This study evaluates efficient, low-exposure and environmentally friendly extinguishing of fires in small building units and is commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) and the Norwegian Building Authority (DiBK). The main objective is to increase the knowledge on how to extinguish fires in smaller building units efficiently in terms of time and water amount, with minimal exposure of the fire service to smoke, heat and direct contact with soot, as well as minimal environmental exposure in case of extinguishing water run-off. For a holistic evaluation of firefighting methods, the tactical assessments and priorities of the fire service were also studied. In total seven medium-scale fire tests were carried out in a 13.5 m2 compartment with a ceiling height of 2.4 m, a ventilation opening of 0.54 m2 and an adjacent corridor. The fuel in the experiments consisted mainly of a sofa with mattresses according to specifications given in the "open space" test specified in the standard IMO Resolution 265 (84) and walls clad with OSB boards. One experiment was carried out with real furniture. The study focuses on indirect extinguishing (i.e., cooling of the fire gases) with four different extinguishing methods, which are: • Coldcut cobra cutting extinguisher and water, • Spray nozzle and water, • Spray nozzle and foam, • Fognail extinguishing spear and water. The extinguishing was started based on a temperature criterion of 350°C, 80 cm below the ceiling. The water consumption during extinguishing, the fire compartment temperature, as well as the particle and the gas concentration (CO, CO2, etc.), were measured during the experiments. Measuring devices for temperature, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in particulate phase and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were attached to a firefighter’s jacket to measure exposure. The firefighters stayed, during all experiments, for at least 1.5 minutes in the fire compartment to ensure a measurable PAH and VOC exposure. The experiments were furthermore documented with video recordings from several angles and infrared video of the fire compartment. After four of the trials, interviews with the fire service were conducted to evaluate the tactical assessments made during the firefighting effort. In the experiments, all extinguishing methods caused the temperature in the smoke layer to drop below 150°C within 2.5 minutes and the flaming fire was extinguished. The fire re-ignited in all experiments approx. 6 minutes after the start of the experiment, except for experiment F4, extinguishing with foam, where there was re-ignition after approx. 4 minutes. The experiments showed that the cutting extinguisher and Fognail have a good effect, even under "artificial" limitations in the experiments (duration and direction of the extinguishment). Both of these extinguishing methods used approximately the same amount of water. As the purchase costs for a Fognail are significantly less than for a cutting extinguisher, the Fognail has been found to be not only an efficient extinguishing method but also beneficial from a cost/benefit perspective. Purchasing costs are important for the fire service, especially for smaller fire services. Foam had the poorest cooling effect in the experiments and led to the fastest re-ignition. It was therefore concluded that foam is at high temperatures the least suited extinguishing method to reduce the temperature in the fire compartment. However, it is important that the use of foam is considered depending on the given fire scenario since the present study did not evaluate all properties and possible benefits of foam (such as the ability to cover flammable liquid). Furthermore, it can be assumed that foam can have a better effect when the temperature in the fire compartment is first lowered by using an external extinguishing method. The combination of foam and external extinguishing methods was not investigated in the present study. It is therefore recommended to evaluate this combination in future studies. To use an external extinguishing method (cutting extinguisher or Fognail) as an immediate measure in advance of internal firefighting gives the following advantages compared with smoke diving without the use of an external extinguishing method: • less soot and less explosive/toxic fire gases in the fire compartment, • better effect of the secondary internal extinguishing agent, • faster reduction of the temperature in the fire compartment, • less sauna effect (high humidity can cause heat to penetrate the clothes of the firefighters, which in turn can lead to injuries and that the smoke divers must retreat). The measurements during the experiments show that the use of cutting extinguishers or extinguishing spears can reduce exposure to the fire brigade with regard to heat and contact with particles. It was not possible to identify a clear trend for exposure to the carcinogens (PAH and VOC) measured at the firefighter’s jacket, by comparing the different extinguishing methods in the experiments. The experiments and interviews with the fire service further showed that the firefighter underestimated the negative ejector effect that ventilation openings into the fire compartment have. That is, placing a nozzle near an opening can lead to more oxygen being supplied to the fire which aggravates the situation. The video recordings from the experiments are published together with this report and will be a good learning tool for the fire service.

The aim of this exploratory study has been to investigate the fire properties and environmental aspects of different upholstery material combinations, mainly for domestic applications. An analysis of the sustainability and circularity of selected textiles, along with lifecycle assessment, is used to qualitatively evaluate materials from an environmental perspective. The cone calorimeter was the primary tool used to screen 20 different material combinations from a fire performance perspective. It was found that textile covers of conventional fibres such as wool, cotton and polyester, can be improved by blending them with fire resistant speciality fibres. A new three-dimensional web structure has been examined as an alternative padding material, showing preliminary promising fire properties with regard to ignition time, heat release rates and smoke production. 

Fires in waste facilities represent significant potential social, economic and environmental challenges. Although the awareness of fires in waste facilities and their consequences has increased in recent years, significant fire safety challenges remain. Fires in waste facilities in Norway and Sweden have been studied to make an overall fire safety assessment and propose measures for increased fire safety. Common ignition causes include self-heating, thermal runaway in batteries, friction, human activity, technical or electrical error and unfavourable combined storage. High-risk wastes include general, residual waste, batteries, electrical and electronics waste, and paper and cardboard. Frequent fires in outdoor storage, increasing indoor storage and new types of waste appear to result in an increased reluctance by insurance companies to work with waste facilities. Measures are suggested for fire safe facility design, operations, waste handling and storage, as well as actions to limit the consequences for the environment and the facility during and after a fire. These actions may prevent fires and minimise the impact of fires that do occur. Increased fire safety at waste facilities may foster a better dialogue between the industry and insurance providers by reducing the potential economic impacts, and limit potential social costs and environmental impacts. © 2020 The Authors

Utkastet til standard «prNS 3807:2019 Bruk av heis til evakuering» er utarbeidet med hensikt åetablere bestemmelser som kan benyttes for å bruke heis til evakuering av bygninger og anlegg,selv om byggteknisk forskrift (TEK17) angir at «Heis og rulletrapp kan ikke være del av fluktveieller rømningsvei. Slike innretninger skal stoppe på en sikker måte ved brannalarm». Det vises tilkrav til at økt tilgjengelighet, inkludert for personer med nedsatte funksjonsevner, medfører øktekrav til evakuering. Såkalte «sikre heissoner» skal bidra til at heiser skal kunne være i drift lengretid enn det som er tillatt i dag.

RISE Fire Research har fått i oppdrag fra Direktoratet for byggkvalitet (DiBK) og Direktoratetfor samfunnssikkerhet og beredskap (DSB) å undersøke forutsetninger ved sikkerhetsbarrierer oghensyn til menneskelig adferd i prNS 3807:2019.

Med utgangspunkt i oppdragsgivers spørsmål er noen usikkerhetsmomenter identifisert medhensyn til trygg bruk av heis ved brann i prNS 3807:2019. Noen er knyttet til vurdering av kriterierfor røykproduksjon og aktivisering av heisstopp. Brannskille i ventesone som oppfyller kriterieneangitt i prNS 3807:2019 vil ikke nødvendigvis forhindre røykspredning. Det er også usikkert hvorgodt de logiske heissonene, som er åpne og altså ikke er omgitt av noen skiller, ivaretarsikkerheten for personer som venter på en heis.

Det angis ingen krav til minimumsstørrelse på fysisk heissone eller krav til plass forrullestolbrukere, noe som kan lede til at rømningsveier blir sperret og til opphopning av folk.

Det er spesiell usikkerhet er knyttet til informasjon og kommunikasjon om evakueringen.Manglende krav til informativ talemelding kan bidra til at personer ikke forstår hva lyssignal ogtekst betyr, og dermed setter seg selv i fare. Det fremstår slik at sikkerheten i stor grad er avhengigav organisatoriske tiltak, noe som det i varierende grad kan legges til rette for avhengig av hvabygningen skal brukes til. Det kan være utfordrende å sikre at organisatoriske planer følges i langtid etter at de ble vedtatt i et brannkonsept, for eksempel siden aktiviteten og bruken av bygningenkan forandre seg over tid.

Det stilles ikke krav om nærliggende alternative rømningsveier/trapp i anslutning til heis, dersomgitte barrierer blir brutt slik at ventesonen blir røykfylt og heisen stopper.

Standarden legger kun opp til brukerstyring ved evakuering, dvs. det er brukerne selv somprioriterer hvem som kan ta heisen. Derfor ivaretas ikke nødvendigvis de som har størst behovfor rømning med heis.

Sosiale bånd kan både forsinke og effektivisere en evakuering, avhengig av forholdene iforbindelse med alarmen (type bygning, aktivitet i bygningen, karakteristiske forhold vedbrannen, etc.) og menneskene som evakuerer (er de i slekt, kjenner de hverandre, andre faktorersom påvirker hvordan individer samhandler ved en hendelse).

Med hensyn til å endre på innlært adferd (at man ikke skal ta heisen når alarmen går), vil detsannsynligvis kreves mye informasjonsarbeid for å få folk til å faktisk bruke heisen, og de vil nokvære mer villige å benytte seg av den jo høyere etasje de oppholder seg på. Når folk først har lærtseg at heis er trygt, er det uvisst om det er en reell risiko for at folk vil ta heisen også ved brann ibygg som ikke har «trygge soner».

Kunnskap om hvordan man skal oppføre seg i en spesifikk bygning ved en brannsituasjon ernødvendig, men det er sannsynligvis ikke gjennomførbart med opplæring på forhånd for allegrupper av brukere i alle typer bygninger. I mange tilfeller vil det være snakk om sporadiskopphold, slik at informasjon i forbindelse med en konkret hendelse vil være mer relevant. Da erbudskapet viktig, og at det fremføres på en måte som alle kan tilegne seg. Det er derfor vanskeligå generalisere eller standardisere behov for opplæring og behov for organisering for alle typerbygg.

Fires in wood waste storages cause financial losses, are difficult to extinguish, and emit large amounts of fire effluents. The mechanisms related to fires in wood chip piles are not well elucidated. To find suitable preventive measures for handling such fires in wood waste, a better understanding of the physical properties of wood waste is needed. The present study investigates how granularity affects mechanisms of smoldering fire and transition to flaming in wood chip piles. Eighteen experiments with samples inside a top-ventilated, vertical cylinder were conducted. Heating from underneath the cylinder induced auto-ignition and smoldering fire, and temperatures and mass loss of the sample were measured. The results showed that granularity significantly affects the smoldering fire dynamics. Material containing larger wood chips (length 4-100 mm) demonstrated more irregular temperature development, higher temperatures, faster combustion, and higher mass losses than material of smaller wood chips (length <4 mm). The larger wood chips also underwent transition to flaming fires. Flaming fires were not observed for small wood chips, which instead demonstrated prolonged and steady smoldering propagation. The differences are assumed to be partly due to the different bulk densities of the samples of large and small wood chips affecting the ventilation conditions. Increased knowledge about these combustion processes and transition to flaming is vital to develop risk-reducing measures when storing wood chips made from wood waste in piles.

This report is commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) and the Norwegian Building Authority (DiBK). RISE Fire Research has been commissioned to evaluate the fire in the multi-storey car park at Stavanger airport Sola on the 7th January 2020. The aim is to promote learning points for public benefit with regard to the extent of the fire, regulations, extinguishing efforts, structural design, effects on the environment and the role of electric vehicles in the fire development. Information has been collected via interviews, on-site inspection, contact with stakeholders, review of relevant regulations, documents and literature. Design of the building: Active, passive and organizational fire protection measures have been evaluated. In our opinion, the multi-storey car park should have been placed in Fire class 4 (“brannklasse 4”), since it was adjacent to important infrastructure for society. The fire design documentation for building stages B and C has shortcomings in terms of assessment of sectioning, installation of fire alarm or extinguishing systems, as well as assessment of the fire resistance of the loadbearing structure. There are a number of inconsistencies that indicate that the fire risk has not been fully mapped and assessed in connection with the preparation of the fire designs. Regulations: No deficiencies were found in the regulations relevant to this incident. Small adjustments in wording between different editions of regulations (e.g. guidance for technical regulations) can have a major impact on how the regulations should be interpreted. It is important that the authorities highlight such changes and that the fire consultant who develop a fire engineering concept avoid uncritical reuse of content from older fire concepts. Handling of the incident: How the fire service and other parties handled the incident during the emergency phase has been evaluated, and learning points have been identified for the following areas (details in section 7.3): The basis for creating national learning after major events, action plans, exercise and training, collaboration and common situational understanding, management tools, call-out, information sharing and initial situation report, immediate measures, the goal of the effort and tactical plan, organization of the site, communication and collaboration, logistics and depots, as well as handling uncertainties and follow-up. Electric vehicles: Water analyses of selected metals relevant for batteries in electric vehicles did not show any lithium, and only low concentrations of cobalt. This indicates that batteries in electric vehicles did not contribute to pollution of nearby water resources. Observations during the fire indicate that electric vehicles did not contribute to the fire development beyond what is expected from conventional vehicles. Further technical studies of the batteries from the burned electric and hybrid vehicles are necessary to evaluate whether batteries from electric vehicles were involved in the fire.

Environmental impact, extinguishing foam: During the incident, a lot of extinguishing foam was used, but this led to a limited environmental impact. The extinguishing foam was found not to add substantial amounts of PFAS during the extinguishing efforts. Analyses conducted by COWI still show PFAS content in all water samples, which is linked to previous emissions. Oxygen depletion as a result of release of extinguishing foam is considered to have led to local toxic effects on the aquatic environment, but not a general negative effect on the sea life in Solavika. There is a need for stronger awareness of, and focus on the use of, extinguishing foams and logging of the amount of foam used. Here one may learn from Sweden. Environmental impact, smoke: Smoke from the fire was mainly not driven in the direction of the terminal buildings, and during the first period only in the direction of areas with low population density. The fire smoke affected the evacuation of a nearby hotel. Eventually, the wind turned in the direction of areas with higher population density, and a population warning was sent out. Based on few health consultations (11 at the emergency room and 2 in hospital), as well as the municipality’s assessment of the incident, it is assumed that the fire smoke had limited health consequences for neighbours. The smoke content has not been analyzed. Finally; learning points from evaluation of the fire are relevant for many stakeholders, such as the fire service, authorities, construction design, for the owner and for research in the field.

This report is commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) and theNorwegian Building Authority (DiBK). RISE Fire Research has been commissioned to evaluatethe fire in the multi-storey car park at Stavanger airport Sola on the 7th January 2020. The aim isto promote learning points for public benefit with regard to the extent of the fire, regulations,extinguishing efforts, structural design, effects on the environment and the role of electric vehiclesin the fire development. Information has been collected via interviews, on-site inspection, contactwith stakeholders, review of relevant regulations, documents and literature.

Design of the building: Active, passive and organizational fire protection measures have beenevaluated. In our opinion, the multi-storey car park should have been placed in Fire class 4(“brannklasse 4”), since it was adjacent to important infrastructure for society. The fire designdocumentation for building stages B and C has shortcomings in terms of assessment of sectioning,installation of fire alarm or extinguishing systems, as well as assessment of the fire resistance ofthe loadbearing structure. There are a number of inconsistencies that indicate that the fire risk hasnot been fully mapped and assessed in connection with the preparation of the fire concepts.

Regulations: No deficiencies were found in the regulations relevant to this incident. Smalladjustments in wording between different editions of regulations (e.g. guidance for technicalregulations) can have a major impact on how the regulations should be interpreted. It is importantthat the authorities highlight such changes and that the fire consultant who develop a fireengineering concept avoid uncritical reuse of content from older fire concepts.

Handling of the incident: How the fire service and other parties handled the incident during theemergency phase has been evaluated, and learning points have been identified for the followingareas (details in section 7.3): The basis for creating national learning after major events, actionplans, exercise and training, collaboration and common situational understanding, managementtools, call-out, information sharing and initial situation report, immediate measures, the goal ofthe effort and tactical plan, organization of the site, communication and collaboration, logisticsand depots, as well as handling uncertainties and follow-up.

Electric vehicles: Water analyses of selected metals relevant for batteries in electric vehicles didnot show any lithium, and only low concentrations of cobalt. This indicates that batteries inelectric vehicles did not contribute to pollution of nearby water resources. Observations duringthe fire indicate that electric vehicles did not contribute to the fire development beyond what isexpected from conventional vehicles. Further technical studies of the batteries from the burnedelectric and hybrid vehicles are necessary to evaluate whether batteries from electric vehicleswere involved in the fire.

Environmental impact, extinguishing foam: During the incident, a lot of extinguishing foamwas used, but this led to a limited environmental impact. The extinguishing foam was found notto add substantial amounts of PFAS during the extinguishing efforts. Analyses conducted byCOWI still show PFAS content in all water samples, which is linked to previous emissions.Oxygen depletion as a result of release of extinguishing foam is considered to have led to local toxic effects on the aquatic environment, but not a general negative effect on the sea life inSolavika. There is a need for stronger awareness of, and focus on the use of, extinguishing foamsand logging of the amount of foam used. Here one may learn from Sweden.

Environmental impact, smoke: Smoke from the fire was mainly not driven in the direction ofthe terminal buildings, and during the first period only in the direction of areas with lowpopulation density. The fire smoke affected the evacuation of a nearby hotel. Eventually, the windturned in the direction of areas with higher population density, and a population warning was sentout. Based on few health consultations (11 at the emergency room and 2 in hospital), as well asthe municipality’s assessment of the incident, it is assumed that the fire smoke had limited healthconsequences for neighbours. The smoke content has not been analyzed.

Finally; learning points from evaluation of the fire are relevant for many stakeholders, such as thefire service, authorities, construction design, for the owner and for research in the field.

The aim of this project was an inventory of the upgrading of old wooden doors for improved fire performance, to identify the key issues and find possibilities for the future. Expected benefit was an update of knowledge, as a preparation for reworking guidelines for improvement of fire resistance of old paneled doors as important parts of historic interiors. Technical solutions for fire rating as well as matrix-based risk assessment approaches for fire performance of timber doors in cultural heritage buildings are presented. A thesis that question the established interpretation of the fire safety regulations by looking into the cost-benefit ratio of upgrading is also presented. Further fire-testing of doors can serve as a basis for a revision of guidelines. Also, the implementation of a more risk-based approach to fire threats in old apartment houses and further investigations of the numbers behind interpretations of regulations - which fire safety measures that give the best effect/cost-benefit ratio – could be useful for the fire safety work in stairwells in the old apartment buildings. The results of the project are highly relevant at a regional and national level. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the Research Council of Norway and several partners through the Fire Research and Innovation Centre (www.fric.no).