Engineering Science for the Fire Service: Developing a WUI Risk Assessment & Mitigation Curriculum
The SFPE Foundation recently received a FEMA Fire Prevention & Safety Grant (FY2021) to develop an engineering science-based educational curriculum for fire service personnel that helps address unmet training needs with respect to Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fire risk assessment and mitigation. Fire protection engineers can offer educational tools and resources to help support fire departments in the field. These tools can be applied across the spectrum of WUI fire hazards – in areas like individual asset protection, community evacuation and notification, and community-level wildfire protection and mitigation. This project will assess fire department training needs in WUI fire property risk assessment and mitigation strategies that can be addressed with engineering-based resources and guidance, document best practices, develop an engineering-based curriculum for firefighters conducting WUI property risk assessment and developing mitigation strategies, and illustrate how the curriculum can reduce risk by addressing unmet training needs for a wide range of departments.
The aim of this project is to develop a classroom-based training curriculum (including courses, course content, delivery methodology, and learning assessment) that introduces fire service personnel to engineering-based guidance and tools that can provide more nuanced guidance to fire departments conducting WUI property fire risk assessment and mitigation activities, especially in areas where existing codes, regulations, or tools are not locally contextualized. The curriculum is expected to cover the engineering science behind the risks associated with different asset and community configurations, structural components, configurations, and other features of the built environment in the WUI so that fire departments can adapt their approaches to better meet local needs. The curriculum will be designed to address unmet training needs for a wide range of departments – regardless of their size or prior experience with WUI fires – and will empower them to adapt available resources to their own needs and thereby reduce risk in their communities.
A project team from the Mid-Atlantic Center for Emergency Management & Public Safety at Frederick Community College and FireTox LLC was selected for this project. View the press release.
This project will contribute to the Foundation’s research portfolio in the SFPE Research Roadmap threads of Building Fires, Fire Service, Fire Safety Systems, and Wildland/WUI Fires.
Environmental and Health Impacts of Thermal Runaway Events in Outdoor Lithium-Ion Battery Energy Storage System Installations
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) installations are becoming more common due to the world’s push for more renewable energy systems in the face of climate change, but no one has yet thoroughly investigated the impacts of li-ion BESS fires. Such fires are rare but, when they occur, are intense and difficult to suppress. In 2023, the SFPE Foundation’s Grand Challenges Initiative Energy & Infrastructure Working Group identified BESS as a research priority for the field.
As part of its commitment to ensuring that the GCI’s research agenda succeeds, the SFPE Foundation is funding research on the environmental and health impacts of thermal runaway in lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries in outdoor BESS installations. Jamie McAllister (PhD, PE) of FireTox LLC is the principal investigator, with Brendan McCarrick (PE) and Zelda Zhao also on the project team.
The project aims to better understand the health and environmental aspects of li-ion BESS fires, such as products of combustion, factors that influence propagation, and firefighting tactics. The project team will use this information to model li-ion BESS fire plume dispersion. They will then use the models to develop a risk analysis of the health and environmental impacts of such fires.
In addition to advancing the GCI research agenda, the project also contributes to the Resilience/Sustainability and Non-Building Fires threads of the SFPE Research Roadmap.
The SFPE Foundation acknowledges and wishes to thank our External Advisory Panel for this project:
- Adam Barowy, FSRI
- Jonathan Hodges, Jensen Hughes
- Yoon Ko, National Research Council Canada
- Arnaud Trouvé, University of Maryland
Fire Testing of Resilient and Sustainable Building Materials
The construction industry uses a diverse range of new materials intended to lower carbon emissions of buildings, such as green façades, hempcrete, and building-integrated photovoltaic (PV) systems. While these materials improve the sustainability of the built environment, they may also elevate fire risk and compromise a building's performance in the event of a fire. In 2023, the SFPE Foundation’s Grand Challenges Initiative Resilience & Sustainability Working Group recognized resilient and sustainable building materials as a research priority for the field. Likewise, the Energy & Infrastructure Working Group identified fire testing of emergent energy generation and distribution systems as a research priority.
As part of its commitment to ensuring that the GCI’s research agenda succeeds, the SFPE Foundation is funding research into fire testing of resilient and sustainable building materials, including PV panels. The project team includes principal investigator Prof. Richard Walls (PhD, MSc, BScEng, GDE, BTh, PrEng), Dr. Natalia Flores-Quiroz (PhD, MSc, BScEng), Yohannes Shewalul (MS, BS) of Stellenbosch University, Carlo Kuhn of Ignis Testing, and a to-be-hired postdoctoral researcher.
The project's objectives are to identify the sustainable building materials used in construction, the fire testing methods used for those materials, and potential fire risks that are not addressed in existing testing methods with further experimental fire testing.
In addition to advancing the GCI research agenda, the project contributes to the Resilience/Sustainability and Building Fires threads of the SFPE Research Roadmap.
The SFPE Foundation acknowledges and wishes to thank our External Advisory Panel for this project:
- Zena Protcenko, Arup
- Young-Geun You, UL Solutions
- Sarah Swan, The FPI Consortium
The Interface Between Digital Buildings and Fire Service Operations
Smart Firefighting represents a transformative approach to fire safety, leveraging large amounts of information to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of firefighting operations, enabling first responders to make more informed decisions, predict fire behaviors, and reduce risks for both themselves and the communities they protect. While much research has been done to develop and apply the Smart Firefighting framework, more research is needed on the packaging and communication of the immense amount of data that flows from Smart Firefighting systems. Smart Firefighting and artificial intelligence are two of the research priorities selected in 2023 by the SFPE Foundation’s Grand Challenges Initiative Digitalization, Artificial Intelligence, & Cybersecurity Working Group.
As part of its commitment to ensuring that the GCI’s research agenda succeeds, the SFPE Foundation is funding research into the interface between digital buildings and fire service operations. Dr. Nils Johansson of Lund University will serve as project leader. He is accompanied by Dr. Enrico Ronchi of Lund University and Dr. Kate Kapalo of the International Public Safety Data Institute.
The primary goal of this research project is to study the flow of digital information from smart buildings to the fire service and how it can be optimized. A specific interest is the integration of data from tools for Smart Firefighting and incident commanders.
In addition to advancing the GCI research agenda, the project also contributes to the Building Fires, Fire Service, and Fire Safety Systems threads of the SFPE Research Roadmap.
The SFPE Foundation acknowledges and wishes to thank our External Advisory Panel for this project:
- Phil Ambrose, Glendale Fire Department & Chair, FireScope Emerging Technologies Committee
- Xinyan Huang, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Qi Tong, Johns Hopkins University
Beyond Parcel-Level Risk Assessment & Mitigation: Engaging Fire Service & Community Stakeholders
The SFPE Foundation currently holds a FEMA Fire Prevention & Safety Grant (FY2022) to create an expanded WUI Virtual Handbook with updated and new content, a template for risk assessment based on best practices, and a robust suite of supporting materials to help fire service personnel communicate with property owners and community leaders about fire risks and parcel-level and community-level mitigation strategies to reduce wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire losses.
As WUI communities grow, and WUI fires proliferate, more fire departments with very little experience in WUI fires and/or a shortage of personnel and resources will be called on to protect their communities. Adopting strategies now to prioritize mitigation that slows or prevents fire spread is critical. At the same time, research increasingly shows that mitigation strategies focused on parcel-level structural hardening alone are insufficient; we need to factor in community-level exposure possibilities and local context and get individual and community buy-in to make important changes. The fire engineering community can help meet these needs by providing fire departments with more persuasive materials–grounded in science-based engineering methods–to convince property owners, developers, and community leaders to make the changes needed to better protect against WUI fire threats. When paired with communications tools targeting property owners, developers, businesses, and community leaders, this guidance can be an essential resource for fire departments to demonstrate the value of investment in WUI fire safety.
To that end, this project will expand and revise the existing SFPE Foundation WUI Virtual Handbook to make it a more flexible tool that can be utilized for a wider range of needs, including (1) training property inspectors, (2) conducting WUI property assessments, (3) engaging with homeowners regarding WUI risks and mitigation activities, and (4) engaging community leaders in understanding WUI fire risks and potential mitigation activities. It will be designed to meet the needs of more- and less-experienced departments and to empower fire service personnel to reduce community risk while raising awareness of complementary tools, resources, and training available through organizations operating in this space.
Three project teams were selected for this project. Darlene Rini, PE, is leading the Engineering Technical Consultant team from Jensen Hughes. Hubert Biteau, PhD, PE, CFEI, is leading the Engineering Risk Consultant Team from Code Red Consultants, LLC. And, third, Daniel Price, PE, and Bill M. West are leading the Web Design & Creative Consultant Team from Engineered Fire Systems, Inc. and Bareknuckle Branding, respectively.
This project will contribute to the Foundation’s research portfolio in the SFPE Research Roadmap threads of Building Fires, Fire Service, Fire Safety Systems, and Wildland/WUI Fires.