Experimental investigation of human tenability and sprinkler protection in hospital room fires

Simo Hostikka; Eetu Veikkanen; Tuula Hakkarainen; Tuula Kajolinna

doi:10.1002/fam.2893

Experimental investigation of human tenability and sprinkler protection in hospital room fires

Simo Hostikka^*
, Eetu Veikkanen
, Tuula Hakkarainen
, Tuula Kajolinna

^*Corresponding author for this work

BA5503 ProperTune AI

Aalto University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The effectiveness of sprinklers in protecting hospital patients in the room of fire origin was investigated by 14 experiments with a residential-grade sprinkler system, and by two free-burns. The fire load was UL 1626 corner fire. Tenability conditions were evaluated for the UL 1626 corner fire using gas temperature and species concentration measurements, and by calculating the fractional effective dose (FED) and fractional irritant concentration (FIC) with the comprehensive model of Purser and a more simplified method of ISO 13571. In the sprinklered tests, the average FED at 15 minutes was 0.8 ± 1 with 95% confidence, when using the Purser's method, and 0.2 ± 0.2 with ISO 13571. The difference was mainly caused by the assumption in the Purser's method that all NOx gases behave like NO2. Ignoring the NO contributions decreased the Purser's FED values very close to those of ISO 13571. In nonsprinklered tests, the FED and FIC values indicated definite incapacitation and possibly death 3 minutes after ignition. The sprinklers effectively increase the possibility of surviving, but the toxic effects may still be dangerous. In hospital and health care environments, many of the exposed persons may have lower-than-average tolerance.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	823-832
Journal	Fire and Materials
Volume	45
Issue number	6
Early online date	4 Aug 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.2893
Publication status	Published - Oct 2021
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

The research was funded by the Finnish Fire Protection Fund (Palosuojelurahasto). The authors would like to thank the project collaborators, Sysmä Municipality, the Finnish Association of Fire Officers, and Päijät‐Häme rescue services. The authors also would like to thank Magnus Arvidson (RISE, Sweden) and Underwriters Laboratories for the HRR data of the UL 1626 tests.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Keywords

experiment
FED
fire suppression
fire toxicity
hospital fire
sprinklers

Access to Document

10.1002/fam.2893Licence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{5eb8bea3bb58402e87c125d4c74d5eb0,

title = "Experimental investigation of human tenability and sprinkler protection in hospital room fires",

abstract = "The effectiveness of sprinklers in protecting hospital patients in the room of fire origin was investigated by 14 experiments with a residential-grade sprinkler system, and by two free-burns. The fire load was UL 1626 corner fire. Tenability conditions were evaluated for the UL 1626 corner fire using gas temperature and species concentration measurements, and by calculating the fractional effective dose (FED) and fractional irritant concentration (FIC) with the comprehensive model of Purser and a more simplified method of ISO 13571. In the sprinklered tests, the average FED at 15 minutes was 0.8 ± 1 with 95\% confidence, when using the Purser's method, and 0.2 ± 0.2 with ISO 13571. The difference was mainly caused by the assumption in the Purser's method that all NOx gases behave like NO2. Ignoring the NO contributions decreased the Purser's FED values very close to those of ISO 13571. In nonsprinklered tests, the FED and FIC values indicated definite incapacitation and possibly death 3 minutes after ignition. The sprinklers effectively increase the possibility of surviving, but the toxic effects may still be dangerous. In hospital and health care environments, many of the exposed persons may have lower-than-average tolerance.",

keywords = "experiment, FED, fire suppression, fire toxicity, hospital fire, sprinklers",

author = "Simo Hostikka and Eetu Veikkanen and Tuula Hakkarainen and Tuula Kajolinna",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Authors. Fire and Materials published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd.",

year = "2021",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1002/fam.2893",

language = "English",

volume = "45",

pages = "823--832",

journal = "Fire and Materials",

issn = "0308-0501",

publisher = "Wiley",

number = "6",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Experimental investigation of human tenability and sprinkler protection in hospital room fires

AU - Hostikka, Simo

AU - Veikkanen, Eetu

AU - Hakkarainen, Tuula

AU - Kajolinna, Tuula

PY - 2021/10

Y1 - 2021/10

N2 - The effectiveness of sprinklers in protecting hospital patients in the room of fire origin was investigated by 14 experiments with a residential-grade sprinkler system, and by two free-burns. The fire load was UL 1626 corner fire. Tenability conditions were evaluated for the UL 1626 corner fire using gas temperature and species concentration measurements, and by calculating the fractional effective dose (FED) and fractional irritant concentration (FIC) with the comprehensive model of Purser and a more simplified method of ISO 13571. In the sprinklered tests, the average FED at 15 minutes was 0.8 ± 1 with 95% confidence, when using the Purser's method, and 0.2 ± 0.2 with ISO 13571. The difference was mainly caused by the assumption in the Purser's method that all NOx gases behave like NO2. Ignoring the NO contributions decreased the Purser's FED values very close to those of ISO 13571. In nonsprinklered tests, the FED and FIC values indicated definite incapacitation and possibly death 3 minutes after ignition. The sprinklers effectively increase the possibility of surviving, but the toxic effects may still be dangerous. In hospital and health care environments, many of the exposed persons may have lower-than-average tolerance.

AB - The effectiveness of sprinklers in protecting hospital patients in the room of fire origin was investigated by 14 experiments with a residential-grade sprinkler system, and by two free-burns. The fire load was UL 1626 corner fire. Tenability conditions were evaluated for the UL 1626 corner fire using gas temperature and species concentration measurements, and by calculating the fractional effective dose (FED) and fractional irritant concentration (FIC) with the comprehensive model of Purser and a more simplified method of ISO 13571. In the sprinklered tests, the average FED at 15 minutes was 0.8 ± 1 with 95% confidence, when using the Purser's method, and 0.2 ± 0.2 with ISO 13571. The difference was mainly caused by the assumption in the Purser's method that all NOx gases behave like NO2. Ignoring the NO contributions decreased the Purser's FED values very close to those of ISO 13571. In nonsprinklered tests, the FED and FIC values indicated definite incapacitation and possibly death 3 minutes after ignition. The sprinklers effectively increase the possibility of surviving, but the toxic effects may still be dangerous. In hospital and health care environments, many of the exposed persons may have lower-than-average tolerance.

KW - experiment

KW - FED

KW - fire suppression

KW - fire toxicity

KW - hospital fire

KW - sprinklers

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85088939339

U2 - 10.1002/fam.2893

DO - 10.1002/fam.2893

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85088939339

SN - 0308-0501

VL - 45

SP - 823

EP - 832

JO - Fire and Materials

JF - Fire and Materials

IS - 6

ER -

Experimental investigation of human tenability and sprinkler protection in hospital room fires

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this