Format options:
Audio MP3 download $18
Audio Compact Disc $23

Presented by:
Craig Weinschenk, NIST

Understanding the transient thermal response of fire fighter protective clothing and helmets under realistic heated flow path conditions is important to minimize skin burns and thermal injuries. NFPA 1971, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting, specifies performance requirements of fire fighter protective clothing using a standardized thermal protective performance (TPP) test procedure. The TPP test is based on existing skin burn thresholds but does not consider the effects of flow path conditions at various velocities. This session presents experimentally measured temperatures from fire experiments in which fire fighter protective clothing and helmets were exposed to heated flow path conditions. Small-scale experiments were conducted in a heated convective flow loop. Large-scale fire experiments were conducted in a single-story and a two-story structure that contained typical room furnishings and well-characterized convective flow paths.