National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Report on High-Rise Fireground Field Experiments

This report presents the results of a scientific study that included 48 field experiments and 48 complementary fire modeling simulations that collectively quantify the impact of differing crew size deployments (3-person, 4-person, 5-person, and 6-person crews), different alarm assignments, and different vertical response modes on occupant survivability, firefighter safety, and property protection for four potential high-rise fire response scenarios. For the high-rise fireground experiments, a 13 story vacant commercial building was used in Crystal City, Virginia. Props were built within the structure to closely resemble an occupied workplace including a mixture of employee cubicles and private offices. Each floor of the structure measured approximately 30,000 sq ft (2800 m2 ). This is a modest high-rise building that represents a baseline best case scenario for high hazard environments.

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