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The present study provides an overview of the terminology and concepts of fire safety with particular emphasis on the workplace setting. Various issues, such as fire protection codes, standards, and regulations, fire safety fundamentals, features of building construction related to fire protection and employee response to emergencies have been examined. Keywords: the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); OSHA regulations; fire dynamics; fire drills; design; fire scenarios; heat release rate (HRR); performance-based file safety design

Fire detection and alarm systems are recognized as key features of a building’s fire prevention and protection strategy. This chapter presents a systematic technique to be used by fire protection engineers in the design and analysis of detection and alarm systems. The majority of discussion is directed toward systems used in buildings. However, many of the techniques and procedures also apply to systems used to protect planes, ships, outside storage yards, and other nonbuilding environments.

Large loss fires present challenges for the insurance, legal, and forensic communities with respect to organization and execution of fire scene investigations, identification of potential responsible parties, and subsequent collection, examination, and testing of evidence. A generalized methodology is presented for organizing a rapid response, initial analysis, development of 'expert teams', and agreements regarding evidence collection and examination and testing. The discussion stresses the necessity to adequately identify, document, and protect physical fire scene evidence relating both to fire origin and cause and to factors affecting fire growth and spread, so that parties who may be potential litigants have the opportunity to review and study that evidence.

An analog light-scattering-type smoke detector was tested in a wind tunnel at various low velocities. The air flow in the wind tunnel contained an aerosol concentration that resulted in a high ambient optical density, simulating smoke well above threshold optical detector density. The objective of this research was to determine the lag time to alarm, Δt, associated with difficulty of smoke entry into a detector. A “critical velocity” was identified for the smoke detector, below which the lag time increased exponentially with decreasing velocity. Increased lag time results in the detector responding unacceptably late—or not at all—even when ambient obscuration is well above limits defined in UL standard tests.

Increasing use of air-supported structures stimulated interest in their behavior when containing a hostile fire. The test described here provided an unexpected result.