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Residential Sprinkler Video Courtesy of Underwriter's Laboratories
Live Fire Exercises September 9, 2006
Read the Executive Summary of the Live Fire Exercises.
On September 9, 2006 three live fire exercises were conducted on a home scheduled for demolition in Woodinville, WA. The Redmond Fire Department and the Woodinville Fire and Life Safety District conducted these exercises cooperatively. The primary goal for this project was to gather data to support the adoption of a local ordinance requiring sprinkler systems in all new residential occupancies. The live fire exercises compared the fire development and temperature rise characteristics of an unprotected typical living room and bedroom to identical rooms that included a single UL Listed concealed residential sprinkler installed in accordance with NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes. This research consisted of a side-by-side simultaneous comparison of two living room fire scenarios, followed by two separate bedroom fire scenarios. Underwriters Laboratories supported this effort by refining and testing the ignition scenarios in our laboratories prior to the actual fires, and reviewing the proposed sprinkler installation to ensure it was appropriate. UL staff also traveled to the burn site to setup an instrumentation package, record the actual time/temperature data, and film all of the live fire scenarios. Live Fire Exercises September 9, 2006 The sprinklers in the protected rooms were UL Listed concealed residential sprinklers with a 4.3 K-Factor and a 165° F rating; utilizing 135° F-rated cover plates. The water supply for the sprinklers was provided from a 35-psi source. Temperature measurements were taken in nine locations in the bedroom fires and ten locations in the living room fire scenarios, including 5 feet-3 inches above floor level.