Welcome to IAAI’s July 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast. This month, we’ll take a closer look at outdoor grill fires, discuss a fatal fire at a homeless camp in Southern New Jersey, summarize some new NIST research on human behavior during building fires, and cover the latest in IAAI news.

We begin with a classic summer danger: outdoor grill fires. According to NFPA Journal, the Barbecue Industry Association reports that three out of four households in the United States own a barbecue grill. However, few people realize that something so commonplace has the potential to injure and kill. In fact, the National Fire Protection Association’s report “U.S. Home Cooking Fire Patterns and Trends” found gas and charcoal grills are linked to 1500 structure fires and 4800 outdoor fires in or on residential properties every year. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, nearly 5,000 Americans are injured by grill fires annually.

Two interesting differences exist between charcoal grill fires and gas grill fires. Charcoal grill fires are most commonly caused by unattended cooking and placing combustibles too close to the heat source. However, the leading cause of gas grill fires is part failure, leaks or breaks. These causes account for 37.1% of gas grill structure fires and 60.5% of gas grill outdoor fires, while unattended cooking caused only 11.7% and 2.5%, respectively. The second difference is in the first material ignited. For charcoal grills, the first material ignited in a structure fire is most often the home’s exterior trim and wall covering and, in an outdoor fire, its plants, grass or brush. For gas grills, the first material ignited is typically fuel and accelerants, whether the fire spreads to the structure or is limited to the outdoors.

These facts have important implications for the investigator of outdoor grill fires. The fire investigator should:

• Determine the type of grill



• Ascertain the first material ignited



• Observe and document the mechanical parts of a gas grill, checking for malfunction, leaks, and breaks, as well as signs of fuel gas ignition outside the ignition area associated with normal operation



• Observe, and if necessary reconstruct, the grill position and location, including proximity to the home’s exterior and/or vegetation combustibles



• Check for the presence of an over pressure device or (OPD) on a propane tank, which is identified by its triangular-shaped hand wheel. An OPD is required by NFPA 58. It shuts off the flow of propane before capacity is reached, limiting the potential for release of propane gas if the cylinder heats up.



• Interview witnesses about cooking practices, actions at the time of the fire, location and position of the grill at the time of the fire, and grill maintenance procedures, pay particular attention to whether or not the user checked gas grill connections and possible leak points prior to using the grill. Improper grill use practices include:
  
  
  • Use of flammable liquids other than charcoal starter fluid
    
    
  • Use of starter fluid or flammable liquids while the fire is lit
    
    
  • Failure to shut off the gas to the barbecue after completing grilling
    
    
  • Storage of propane cylinders indoors and/or in hot locations
    
    
  • Leaving the grill unattended
    
    
  • Failure to clean the grill, leading to grease buildup
    
    
  • Misuse of the grill, such as using charcoal briquettes in a gas grill

Fire investigators should also realize that, when a mechanical malfunction is the cause of a grill fire, that information should be reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and other responsible entities. A grill is an appliance and, as such, is subject to design standards, product recalls, and design improvements. The development of these standards, the issuing of recalls, and the impetus for design changes are all driven in part by reports of grill malfunctions. Proper reporting ensures future consumer product safety.

For more information on NFPA standards affecting grill design, including NFPA 58, visit nfpa.org.

Now, let’s take a brief look at two recent news stories.

On February 1, 2009, a fire swept through a homeless camp in the woods of Lakewood, NJ. The fire took the life of Jimmy Wilcox, a homeless man who burned to death in his tent. The fire was caused by the propane heater keeping him warm; it appeared that Jimmy was asleep when he threw off his blanket, which landed on the propane infrared heating element. The blanket ignited, flames surrounded the heating system and burned off the fuel supply hose, causing a jet of flame to spread the fire throughout the tent. This fatal fire has touched off a town wide conversation about what to do about the camp, and others like it. Homeless advocates were angered by the town and county’s solution of prohibiting propane heating and open fires and evicting the homeless from the woods without offering resettlement in suitable local housing. As of May 2009, not only were the homeless camps in Lakewood still intact, one of them, KP Tent City, had become a community, complete with a shared well, a food shed, propane-heated shower, a small chicken coop for eggs and a garden for vegetables, and a washer and dryer. Lakewood Mayor Robert Singer has called these camps, “a nightmare waiting to happen.” But, as the economy continues to worsen and more homeless move into the woods, the town continues to struggle with what to do, even as town officials vow that they will not allow another winter to pass with these camps still standing. This story shows how the effects of a fire can stretch far beyond the implications of the origin and cause determination, in this case into difficult political, social, and practical issues.

In other news, NIST’s Building and Fire Research Laboratory has released the results of its research into understanding occupant movement, behavior and overall safety during building emergencies. Four papers detail the findings. They are:

• NIST Special Publication 1620, a Summary of NIST/GSA Cooperative Research on the Use of Elevators During Fire Emergencies



• NIST Technical Note 1623, Emergency Egress From Buildings: Part 1: History and Current Regulations for Egress System Design and Part 2: New Thinking on Egress From Buildings



• NIST Technical Note 1619, Modeling Human Behavior During Building Fires and finally.



• NIST Technical Note 1624, Stairwell Evacuation from Buildings: What We Know We Don't Know

In addition to the obvious building design and fire protection implications of this research, there are also interesting findings that apply to fire investigators seeking to understand why fire victims behaved the way they did during a fire. Some of these findings include:

• Typical engineering parameters like delay in evacuation initiation, distance traveled during evacuation, density of people, stairwell width, and presence of firefighters explain only a fraction of the observed variance in occupant movement speeds when evacuating a building. NIST calls for more research to understand the physiological and behavioral aspects of the evacuation process.



• Existing evacuation models make assumptions and simplifications about occupant behavior that can be unrealistic and are likely to produce inaccurate results. A new comprehensive theory of occupant behavior in evacuations from building fires should be able to predict individual behavior and group dynamics that are likely to occur in a building fire. Occupants’ actions vary based on the cues that they perceive, their interpretations of the event and risk, and the decisions that they make about next steps. NIST offers a conceptual model for how this behavioral process might work. It also offers.



• A fresh look at the use of elevators during fire emergencies.

To access this research free of charge, visit www.fire.nist.gov.

Finally, we close with some news from IAAI.

The IAAI Election Results are in. Incoming officers are Second Vice President Rodney Pevytoe, and Board of Directors Members George Codding, George Wendt, Roger Krupp, and Ed Rostalski. IAAI congratulates the winners and thanks everyone who ran for these volunteer positions.

IAAI reminds all IAAI Certified Fire Investigators that IAAI-CFI recertification now requires that a minimum of two tested training courses (or 1 point) must have been obtained from CFITrainer.net. In addition, the tentative interim amendment (TIA) for certification fee restructuring becomes effective on October 1, 2009. For more information go to firearson.com or read the article in Fire and Arson Investigator.

That concludes this IAAI CFITrainer.Net podcast. We’ll see you again next month.