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Modeling a Backdraft Incident: The 62 Watts Street (NY) Fire.

PB97154298

Publication Date	1996
Personal Author	Bukowski, R. W.
Page Count	4
Abstract	On March 28, 1994, the New York City Fire Department (NYFD) responded to a report of smoke and sparks issuing from a chimney at a three story apartment building in Manhattan. When the door to the first floor apartment was forced open, a large flame issued from the apartment and up the stairway, engulfing three firefighters at the second floor landing. The flame persisted for at least 6 1/2 minutes, resulting in their deaths. The NYFD requested the assistance of NIST to model the incident in the hope of understanding the factors which produced a backdraft condition of such a duration. The CFAST model was able to reproduce the observed conditions and supported a theory of the accumulation of significant quantities of unburned fuel from a vitiated fire in an apartment which had been insulated and sealed for energy efficiency.
Keywords	Fire hazards Flame propagation Computerized simulation Fire fighters Fire safety Risk assessment Mathematical models Fire research Fire fighting Reprints Backdraft
Source Agency	National Institute of Standards and Technology
Corporate Authors	National Inst. of Standards and Technology (BFRL), Gaithersburg, MD. Fire Science Div.
Document Type	Journal Article
Title Note	Final rept.
NTIS Issue Number	199713

Modeling a Backdraft Incident: The 62 Watts Street (NY) Fire.

Modeling a Backdraft Incident: The 62 Watts Street (NY) Fire.
PB97154298

Publication Date	1996
Personal Author	Bukowski, R. W.
Page Count	4
Abstract	On March 28, 1994, the New York City Fire Department (NYFD) responded to a report of smoke and sparks issuing from a chimney at a three story apartment building in Manhattan. When the door to the first floor apartment was forced open, a large flame issued from the apartment and up the stairway, engulfing three firefighters at the second floor landing. The flame persisted for at least 6 1/2 minutes, resulting in their deaths. The NYFD requested the assistance of NIST to model the incident in the hope of understanding the factors which produced a backdraft condition of such a duration. The CFAST model was able to reproduce the observed conditions and supported a theory of the accumulation of significant quantities of unburned fuel from a vitiated fire in an apartment which had been insulated and sealed for energy efficiency.
Keywords	Fire hazards Flame propagation Computerized simulation Fire fighters Fire safety Risk assessment Mathematical models Fire research Fire fighting Reprints Backdraft
Source Agency	National Institute of Standards and Technology
Corporate Authors	National Inst. of Standards and Technology (BFRL), Gaithersburg, MD. Fire Science Div.
Document Type	Journal Article
Title Note	Final rept.
NTIS Issue Number	199713