Performance of Home Smoke Alarms, Analysis of the Response of Several Available Technologies in Residential Fire Settings.
Performance of Home Smoke Alarms, Analysis of the
Response of Several Available Technologies in
Residential Fire Settings.
(11410 K)
Bukowski, R. W.; Peacock, R. D.; Averill, J. D.; Cleary,
T. G.; Bryner, N. P.; Walton, W. D.; Reneke, P. A.;
Kuligowski, E. D.
NIST TN 1455; NIST Technical Note 1455; 396 p.
December 2003.
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Keywords:
smoke detectors; residential buildings; detector
sensitivity; fire tests; heat alarms; ionization alarms;
photoelectric alarms; building fires
Abstract:
This report presents the results of the project and
provides details of the response of a range of
residential smoke alarm technologies in a controlled
laboratory test and in a series of real-scale tests
conducted in two different residential structures. The
data developed in this study include measurement of
temperature and smoke obscuration in addition to gas
concentrations for a range of fire scenarios and
residences. The results are intended to provide both
insight into siting and response characteristics of
residential smoke alarms and a set of reference data for
future enhancements to alarm technology based on fires
from current materials and constructions. Smoke alarms
of either the ionization type or the photoelectric type
consistently provide time for occupants to escape from
most residential fires, although in some cases the
escape time provided can be short. Consistent with prior
findings, ionization type alarms provide somewhat better
response to flaming fires than photoelectric alarms, and
photoelectric alarms provide (often) considerably faster
response to smoldering fires than ionization type
alarms. Escape times in this study were systematically
shorter than those found in a similar study conducted in
the 1970's. This is related to some combination of
faster fire development times for today's products that
provide the main fuel sources for fires, such as
upholstered furniture and mattresses, different criteria
for time to untenable conditions, and improved
understanding of the speed and range of threats to
tenability.
