Wind, fire & high-rises

Building and Fire Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology has been working with the fire departments of Chicago and New York City and with the Polytechnic Institute of New York University to study the dynamics of wind-driven fires. The understanding of types of fires results in improved safety for firefighters and building occupants, and would guide the development of new training techniques and methods to resist wind-driven fires. One of the concepts, developed by firefighters in New York and Chicago, is the high-rise nozzle that can be used to introduce water from the upwind side of the building directly through a window opening into the fire apartment. Chicago firefighters also had begun to test the use of large portable fans to pressurize stairwells in order to keep them free of smoke and combustion gases. NIST and the Polytechnic Institute began collaborating with the Fire Department of New York in the year 2007 to study wind-driven fires in high-rise buildings.