Authors: Richard D. Peacock, Richard W. Bukowski, Walter W. Jones, Paul A. Reneke, Vytenis Babrauskas, James E. Brown

Date of Publication:  December 1993

Sponsoring Agency:  U.S. Department of Transportation - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

Performing Organization:  U.S. Department of Commerce - National Institute of Standards and Technology

Report No: NIST/TN-1406

Abstract:

Recent advances in passenger guided ground transportation, fire test methods, and hazard analysis necessitate re-examination of requirements for fire safety.  Several studies have indicated nearly random ability of current tests to predict actual fire behavior.  Fire safety in any application, including transportation, requires a multi-faceted approach.  The effects of vehicle design, material selection, detection and suppression systems, and emergency egress on the overall fire safety of the transportation system is considered.

A comparison of the approaches used in the United States, Germany, and France is presented.  With the strengths and weaknesses of current methods for measuring the fire performance of rail transit systems reviewed, a direction is suggested in which most fire science-oriented organizations in the world are clearly headed - fire hazard and fire risk assessment methods supported by measurement methods based on heat release rate.
 

No. of Pages:  172