© 2011 Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
Smoke Alarm Response and Tenability in Residential
Buildings
VISION 20/20 March 27, 2014
Towson, MD
Tom Fabian Corporate Research
UL LLC
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2010 DHS AFG Project
Increase firefighter knowledge and in turn safety by providing credible scientific information developed from full-scale fire testing in realistic single family homes.
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Room Furnishings
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Instrumentation
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• Smoke alarms • Smoke concentration • Temperature • CO & CO2 concentration
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Instrumentation (Post-fire)
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Fire scenarios
Scenario Structure Origin
Nuisance alarm – toaster 1 & 2 story Kitchen
Cooking fire – toaster 1 & 2 story Kitchen
Cooking fire – bacon 1 & 2 story Kitchen
Cooking fire – cabinet spread 1 & 2 story Kitchen
Smoldering upholstered furniture (central location) 1 & 2 story Living room, Family room
Smoldering upholstered furniture (remote location) 2 story Den
Flaming upholstered furniture (central location) 1 & 2 story Living room, Family room
Flaming upholstered furniture (remote location) 2 story Den
Smoldering bedding 1 & 2 story Bedroom
Flaming bedding 1 & 2 story Bedroom
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Cooking Scenarios BREAD AND BACON
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Alarm Response to Burning Bread 1 STORY VS. 2 STORY
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Alarm Response to Cooking Bacon 1 STORY VS. 2 STORY
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Last alarm activated >500 s before transition
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Cooking Fire Findings
• Ion-based alarms responded sooner than photo-based alarms
• Detection technology appears to be more impactful than increasing alarm distance from 11 to 19 ft away from cooking appliances
• Even the slowest alarm to activate was well before flaming transition (> 500 s)
Ø Bacon cooking smells really good; burning bacon smells awful!
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Flaming Fire
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obscuration
alarms
ignition
ignition
ignition
EXIT IR camera
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Flaming Fire
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P-I alarm activation
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Flaming Fire
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I alarm activation (P-I + 5 s)
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Flaming Fire
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I-CO alarm activation (P-I + 10 s)
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Flaming Fire
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Adv I alarm activation (P-I + 75 s)
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Flaming Fire
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P, P-CO alarm activation (P-I + 138 s)
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Flaming Fire
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0.25 OD/m @ 5 ft (P-I + 175 s)
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Flaming Fire
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120 °C @ 5 ft (P-I + 360 s)
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Flaming Fire
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Termination
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Flaming Chair Fire
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Egress threat: Smoke Temp Gases
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Smoldering Fire
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obscuration
alarms
heat
heat
heat
EXIT
EXIT
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Smoldering Fire
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Smoldering Fire
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Smoke stratification
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Smoldering Fire
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P-CO alarm activation
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Smoldering Fire
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P-I alarm (P-CO + 6 s)
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Smoldering Fire
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P alarm (P-CO + 327 s)
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Smoldering Fire
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Forced transition
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Smoldering Fire
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I-CO alarm (transition + 55 s)
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Smoldering Fire
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I alarm (transition + 64 s)
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Smoldering Fire
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Adv I alarm (transition + 84 s)
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Smoldering Sofa Fire
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P-C
O a
ctiv
ates
Forc
ed T
rans
ition
Egress threat: Gases Smoke & Temp
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Smoke Alarm Findings
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Hazardous conditions are reached sooner and more prevalent in flaming fire scenarios than smoldering fire scenarios Alarm activation was slower in larger houses, particularly for remote fires
Closing bedroom doors retarded alarm activation by: • 75-150 seconds for fires in adjacent areas • >600 seconds for fires in remote areas
Newest codes (multiple interconnected alarms) provide significantly earlier warning (12 vs. 224 seconds)
Interconnected alarms don’t have these notification delays
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Smoke Alarm Findings
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Ion alarms activated earlier than photo alarms in flaming fires: • ~ 65 seconds for contemporary furniture • 220 seconds for cellulose (legacy) furniture • 190 seconds for remote rooms
Photo alarms activated earlier than ion alarms in smoldering fires: • ~ 44 minutes in room of origin • Tended to operate earlier in remote rooms
Unintelligent alarms pairing smoke detection with CO performed similarly to respective conventional alarms
in room of origin
Time lines for escape are seconds to minutes
Time lines for escape are tens of minutes
If a tree falls in the woods…
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Sound Level Measurement
Maximum RMS value, fast response, A-weighting
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Sound Levels in 1 Story Test Structure
I 64 56
P 64 49
C 61 52
Welcome
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I 71 45
P 70 47
C 71 43
I 68 56
P 63 55
C 69 56
Ambient level is 40-42 dBA
Open door Closed door
I 87 P 81 C 90
I 87 94 P 81 89 C 90 96
Alarm clock 62 TV @ 10 ft 73 Stereo 80
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Sound Levels in 2 Story Test Structure
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Welcome
I 62 P 62 C 65
I 75 P 68 C 75
I 89 P 83 C 87 I 77
P 74 C 76
I 53 P 56 C 57
I 60 48 P 59 54 C 55 49
I 60 42 P 56 43 C 61 44
Open door Closed door
Alarm clock 62 TV @ 10 ft 73 Stereo 80
Ambient level is 40-42 dBA
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Overall Conclusions
1. Ion alarms respond faster to flaming fires; Photo alarms to smoldering fires 2. In general current smoke alarm technologies provide critical time to escape IF:
• Multiple alarms • Alarms are located per NFPA 72 • Alarms are interconnected
3. Nuisance alarm activations due to cooking can be reduced by:
• Moving alarms further away from the cooking appliances • Using Photo alarm
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and they are maintained
The Near and Not-So Distant Future…
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1) UL 217/268 STP New Fire Test Task Group
GOAL: Increase available egress time for non-specific fires by expanding alarm responsiveness to other smoke signatures by expanding the range of smoke colors and particle sizes currently represented by UL 217 test materials.
⇒ Develop new flaming and smoldering polyurethane (PU) foam fire tests to compliment existing UL 217 and 268 tests.
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1) UL 217/268 STP New Fire Test Task Group WHY POLYURETHANE FOAM?
From the UL-FPRF Smoke Characterization Project:
• Fast ignition
• Generate greater heat and smoke release rates than natural materials
• Generate smaller sized particles than most UL 217 test materials
• Produce accumulated smoke comprised of smaller particles than for the UL 217 test materials
• Produce darker color smoke than UL 217 newspaper or wood
Prevalence in residences (mattresses, upholstered furniture, etc.)
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1) UL 217/268 STP New Fire Test Task Group UL 217/268 & FOAM SMOKE SIGNATURES
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Flammable Liquid
Flaming Wood
Flaming Paper
Smoldering Foam
Smoldering Wood
Flaming Foam
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1) UL 217/268 STP New Fire Test Task Group NEW UL 217/268 FOAM FIRE TESTS
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Flaming test Smoldering test
⇒ Small, dark particles ⇒ Large, light particles
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2) Multi-Sensor Approach to Detecting Fire
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Light
Smoke
Gases H2O, CO2, CO, Hydrocarbons,
HCN, HCl
Heat
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2) Multi-Sensor Approach to Detecting Fire HOW MULTI-SENSOR/CRITERIA WOULD OPERATE
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Modified image from Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Smoke
Gases
Heat
(where Xʹ′ = rate of change)
Intelligent Algorithm
T Tʹ′ Ion
Ionʹ′ PE
PEʹ′ CO
COʹ′ CO2
HCsʹ′ HCs
CO2ʹ′
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2) Multi-Sensor Approach to Detecting Fire MULTI-SENSOR SIGNALS
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UL-FPRF Smoke Characterization Project
Plots courtesy of ORNL
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Future Trends
1. Yesterday’s conventional alarms will be challenged by the new tests.
2. Smoke detectors and alarms will (are) become more sophisticated using multiple sensors, technologies, and intelligent algorithms.
• Multiple wavelengths of light (IR, green, blue)
• Multiple angle scattering
• Smoke + gas + heat
3. Interconnected is here to stay.
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