Abstracts EDITOR'S NOTE: F o r information on how to set up your own a b s t r a c t file and information retrieval s y s t e m incorporating a b s t r a c t s from FI~E TECHSOLOGY and other sources, see the article, " I n f o r m a t i o n R e t r i e v a l - Three Practical M e t h o d s , " on page 69 of the F e b r u a r y 1965 issue. I n clipping these a b s t r a c t s for mounting on file cards, the reverse side of each page should be photocopied to r e t a i n the a b s t r a c t s a p p e a r i n g thereon.

KEY WORDS: carbon dioxide extinguishing systems, hydraulic computations, computers. ABSTRACT: Presented are four explicit equations developed at the Eastman K o d a k Company for use in a computer program to hydraulically design a high pressure carbon dioxide fire protection system. The equations were derived through a nonlinear regression analysis of data obtained from the Standard on Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems, NFPA No. 12 ( 1 9 7 2 ) . The computer program incorporates an iterative technique discussed in the p a p e r , which the authors consider essential in the accurate design of carbon dioxide systems; whereas, manual computations using the iterative techniques are tedious and often prohibitively uneconomical.

Authors REFERENCE: "Explicit Equations for Two-Phase Carbon Dioxide Flow," J. A. Noronha E. J. Schiffhauer, Fire Technology, Vol. 10, No. 2 ( M a y 1974), pp. 1 0 1 - 1 0 9 .

and

Abs: 7 4 - 1 6 , Fire Technology, M a y 1974; Boston, MA

KEY WORDS: flame trajectory, fire spread, scaling, building codes ABSTRACT: There is an apparent belief that horizontal projections will prevent vertical scaling of fire. Thls study was conducted to investigate the effect of projections on exterior spread of fire. Flames were observed curling inward above such projections. It was concluded that the purpose of the projections will be defeated unless their design is based upon valid experimentation. REFERENCE: "Projections Separating Spandrel Spaces," J. Van Bowen, Jr. and R. W a y n e Maior,

Fire Technology, Vol. 10, No. 2 ( M a y 1974), pp. 1 1 0 - 1 1 4 . Abs: 7 4 - 1 7 , Fire Technology, M a y 1974; Boston, MA

KEY WORDS: combustion products, Fire hazards, gases, insulation, analyzing. ABSTRACT: A method is proposed for classifying various factors influencing the life safety hazard posed during fires. Fire hazard components are identified. The relative importance of each can be influenced by a number of hazard modifiers. It seems premature to try to evaluate in a quantitative w a y the influence of modifiers on the overall life hazard. However, it may be useful in ranking materials or products with regard to fire gas hazard to assume this is a function of the loss on ignition or the effluent fire product (EFP). An example of the usefulness o f this concept is presented by a method for use of EFP in ranking insulation materials in such a manner that proper recognition is taken of their thermal properties. REFERENCE: "Effluent Fire Product ~

A Crude Approach to Fire Gas Hazard," A F. Robertson,

Fire Technology, Vat. 10, No. 2 ( M a y 1974), pp. 1 1 5 - 1 2 8 . Abs: 74-18, Fire Technology, M a y 1974; Boston, MA

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169

KEY W O R D S : instrumentation, fire detectors, smoke detectors, combustion products. A B S T R A C T : The Wilson cloud chamber type of submicron particle sensor used in an incipient fire detector readily responds to the invisible particles produced by the onset of thermal degradation of a wide variety of materials from 300 o to 500 ° F, well below their ignition tempera° lures. The instrument can detect less than 10 -is grams of material in air and particles less than 0.01 microns in diameter. For maximum sensitivity, the detection point must be located near the ceiling. Transport time of 0.48 feet sec-I ~s a limiting factor in response time. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Characteristics of Invisible Particles Generated by Precombustion and Combustion," F. W. Van Luik, Jr., Fire Technology, VoI. 10, No. 2 (May 1974), pp. 129-139.

Abs.' 7 4 - 1 9 , Fire Technology, May 1974; Boston, MA

KEY W O R D S : high-rise buildings, smokeproof towers, flame spread, stairways, ventilation, flame front~ sprinklers, evacuation. A B S T R A C T : With a massive flame front and external flame spread in hlgh-rlse buildings, access to smokeproof towers wouJd not be possible. Accessibility to smoke towers could be assured if curtain walls are essentially blank. One solution is a shaft-ln-shaft stairway inslde the building with entry gained to the stairway inside the inner shaft by ramps. Natural or forced ventilation in the space between the shafts should dissipate much of the heat and smoke that might intrude. A manually operated sprinkler system with sprinklers at the top of the clear space would have a cooling effect and help maintain the integrity of the fire doors. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Limitations of Smokeproof Towers in High-Rise Buildings," A. D. Fabiani, Fire Journal (National Fire Protection Association, 470 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 022 10), VoL 68, No. 2 (March 1974), pp. 46, 47.

Abs: 7 4 - 2 0 , Fire Technology, May 1974; Boston, MA

KEY W O R D S : lightning, fire alarm systems, lightning attesters, grounding. A B S T R A C T : Following installation of solid-state fire alarm equipment, a sustained high voltage burned out five fire alarm boxes, caused extensive damage to wiring throughout the system, and made the system ultra-sensitive to lightning damage. During an investigation of the problem, guidelines were developed to prevent lightning-induced damage to such equipment. Threeelectrode gas lightning attesters were found to be an improvement over the use of two, twoelectrode devices and should be installed wherever fire alarm loops go underground and at every 2,000 feet overhead. Three-electrode gas-type power line protectors give additional security, although damage to transients on the power line could be considered remote. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Accidental Power Cross Results in Improved Alarm System Design," Erling R. Johnson, Fire Journal (National Fire Protection Associations 470 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 0 2 2 1 0 ) , Vol. 68, No. 2 (March t 9 7 4 ) , pp. 7, 10.

Abs: 7 4 - 2 1 , Fire Technology, May 1974; Boston, MA

KEY W O R D S : flammability, specifications, fire investigation, upholstered furniture, polystyrene, polyurethane, plastic foam, flame retardants, tests. A B S T R A C T : Flammability specifications for the twenty-five facilities of the New York Port Authority were developed following the $2-million fire loss at the BOAC terminal at Kennedy International Airport, which involved foamed plastic upholstery. Following an investigation, a multitesting approach was adopted. To determine use of ignition and self-e~tinguishing characterlstics, FederalTest Method 5903, Standard 191 was used. For flame spread index, either the radiant panel test (ASTM E 1 6 2 - 6 7 ) or the tunnel test (ASTM E 8 4 - 7 0 ) is used with o flame spread of 100 as the limit. Cushions were submitted to the FAA Standard Burner Test. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Development of Flammability Specifications for Furnishings," Eugene Schafran, Fire Journal (National Fire Protection Association, 470 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 022 10), Vol. 68, No. 2 (March 1974), pp. 36-39.

Abs: 7 4 - 2 2 , Fire Technology, May 1974; Boston, MA

170

Fire TechnoIogy

KEY W O R D S : fire fighters, protective clothing, reflectance, transmittance, spectral emlttance. A B S T R A C T : The results of spectral reflectance measurements are reported for a number of typical and proposed fabrics for the outer shell of fire fighters' turnout coats. The spectral range of measurement was from 0.35 to 22 ~m. Spectral transmittance values are also presented for some samples. From these data, total reflectance values were calculated for blackbody source distributions over a range of temperatures from 300 ° to 6000 ° K and for a solar spectral distribution. The implications of these results ore considered for thermal protection and comfort of clothing worn by fire fighters. REFERENCE: "Radiative Characteristics of Fire Fighters' Coat Fabrics," James Quintlere, Fire Technology, Vol. I0, No. 2 (May 1974), pp. 153-161.

Abs: 7 4 - 2 3 , Fire Technology, May 1974; Boston, MA KEY W O R D S : delayed notification, fatal fires, hotels, fires, smoke, concealed spaces, fire spread, open stairways. A B S T R A C T : A night fire, caused by a one-quarter-inch separation in a furnace chimney connector, killed four persons, injured eighteen, and destroyed the thirty-room, three-story wood frame Sedgewlck Hotel in Bath, Maine on September 9, 1973. The 100-year-old hotel had no fire detection or alarm system and no sprinklers. Smoke was first r~oticed at 1 A.M. The fire burned for at least two hours in concealed spaces before breaking out in the lobby. Heat, smoke, and flames spread from the lobby by open stairway to the second and third floors. Since January 1, 1970, new hotels in Maine of combustible construction of two or more stories must have sprinklers. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Fatal Hotel Fire, Bath, Maine," Walter R. Stone, Fire Journal (National Fire Protection Association, 470 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 022 10), Vol. 68, No. 2 (March 1974), pp. 31, 32.

Abs: 7 4 - 2 4 , Fire Technology, May 1974; Boston, MA

KEY W O R D S : fire tests, residential buildings, fire safety, fire retardants, combustion products, toxicity, gases, fire spread. A B S T R A C T : Full-scale fire tests of bedroom furnishings included (1) a room furnished with materials from conventional retail sources; (2) a room furnished from best commercially available materials; ( 3 ) a room furnished with improved fire-resistive materials not commercially available at present; and (4) a room furnished as in (1) except with bed and bedding as in (3). In addition to conventional instrumentation, visual evidence was provided by television and photography. The room in condition (3) was less readily ignited, burned out in 12 minutes, and produced negligible amounts of toxic gases compared to (1}, (2), and (4). William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Space-Age Contribution to Residential Fire Safety (Full-Scale Fire Tests of Bedroom Furnishings)," Fire Journal (National Fire Protection Association, 470 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 022 10), VoL 68, No. 2 (March 1974), pp. 18-25.

Abs: 7 4 - 2 5 , Fire Technology, May 1974; Boston, MA KEY W O R D S : combustibles, decoration, delayed notification, evacuation, alarms, schools, fires, fatal fires. A B S T R A C T : A "haunted house" constructed in an elementary school for a Halloween carnival burst into flame shortly before 200 school children were scheduled to be in the darkened, highly combustible maze. The maze, constructed of panels of Bannel painted with a lacquer base paint, was the main fuel in the flash fire that killed one and injured two of the PTA members who had constructed it and attempted to fight the fire with portable extinguishers. Notification of the fire department was delayed in the mistaken impression that the school evacuation alarm also alerted the fire department. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "School's 'Haunted House' Burns, One Killed, Two Injured/' John A. Sharry and Walter R. Stone, Fire Journal (National Fire Protection Association, 470 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 0 2 2 ] 0 ) , Voi. 68, No. 2 (March 1974), pp. 14, 75°

Abs: 7 4 - 2 6 , Fire Technology, M a y 1974; Boston, MA

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171

KEY W O R D S : bulldings, fire protection~ automatic sprinklers, risk, costs, llfe safety, mathematical models. A B S T R A C T : Based on an analysis of risk, cost and losses, o tradeoff of active against passive protection is possible by minimizing the sum of costs and expected losses. To assess the tradeoff of fire resistance against sprinklers and detection, the important factor is the cost of decreasing the probability of failure. Losses develop from the failure of the protection systemt from inadequate design, faulty installation, or component failure. A balance has to be struck between the risk of failure, the ensuing damage, and the cost of reducing the risk or damage. The optimum combination minimizes the total expected tosses. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Passive and Active Fire P r o t e c t i o n - The Optimum Combination," R. Baldwin and P. H. Thomas, Fire Technology, Vol. 10, No. 2 ( M a y 1974), pp. t 4 0 - 1 4 6 . Abs: 7,4-27, Fire Technology, M a y 1974; Boston, M A KEY W O R D S : thermal radiation, mathematical models, radiation, absorptivity. A B S T R A C T : A mathematical model that estimates the thermal radiation hazards to objects at risk from fires considers the fire as a radiator with surface Az rather than as a point source and the object at risk, as a radiation receptor with surface dA~. The equation developed to evaluate the hazard requires numerical values for the emlssive power of the flame, the absorptivity of the obiects at risk, the transmission of radiation by the intervening medium, the mean beam length, humidity, and view factor. In a fire following the failure of a gas distribution system, calculations based on this method, when compared with the actual fire experience, indicated that the method is reasonably accurate though somewhat conservative. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Calculating Thermal Radiation Hazards in Large Fires," Robert O. Parker, Fire Technology, Vol. 10, No. 2 ( M a y 1974), pp. 1 4 7 - 1 5 2 . Abs: 7.4-28, Fire Technology, M a y 1974; Boston, MA KEY WORDS: high-piled stack, tires, warehouses, fires, automatic sprinklers, fire walls, venting, pallets. A B S T R A C T : A fire in a tire warehouse, with tires four pallets high to a height of 181/z feet and containing 104,00 square foot sections, was controlled by an automatic sprinkler system, which was designated to produce a density of 0.48 gpm per square foot of floor area in the most remote 2,400 square feet. However, the first of the seven sprinklers to operate gave a density of 0.85. With seven sprinklers and three 11/z-inch hose lines operating, the density was 0.74. It would have been 0.48 if twenty-five sprinklers had operated. Fork-lift trucks operated by men wearing breathing apparatus moved tires out of the burning area. The Fire loss was

$80,000. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Sprinklers Control High-Piled Tire Warehouse Fire," E. N. Proudfoot, Fire Journal (National Fire Protection Association, 4 7 0 Atlantic Ave., Boston, M A 022 10), Vol. 68, No. 2 (March 1974), pp. 7 0 - 7 2 . Abs: 7 4 - 2 9 , Fire Technology, M a y 1974; Boston, M A KEY W O R D S : delayed notification, life safety, motels, fires, fatal fires, building fires, combustibles, interior finishes, open stairways, smoke, life safety. A B S T R A C T : Smoke from a fire in an undivided 500-foot corridor on the first floor of a motel suffocated two guests on the second floor. The doors on three stairways, which were p r o p p e d open, allowed the passage of smoke to the second floor° Notification of the fire deportment was delayed sixty-seven minutes. The second floor suffered smoke damage only. The first floor corridor and those first floor rooms whose doors were left open showed extensive fire damage. First floor room whose doors were closed received only smoke damage. The motel had no sprinklers, no fire detectors, and no alarm system except for a local manual evacuation alarm. William Mac L. Pierce REFERENCE: "Motel Fire Kills Two, Injures Eleven," John A. Sharry and Walter R. Stone, Fire Journal (National Fire Protection Associationt 4 7 0 Atlantic Ave., Boston, M A 0 2 2 1 0 ) , Vol. 68, No. 2 (March 1974), pp. 5~ 11. Abs: 7 4 - 3 0 , Fire Technology, M a y 1974; Boston, M A