Landmark Residential Fire Study Shows How Crew Sizes and Arrival

Landmark Residential Fire Study Shows How Crew Sizes and Arrival

Times Influence Saving Lives and Property

A landmark study issued today by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and research collaborators including CFAI-Risk, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), shows that the size of firefighting crews has a substantial effect on the fire service’s ability to protect lives and property in residential fires.

The study included more than 60 controlled fire experiments to determine the impact of crew size, first-due engine arrival time and subsequent apparatus arrival times on firefighter safety and effectiveness at a low-hazard residential structure fire.

The results of the field experiments apply only to fires in low-hazard residential structures as described in the NFPA Standard 1710, but it provides a strong starting point,” said Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, Assistant to the General President, IAFF.

Primary findings of the experiments indicated that the following factors had the most significant impact on the success of fire fighting operations:

Overall Scene Time: The four-person firefighting crews were able to complete 22 essential firefighting and rescue tasks in a typical residential structure 30 percent faster than two-person crews and 25 percent faster than three-person crews.

Time to Water on Fire: The four-person crews were able to deliver water to a similar-sized fire 15 percent faster than the two-person crews and 6 percent faster than three-person crews, steps that help to reduce property damage and lower danger to the firefighters.

Ground Ladders and Ventilation: The four-person crews completed laddering and ventilation (for life safety and rescue) 30% faster than the two-person crews and 25% faster than the three-person crews.

Primary Search: The four-person crews completed a primary search and rescue 30 percent faster than two-person crews and 5 percent faster than three-person crews.

Occupant Rescue: Three different “standard” fires were simulated using NIST’s Fire Dynamic Simulator to examine how the interior conditions change for trapped occupants and the firefighters if the fire develops more slowly or more rapidly than observed in the actual experiments. The fire modeling simulations demonstrated that two-person, late-arriving crews can face a fire that is twice the intensity of the fire faced by fire-person, early arriving crews. Additionally, the modeling demonstrated that trapped occupants receive less exposure to toxic combustion products, such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, if the firefighters arrive earlier and involve three or more persons per crew.

“The results of this study will be especially useful to the many fire departments across the nation that are challenged by budget crises, rising call volume, personnel and equipment shortages, security issues and an overall expectation to do more with less” said CFAI-Risk and CPSE, Inc., President Chief Randy R. Bruegman. President Bruegman was a featured speaker at the press briefing. Click here to view his comments.

This study was funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

The next step for the research team is to develop a training package for firefighters and public officials that would enable them to have both quantitative and qualitative understanding of the research. This project is also being funding by FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

Click here to view the complete Report on Residential Fireground Field Experiments.