Uncertainty in Estimating the Fire Control Effectiveness of Sprinklers from New Zealand Fire Incident Reports

Frank, Kevin; Spearpoint, Michael; Challands, Neil

doi:10.1007/s10694-012-0297-2

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Wet and dry represent wet and dry pipe sprinkler systems, respectively. The uncertainty in the data from (Frank et al 2012) is shown by the error bars.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wet and dry represent wet and dry pipe sprinkler systems, respectively. The uncertainty in the data from (Frank et al 2012) is shown by the error bars. Thomas indicated that there may be other factors that influence the apparent effectiveness of the systems considered in his study.…”

Section: Percent Of Fires Reported As Effectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gravestock recommended using a mean effectiveness of 90% for sprinkler systems in apartments and 95% for sprinkler systems in offices, with lower bounds ranging from 46% to 89% and upper bounds ranging from 97% to 99%. (Frank et al 2012) estimated the uncertainty in sprinkler effectiveness reported in New Zealand Fire Service fire incident reports from 2001 to 2010. Probability distributions for sprinkler effectiveness from the reported data were developed using a decision tree approach.…”

Section: Uncertainty In Estimates Of Sprinkler System Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If using a probabilistic model, a uniform, triangular or PERT distribution shape may be the most appropriate to use with a peak between 90% and 95% and upper and lower bounds estimated from the applicable studies for the situation being considered. An example of a distribution for sprinkler effectiveness based on New Zealand Fire Service data from 2001-2010 was developed by (Frank et al 2012), which was normally distributed with a mean of 86% and a standard deviation of 4.6%, although it was noted that ambiguous reporting contributed to the uncertainty in estimating sprinkler effectiveness from this data.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

A review of sprinkler system effectiveness studies

Frank

Gravestock²,

Spearpoint

et al. 2013

Fire Sci Rev

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A lack of information on the effectiveness of fire safety systems, including sprinklers, has been noted as being a limiting factor in the development of performance-based fire safety design. Of the fire safety systems available, sprinkler operation has been studied most extensively. This paper reviews the information currently available on sprinkler effectiveness in fires. Two approaches are generally taken for estimating sprinkler effectiveness: component-based approaches using a fault tree or similar method and system-based approaches using fire incident data where sprinklers were present. In this paper, sprinkler system component data and effectiveness estimates from system-based studies have been compiled and tabulated, with a comparison of the merits of the two approaches. Recommendations for using the data for design purposes are made, including considerations for uncertainty and using a hybrid system/component approach for specific sprinkler system comparisons. These recommendations provide input on the reliability of systems in the development of performance-based fire safety design methods.

show abstract

“…Wet and dry represent wet and dry pipe sprinkler systems, respectively. The uncertainty in the data from (Frank et al 2012) is shown by the error bars.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Percent Of Fires Reported As Effectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Uncertainty In Estimates Of Sprinkler System Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A review of sprinkler system effectiveness studies

Frank

Gravestock²,

Spearpoint

et al. 2013

Fire Sci Rev

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…He determined the fire control capabilities of both systems using heat release rate measurements. Frank et al [8] studied sprinkler data from New Zealand's Fire Service incident reports to evaluate its suitability for risk-informed fire safety design. They present proposals to improve the collecting and reporting process such that the value of future data is improved.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Special Issue on Automatic Suppression Systems

2014

Fire Technol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Automatic suppression systems have been in use for over 100 years, however a detailed understanding of their characteristics and behavior is not currently available for incorporation into fire modeling. Better insight is needed, including detailed measurements of sprinkler and nozzle flow, further development of flow models for incorporation into numerical fire models, better understanding of the interaction of the suppression system with the environment it is used in as well as the fire it is meant to control and of course, improved ways to evaluate its effectiveness in the field. This special issue covers a range of research topics currently being investigated to provide this needed insight into automatic suppression systems.To experimentally and numerically characterize sprinklers as well as creating and validating models to describe them, Zhou et al.[1] collected near and far field measurements of spray patterns of an upright sprinkler using a laser based shadow imaging system. Sikanen et al.[2] present work done to predict the dynamics of water mist sprays using FDS and Iannantuoni et al. [3] focused on the assessment of water mist sprays using OpenFOAM. Ma et al. [4] uses an analogy between ignition and suppression to model extinguishing concentrations for clean agents.To understanding system design, Ejrup [5] presents evaluative work on the potential trade-offs and the consequences that use of suppression systems in tunnels could offer compared to traditional prescriptive design. Blanchard et al. [6] conducted an experimental and numerical study of a water mist suppression system in a tunnel, with the aim of understanding the interaction of mist, smoke and ventilation.To characterize the effectiveness of suppression systems, Arvidson [7] conducted a series of large scale tests on the effectiveness of both traditional deluge water spray and deluge high pressure water mist suppression systems for protection of a freight truck fire in ro-ro cargo decks. He determined the fire control capabilities of both systems using heat release rate measurements. Frank et al. [8] studied sprinkler data from New Zealand's Fire Service incident reports to evaluate its suitability for risk-informed fire safety design. They present proposals to improve the collecting and reporting process such that the value of future data is improved.It is hoped that this special issue brings attention to the ongoing efforts to develop a comprehensive understanding of suppression systems, from component design to use in the field, to so that the fire community can have valid tools to incorporate suppression systems into fire modeling.

show abstract

Uncertainty

Notarianni¹,

Parry²

2016

SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Uncertainty in Estimating the Fire Control Effectiveness of Sprinklers from New Zealand Fire Incident Reports

Cited by 10 publications

References 2 publications

A review of sprinkler system effectiveness studies

A review of sprinkler system effectiveness studies

Special Issue on Automatic Suppression Systems

Uncertainty

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About