Fire services

Researchers in the University of Waterloo Fire Research Group continue to work closely with municipal, industrial and military fire service personnel to assess and/or to develop innovative new firefighting equipment and methods. These research efforts include:

Interactions between various suppression agents and methods

In recent years many fire fighting agents (gels, wetting agents, protein foam, F-100, water mist Pyrocool, etc.) have been introduced into the field. Current in-field test procedures are not always standardized, making it extremely difficult to compare the effectiveness of new agents relative to existing ones, in particular fire applications. The aim of this research is to address potential inconsistencies and produce comparison test results in the context of structural fire applications. The influence of the agents on a realistic working fire environment is investigated through continuous measurements of temperature, thermal stratification, relative humidity and velocity in a fire room throughout the fire growth, and fire enclosure stratification suppression stages. Global properties of the agents, such as surface tension and ambient cooling effects, fuel penetration and inhibition of re-ignition of the fire, can also be examined.

Minimization of fire impact through improvements to fire sensors and detection

Detailed investigations of the development and spread of hot fire plumes through structures under various ambient conditions allows key variables such as temperature rise, ceiling temperature and particulate and gas species production to be monitored in a time varying sense that will allow identification signals that might form the basis for improved sensor technology. Current detectors are evaluated (based upon time to activation, smoke levels at activation, etc.) for a variety of fire scenarios, providing further data to be used not only in assessing the effectiveness of existing fire detectors, but also to guide development of new small-scale sensor designs appropriate for use in fire detecting robotic systems.

Effect of wind, ventilation and Positive Pressure Ventilation (PPV) on fire growth and spread, and movement of smoke in structures

PPV is a forced ventilation technique used to cool and remove smoke from buildings, designed to allow for a brief window of time during which fire and rescue teams are able to search the building. Use of the technique during real fires has given rise to disastrous circumstances, however, under certain ambient conditions, certain situations of prevailing wind and for some locations of flow pathways within a structure. Similar situations have been observed in other fire scenarios involving forced and/or natural ventilation systems.

The research quantifies and characterizes the impact that ambient conditions have upon the effectiveness of forced or natural ventilation systems and PPV for clearing and removing smoke (or other gases) from areas within a structure. To that end, the effects of wind magnitude and direction on ventilation during a working fire is studied to better characterize the expected interactions between ventilation systems, fire growth and development and flame spread.

A survey of fire training facilities and programs across Canada led to active participation by members of University of Waterloo Fire Research Group in development of new fire training curricula and to the concept and design for the Waterloo Region Emergency Services Training & Research Complex (WRESTRC), which houses the UW Live Fire Research Facility. This research has resulted in collaboration on the design of various firefighter training facilities (WRESTRC Fire Training Facility, Oakville Fire Training Facility), as well as major consultations with DND on technical performance requirements for Navy fire training facilities. It's work formed the focus of a widely disseminated report on Design of Municipal Fire Training Facilities, as well as a two day Fire Training Facility Design Workshop at UWaterloo with further workshops planned at the WRESTC.

Research with the fire service has expanded into a unique technology/research exchange program with fire departments in Southwestern Ontario, as well as with many across Canada. Instrumented full-scale fire experiments have been conducted with the Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge Fire Departments for combined fire training and research purposes. These involved characterization of large, open pit fires and the burning of many abandoned houses at locations across Ontario. The scenarios have been predicted, with some success in respect to fire growth, using the Consolidated Fire and Smoke Transport (CFAST) model and various other correlations. All the results, coupled with information from the literature and results from the pool fire program, are interpreted in the context of fire training, fire growth and spread, fire suppression and fire fighting methodology.

Members of the Fire Research Group from the University of Waterloo Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, undertake extensive research related to the health and safety of professional fire fighters. Their research areas include:

Physiological and biomechanical impact of hostile and physically demanding fire environment on firefighters

Firefighters are subject not only to extremely high temperatures during their normal working duties, but they are also under great physical duress. The Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and turnout gear significantly increase the physiological demands upon the firefighter. Using on campus laboratory facilities, as well as the environmental chamber, training tower and burn structure in the Live Fire Research Facility conditions similar to those encountered in real fire scenarios are created and a series of portable measurement devices allows investigation of the physiological strain on a firefighter in a realistic occupational environment. This strain is determined in terms of heart rate, metabolic cost and body temperature load. Results have then been compared to the development of new field operational procedures, as well as new physical testing standards for firefighters that incorporate realistic tasks under expected occupational conditions.

Rehabilitation and injury reduction for firefighters

Using their long-standing collaboration with the firefighting community, researchers monitor newly hired firefighters as they undergo comprehensive testing to document neurophysiology, strength and fitness, psychosocial and biomechanical characteristics. These are then monitored for many years, documenting incidences and development of injuries to identify potential occupationally-related injury mechanisms and develop appropriate measures and equipment by which to protect firefighting personnel.