • Limited Staffing on-scene and the impact 224 on Tactical decision-making 11.4 Recent Research from Sweden into Gas cooling 225 11.5 The efficiency of Gas cooling in Compartments with high Ceilings 227 Chapter 12 Adequate ‘Firefighting Water’ – you need this! 228 12.1 There were 5,401 Building Fires – 230 resulting in guidance in BS PD 7974-5-2014 12.2 How much Water is ‘adequate’ for tackling Building Fires? 233 12.3 The theory of Fire suppression using Water 239 Cooling Ratios • Paul Grimwood’s Research 245 (based on 5,401 ‘working’ Building fires 2009–2012) 12.4 The amount of Firefighting Water used by Firefighters 249 12.5 Building Fire damage and Firefighting Water Flow-rate – the Link 251 12.6 Other most recent Research into Firefighting 254 Water Flow-rates • Fire Protection