Gosh, I didn’t know that. How many times have you said that? And how many times have you wished that you knew about activities to improve fire fighting that you could have contributed to but missed the chance? This online newsletter (www.fire.gov) is prepared by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to alert readers in the fire service to research activities. The items provide information on activities that are underway and those that have produced significant results. No attempt is made to completely review or endorse findings of the research activities reported.

 Contact information is provided so that the reader can find out more from the researchers. In cases where the fire service is involved directly with the research, we will take the opportunity to feature that joint cooperation. We consider all government sponsored and non-commercial fire research performed by government, universities, industry, and by fire departments internationally to be of interest.  We hope to foster working relationships between the fire service and researchers to promote innovations. Please send us comments about this first issue and helpful  suggestions for improvement. In addition we

  will consider appropriate items for inclusion in future issues. Contact information for Dave Evans (NIST) and Bob McCarthy (USFA) is located on the last page.

In studies at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand the fire suppression effectiveness of compressed air foam (CAFS) is being compared with plain water using standard High Pressure Delivery (HPD) currently used by the New Zealand Fire Service. The HPD method of attack uses a flow rate of 1 to 4 l/s (16-63 gpm) at 3000 to 3500 kPa (400-500 psi). The high pressure produces a fine water mist that has proven to be highly

 effective and efficient means of extinguishing a single post-flashover compartment fire. In addition to plain water, tests were conducted with the class A foam agent and water mixture supplied through an unmodified HPD line. Fire suppression data for shielded and unshielded wood crib fires are being collected using a 2.4 m × 3.6 m × 2.4 m (height) compartment and a flow rate of 2.8 l/s (44 gpm).  The suppression water mist that has proven to be highly effectiveness in each test is expressed in

  terms of the measured reduction in heat release rate of the room fire. It appears from these experiments that the CAFS attack was as effective as HPD, but fire fighters could operate from a much greater distance from the open doorway. This allowed fire fighters using CAFS to remain well away from the smoke and heat exiting the compartment. For more information contact: Professor Charles Fleischmann, University of Canterbury, (64) + 3-364-2399, charley@civil.canterbury.ac.nz.