Smoke characterization study

Fingerprinting the culprit in fire fatalities 

UL and the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) recently completed a study that is enabling researchers — for the first time — to fingerprint a major culprit in fire fatalities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most fire victims die from smoke or toxic gases and not from burns. House fires killed approximately 3,055 people in the U.S. last year. Safety experts believe the death toll could be greatly reduced if they knew more about how fires burn and what's in the smoke fires create.

By analyzing particles 1/500th the size of a human hair, the year-long study rewound a fire from a fully engulfed blaze to the first evidence of smoke, then analyzed the smoke characteristics of 27 synthetic and natural materials now most commonly found in homes.

In developing the Smoke Characterization Project, UL invested more than $500,000 to conduct the study and to secure the latest scientific measurement equipment. With this advanced analytical ability, UL's fire science experts were able to investigate the chemical and physical properties of smoke at a new level of sophistication and detail.

"The study is a first-step in investigating how newer materials have changed the way fires behave in homes," said Kathleen Almand, executive director of FPRF. "What we are learning will enable public safety officials to further develop education and training programs regarding the use of smoke alarms in homes and provide valuable data to fire science engineers as they strive to develop new smoke detection technologies."

"Through advanced fire science, we now better understand that smoke is highly complex and has a unique fingerprint that can be used for identification, just like me and you," said John Drengenberg, Consumer Affairs manager for UL. "We think this groundbreaking data can help material scientists understand how synthetic materials decompose in fires and may lead to the development of safer materials in the home."

The Smoke Characterization Project followed a 2004 study conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that indicated fires in modern homes smolder longer, and then burn hotter and faster than what was typical when smoke alarms were first introduced.

"With this Smoke Characterization Project, UL and FPRF are helping move fire science to a whole new level," said Chief Jim Harmes, president, International Association of Fire Chiefs. "Home furnishings and products constructed from new synthetic materials and formulations are growing in popularity. This project has provided the data and measurement techniques needed to more fully assess a burning material's impact on detection."

Fire officials agree that smoke alarms continue to play a vital role in reducing deaths and injuries from fires — an almost 50 percent decrease in fire deaths has been attributed to smoke alarms since the mid-1970s.

Currently, about 95 percent of U.S. homes are estimated to have at least one smoke alarm, employing either photoelectric sensors, which are generally more effective for detecting smoldering fires, or ionization sensors, which are more sensitive to open flames and triggers all alarms once smoke is detected.

Drengenberg suggests that residents consider installing detectors that combine both technologies.

When installing smoke alarms, it's also important to consider interconnected smoke alarms. Interconnected smoke alarms are electronically linked together so that when one alarm detects smoke, it triggers all other alarms to sound in a home. This immediate reaction provides more warning in more places, which can increase the time your family has to escape a fire.

About UL

UL is an independent, not-for-profit product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. For more information, visit http://www.ul.com/about/.

About Fire Protection Research Foundation

The Fire Protection Research Foundation plans, manages and communicates consortium-funded research on a broad range of fire safety issues in collaboration with scientists and laboratories around the world. The Foundation is an affiliate of National Fire Protection Association. For more information visit www.nfpa.org/foundation.

Related materials

• Graph: Natural vs.synthetic furnishings
• Technical report: Smoke characterization study