Fire Suppression Testing

Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) studies fire dynamics and develops unique engineering and scientific resources to address fire and explosion safety issues, serving both government and commercial clients in the construction, transportation, chemical and petrochemical, nuclear and telecommunications industries. Testing services conducted in SwRI's 4,300-square-foot fire engineering and research facility include:

• Fire suppression evaluations
• Alternative fuels testing
• Gas analysis
• Heat release measurements

Evaluation of fire protection scheme for drum storage of flammable liquids.

Standard Testing

SwRI can conduct a wide variety of standard fire suppression tests including:

• FM 2000 – Approval Standard for Automatic Sprinklers for Fire Protection
• FM 2008 – Approval Standard for Suppression Mode [Early Suppression – Fast Response (ESFR)] Automatic Sprinklers
• FM 4995 – Approval Standard for Commodity Classification of Idle Plastic Pallets
• FM 4996 – Approval Standard for Classification of Idle Plastic Pallets as Equivalent to Wood Pallets
• IMO M5C Circ.848 – Revised Guidelines for the Approval of Equivalent Fixed Gas Fire-Extinguishing Systems, as referred to in SOLAS74, for Machinery Spaces and Cargo Pump-Rooms
• IMO MSC Circ.913 – Guidelines for the Approval of Fixed Water-Based Local Application Fire-Fighting Systems for Use in Category A Machinery Spaces
• MIL-F-24385F – Fire Extinguishing Agent, Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) Liquid Concentrate for Fresh and Sea Water
• NFPA 10 – Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers
• NFPA 11 – Standard for Low-, Medium-, and High-Expansion Foam
• NFPA 18 – Standard on Wetting Agents
• UL 162 – Foam Equipment and Liquid Concentrates
• UL 199 – Automatic Sprinklers for Fire-Protection Service
• UL 711 – Rating and Fire Testing of Fire Extinguishers
• UL 1767 – Early-Suppression Fast-Response Sprinklers
• UL 2335 – Fire Tests of Storage Pallets

UL 711 test in progress.

Nonstandard Testing

SwRI can conduct nonstandard tests to evaluate fire protection schemes for storage of commodities. These types of tests can be used to develop recommendations to regulatory bodies as to the minimum acceptable protection guidelines for various applications.

Fire Suppression Facility

Capabilities of the 4,300-ft2 fire engineering and research facility include:

• Indoor area for large-scale fires with heat release rates in excess of 25 mW
• Pollution abatement system for reducing particulate emissions that can exhaust up to 120,000-ft3/minute of fire effluents during testing and remove particulate emissions above 1.5 μm with greater than 99% efficiency
• Twelve symmetrically placed louvers allow air to be drawn into the building without producing asymmetrical air currents
• Elevated control room for enhanced test monitoring
• Adjustable height ceiling for simulating various-sized structures
• Perimeter floor drain and 40,000-gallon holding tank for liquid effluents
• Fire suppression system equipped with a 1,500-gallon/minute fire pump supplied by a 30,000-gallon water storage tank
• 1,500-gallon foam agent storage container and associated equipment to allow induction of fire suppression agents during tests
• Remote viewing access for clients
• Tests documented with digital video
• Additional options include high-speed thermal imaging and ultraviolet imaging

The fire engineering and research facility is large enough to perform a 10-foot-diameter pool fire or a 50-foot-tall corner test.

This flyer was originally published in July 2009. For more information about Fire Suppression Testing, contact Jason Huczek, Phone (210) 522-5483, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510.

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