Fire Science Show

Energy storage systems are vital systems in fuel transition and as a part of technology responding to the challenges of climate change. Not only for their capability to store energy but also for exploring strategies like peak shaving or allowing for more distributed energy generation. In this discussion, we consider them as fixed storage systems but also recognize that moveable load such as vehicl...

In this week's series covering experimental fire science, we venture into a recently finished Code Red project by ARUP, led by my today's guest Dr Panos Kotsovinos. The project was carried out in CERIB with the collaboration of the Imperial College London. History will tell if this experiment will change fire science, but I truly believe it is at least worth sharing! The research was car...

Ever wonder how scientists measure the intensity of a fire? Join us on this episode as we invite Dr. Matt Bundy from NIST. We discuss the intricacies of heat release rate, calorimetry, and how NIST is championing open data with their astonishing database. You can learn more about the database here: https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/new-nist-fire-calorimetry-database-available-answer-your-b...

In this episode, we uncover the intricate process of fire investigations with renowned combustion scientist and fire investigator, Dr. Richard J. Roby from Combustion Science and Engineering. With over five decades of experience in the field, Dr Roby helps us navigate the critical role of the scientific method in fire investigations. From the analysis of burn scars to the testimony of eyewitnesses...

This time we try out something new! Instead of interviewing experts on subjects of their expertise, this time I took world-class risk specialists for a brainstorming session. And while sitting together, we discussed something out of this world - the fire safety of Mars habitats.  This podcast episode is literally a recording of the conversation between the panellists, it is very unscripted and lig...

If you ever wondered how to capture fires in photographs and videos so it is a real science, not just pretty pictures, this episode is for you. With dr Matt Hoehler we explore the world of visualization in fires - from just shooting the pictures, through composition and what is your target, to fancy techniques - water-cooling, blue light illumination and 360-degree shoots. We also discuss the role...

And so we have reached the fourth and final episode featuring  Professor David Purser, a leading expert in fire toxicity. In this episode, we explore the complexities of nitrogen in fires, the impact of fire retardants on fire atmospheres, and the long-lasting hazards related to the consurgents and carcinogenic properties of smoke.  We'll be discussing the different hazard zones associated wi...

In this show, we have already ventured into the fascinating world of toxicity in fires, and I have promised you more. So today, I fulfil my word and invite you to another conversation with renowned fire toxicity expert Professor David Purser, who shares invaluable insights on measuring smoke and toxic products created in fires. From understanding mass loss concentration in a CFD analysis to explor...

What makes an experiment truly groundbreaking, and how can researchers plan and execute such experiments in fire science? Join us as we chat with Professor Arnaud Trouve from the University of Maryland, a co-chair of the MaCFP group at the IAFSS, to uncover the answers to these burning questions. Arnaud offers valuable insights into the creation of a structured, repeatable, and accessible database...

Ever wondered how scale modelling can provide invaluable insights into fire science? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Professor James Quintiere, as we delve into the fascinating world of scale modelling and its applications in both fire science and fluid mechanics research. You will discover how this powerful experimental technique has been used to develop correlations, understand com...

We all agree competencies are key to fire safety. We have discussed this. We have argued about this. We have come up with decent sets of core competencies, course curricula and numerous courses and modules that help us be competent in what we are doing. This podcast is to keep me and you competent in what we are doing. But this is insufficient in the modern world. Because it is not just us who nee...

What is the Society of Fire Protection Engineers? I just got a really good answer from the Interim CEO Chris Jeleniwicz. It is our profession. It is us. With this important definition sorted, we dig into what SFPE is doing (and more importantly - how it is doing). If you ever wondered what the SFPE Handbook writing process looks like and what will you find in the next edition, we may have some ans...

This week we cover the fundamentals of smoke flow (proliferation!), entrainment and smoke plumes. All the basics that impact the spread of the smoke in our buildings. You will learn: the ideal gas assumption for a smoke mixture turbulent nature of fire-induced flows axisymmetric plume models and their origins spill plumes window and door plumes basics of smoke control If you would like to read up...

Do you have any idea how bad the tunnel fire will be if there is an EV involved? That is a question I hear a lot, way more often than I would like. And usually, my answers do not get approval. I guess telling people "doesn't matter, passenger vehicles are not a concern" does not rank very well against all the media chaos related to challenges with these new energy carriers. Even tod...

This week in place of a normal episode I would like to share an interview I gave to my friend Kevin Sofen in his podcast. In this episode I am interviewed by Kevin on the science of fire, how I understand the built environment and the challenges it brings. Kevin asks me some really tough questions, like what the fire-safe world is, and how to innovate in space of the fire engineering. I have highl...

Innovation is a big world. A digital innovation sounds even bigger. But it is in fact our reality - we live in a world of constant change and "improvements". Many of those come to us in form of digital technologies, information processing or simply computer codes and tools. And I would say more often than not, these are not very helpful... If you share this point of view with me, you wil...

This episode is the 2nd part of interview with Professor David Purser, this year recipient of IAFSS'14 Emmons Plenary Lecture. If you have not seen it, I would highly encourage you to first listen to the Part 1 , which sets the context of the discussion here. In Part 1 we have talked a lot about the toxic hazards and how the production of toxicants has evolved together with fire loads. We hav...

I have to start with a word of warning, I am extremally hyped about this and upcoming episodes. I think for the first time I have recorded a podcast episode with a ratio of my commentary to the guest 1:5. This is because when you get Prof. David Purser to tell you about toxicology, there is not much to add. It is a story of the history of fire science, difficult discoveries and how a fire scientis...

It is the newest Internet craze. In my opinion, maybe even be the most disruptive tech since bitcoin or the Internet itself. And suddenly, we got a lot of very interesting conversations around, but I've lacked on oriented on the craft of Fire Protection Engineering. I'm obviously talking about generative AI and "chatbots". If you don't know this term, you should definitely...

In the fifth episode of mini-series 'Experiments that changed fire science' we cover the compartment fire experimental campaigns carried at NBS (now NIST) in 1970's and 1980's, with the maybe most famous of them all - the Steckler's room experiment. My guest - prof. James Quintiere touches on the experimental design, design choices and most importantly - the technology ava...

It's finally here, the episode many of you were waiting for! Discussing the history of US fire movement with prof. James Quintiere from the University of Maryland. I often wondered what it felt like in the 1970's and 80's when some of the greatest discoveries of fire science were made. I mean discoveries like the instabilities that lead to flashover, the role of radiant heat transfe...

It seems we will not have EU Fire Code for at least a few more decades... Why is that? Because the people in power found out that it is not the most efficient thing to do it right now. And they found it through the power of research carried out by the European Commissions Joint Research Centre. I have invited Dr Adamantia Athanasopoulou from JCR to talk about their most recent report on the state...

Welcome to Fire Fundamentals pt. 2 with Rory Hadden. This episode is focused on the concept of ignition and its role in fire safety - as an event leading to fires, as something often investigated post-fire, but also as a vehicle to understand and measure general concepts of flammability of materials. In this episode we cover: ignition of gases, liquids and solids flammability limits flashpoint and...

1 year.  This is insane the war is still going on and people are still hurt. This war in Ukraine significantly affected everyone in here, and in this episode, I get a chance to share some of my thoughts and background to the story (at least from my perspective). The story of this episode is that professor Dix was visiting Poland, and he was absolutely astonished by the situation here which did not...

If you want to design a suppression system for a certain application, you have a lot of technical solutions to choose from and most likely a handful of codes to follow. It seems pretty straightforward for most applications, right? Well, it certainly was not like this for my today's guest and his application. The guest is Ulf Lundström of the Swedish Road Administration and his application was...