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
- Wai Cheong “Andy” Tam, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Energy Storage System (ESS) Hazards
While our understanding of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) hazards has grown significantly the last few years, there's still much we don't know, especially regarding fire protection and safety. In 2023, the SFPE Foundation’s Grand Challenges Initiative Energy & Infrastructure Working Group identified ESS 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 ESS Hazards. The project team includes Noah L. Ryder (PhD, PE, Fire & Risk Alliance, LLC), Prof. Grunde Jomaas (ERA Chair Holder and Head of Department for Fire-safe Sustainable Built Environment at ZAG), Jim Milke (PhD, PE, FSFPE, Fire & Risk Alliance, LLC), Bishoy N. Awad, (PhD, PMSFPE, PMP®, ITC, BCIN, Fire & Risk Alliance, LLC), Karli Steranka (PE, Fire & Risk Alliance, LLC), Lauren Gagnon (PhD, Fire & Risk Alliance, LLC), Ulises Rojas-Alva (PhD, Department for Fire-safe Sustainable Built Environment at ZAG).
The main objective of this research is to review existing data, research studies, and historical failure events to identify fire and explosion hazards associated with BESS technology. Upon project completion, the information will be dispersed to the fire protection design, fire engineering, and fire service communities to provide more accurate guidance on fire protection design. Comprehensive information on BESS hazards will also be used to compare the effects of BESS fire and explosion events to other industrial 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 the sponsors of this project who will also contribute to the External Advisory Panel:
- Hubert Biteau, Code Red Consultants
- Jacob Dentici, Bowman Fire & Life Safety
- Hong Tsui, LMDG
- Paul Gawrych, Sparc Fire Protection Engineering
- Vinay Premnath, UL Research Institutes’ Electrochemical Safety Research Institute
Additional External Advisory Panelists are
- Ruiqing “Ryan” Shen, Oklahoma State University
- Anil Kapahi, Jensen Hughes
Engineering Science for the Fire Service: Advanced Training Topics in WUI Fire Risk Assessment & Mitigation
The SFPE Foundation recently received a FEMA Fire Prevention & Safety Grant (FY2023) to develop an engineering science-based educational curriculum for U.S. Fire Service personnel that helps address unmet advanced training needs with respect to Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fire risk assessment and mitigation. With WUI fires on the rise, more fire departments are called to engage in WUI fire prevention and protection strategies, but most have significant unmet training needs in this area. While training on the basic principles of individual asset protection – such as structural hardening, defensible space, and vegetation management – has increased among fire service personnel in the last few years, access to training on advanced topics remains lacking. Fire protection engineers can offer educational tools and resources regarding advanced topics like WUI fire dynamics, WUI fire modeling, and human behavior in WUI fires (e.g., notification and evacuation strategies). This project will assess advanced training needs that can be addressed with engineering-based resources and guidance, document best practices, develop three modular courses on these topics, and illustrate how these courses can reduce risk by addressing unmet training needs for departments across the U.S. The curriculum will be piloted at four U.S. fire departments in-person and twice virtually.
The Curriculum Consultant team that the Foundation selected includes Jamie L. McAllister, Ph.D., P.E. (Halliwell Fire Research, USA), Geri Martin, CPEng, CFEI (Halliwell Fire Research, USA), Daniel Nilsson, Ph.D. (University of Canterbury, NZ), and Andres Valencia, Ph.D. (University of Canterbury, New Zealand). In addition, three on-demand webinar were contracted with subject matter experts Erica Kuligowski, Ph.D. (RMIT University, Australia), Steve Gwynne, Ph.D. (University of Greenwich, United Kingdom), and David Wolf and Joseph Shellhammer (Fire Wolf LLC, USA). An Engineering Risk Consultant will be contracted at a later date.
This project also contributes to the Fire Service and Wildland/WUI Fires threads of the SFPE Research Roadmap.