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Reconstructing the Sofa Super Store Fire — Understanding the Fire Dynamics
Track(s): Fire Protection Engineering

Nelson Bryner, NIST

Audio Sample:




A computer fire model was used to simulate and visualize the fire conditions that occurred in the Sofa Super Store Fire in Charleston, South Carolina. Hear more about this reconstruction that presents the results of numerical simulations and analyses of fire spread, smoke movement, gas temperature profiles, tenability, and operation of fire protection systems that relate to the conditions in this multiple-fatality fire incident. Simulations also examine the impact of ventilation, fuel type, building geometry, and automatic water sprinklers. This session will describe the structure and fuels before examining the fire growth throughout the structure via computer animations.

Nelson Bryner, MS in Chemical Engineering from U of Maryland; been burning things and conducting fire research at NIST for over 25 years. Conducts research performance standards and testing protocols for developing technology to improve safety and effectiveness of first responders.