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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

PCAST: Report to the President on Modernizing Wildland Firefighting to Protect Our Firefighters

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is the sole body of advisors from outside the federal government charged with making science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the President and the White House. Established by Executive Order, it is an independent Federal Advisory Committee comprised of distinguished individuals from industry, academia, and non-profit organizations with a range of perspectives and expertise. On February 22, 2023, PCAST sent a report to the President with recommendations for modernizing wildland firefighting to protect America’s firefighters.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Toward improved thermal exposure classes for structural firefighters

In the early 1970s, there was an initial effort to quantify the conditions under which firefighters are expected to perform. Harvey Utech led this endeavor by defining three levels of thermal exposure—routine, ordinary, and emergency—which were characterized by combining a range of air temperatures and radiative heat fluxes. In the last half-century, there has been a concerted scientific effort to further understand the conditions to which firefighters are exposed during structural firefighting. Research has been conducted on the resiliency of turnout gear and facepiece lenses, the thermal conditions observed during a structure fire, and the impact of firefighter tactics such as ventilation and suppression. The authors synthesize the results from these research areas to update the original thermal classifications to six categories of exposure—routine, Ordinary I, Ordinary II, Emergency I, Emergency II, and Emergency III—which are more representative of the operating environment and protective equipment thresholds that firefighters should be aware of during firefighting operations and tactical decision-making.

Weinschenk, Craig↗
DOE OSTI2011

Personal PM2.5 exposure among wildland firefighters working at prescribed forest burns in southeastern United States.

This study investigated occupational exposure to wood and vegetative smoke in a group of 28 forest firefighters at prescribed forest burns in a southeastern U.S. forest during the winters of 2003-2005. During burn activities, 203 individual person-day PM{sub 2.5} and 149 individual person-day CO samples were collected; during non-burn activities, 37 person-day PM{sub 2.5} samples were collected as controls. Time-activity diaries and post-work shift questionnaires were administered to identify factors influencing smoke exposure and to determine how accurately the firefighters qualitative assessment estimated their personal level of smoke exposure with discrete responses: 'none' or 'very little,' 'low,' 'moderate,' 'high,' and 'very high.' An average of 6.7 firefighters were monitored per burn, with samples collected on 30 burn days and 7 non-burn days. Size of burn plots ranged from 1-2745 acres (avg = 687.8). Duration of work shift ranged from 6.8-19.4 hr (avg = 10.3 hr) on burn days. Concentration of PM{sub 2.5} ranged from 5.9-2673 {mu}g/m{sup 3} on burn days. Geometric mean PM{sub 2.5} exposure was 280 {mu}g/m{sup 3} (95% CL = 140, 557 {mu}g/m{sup 3}, n = 177) for burn day samples, and 16 {mu}g/m{sup 3} (95% CL = 10, 26 {mu}g/m{sup 3}, n = 35) on non-burn days. Average measured PM{sub 2.5} differed across levels of the firefighters categorical self-assessments of exposure (p < 0.0001): none to very little = 120 {mu}g/m{sup 3} (95% CL = 71, 203 {mu}g/m{sup 3}) and high to very high = 664 {mu}g/m{sup 3} (95% CL = 373, 1185 {mu}g/m{sup 3}); p < 0.0001 on burn days. Time-weighted average PM{sub 2.5} and personal CO averaged over the run times of PM{sub 2.5} pumps were correlated (correlation coefficient estimate, r = 0.79; CLs: 0.72, 0.85). Overall occupational exposures to particulate matter were low, but results indicate that exposure could exceed the ACGIH{reg_sign}-recommended threshold limit value of 3 mg/m{sup 3} for respirable particulate matter in a few extreme situations. Self-assessed exposure levels agreed with measured concentrations of PM{sub 2.5}. Correlation analysis shows that either PM{sub 2.5} or CO could be used as a surrogate measure of exposure to woodsmoke at prescribed burns.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Understanding the Impact of Fuel on Surfactant Microstructure of Firefighting Foam

Abstract Aqueous film-forming foam is being phased out due to the environmental impacts of fluorinated surfactants contained in the firefighting foams. To develop an environmentally friendly firefighting foam, it is important to understand the factors controlling the firefighting performance of surfactants. Fuel transport through foam has been considered as a dominant mechanism for foam collapse. Therefore, the impact of fuels (heptane, octane and trimethylbenzene (TMB)) on surfactant microstructure was studied for three different types of surfactants (Capstone, Glucopon, and siloxane) that have applications in firefighting foam. Multiple techniques were used to identify the microstructure and interfacial properties of surfactants with and without exposure to liquid fuel. The ignition time of fuel vapor through foam and solubility of fuel through liquid surfactant solution were measured as well. This work shows fuel solubility has an impact on the surfactant microstructure and interfacial properties. In addition, fuel solubility and vapor pressure affect the ignition time of fuel vapors.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2017

Predicted cumulative dose to firefighters and the offsite public from natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in smoke from wildland fires at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina USA

The contaminated ground surface at Savannah River Site (SRS) is a result of the decades of work that has been performed maintaining the country's nuclear stockpile and performing research and development on nuclear materials. The volatilization of radionuclides during wildfire results in airborne particles that are dispersed within the smoke plume and may result in doses to downwind firefighters and the public. To better understand the risk that these smoke plumes present, we have characterized four regions at SRS in terms of their fuel characteristics and radiological contamination on the ground. Combined with general meteorological conditions describing typical and extreme burn conditions, we have simulated potential fires in these regions and predicted the potential radiological dose that could be received by firefighting personnel and the public surrounding the SRS. In all cases, the predicted cumulative dose was a small percent of the US Department of Energy regulatory limit (0.25 mSv). These predictions were conservative and assumed that firefighters would be exposed for the duration of their shift and the public would be exposed for the entire day over the duration of the burn. Realistically, firefighters routinely rotate off the firefront during their shift and the public would likely remain indoors much of the day. However, we show that even under worst-case conditions the regulatory limits are not exceeded. In conclusion, we can infer that the risks associated with wildfires would not be expected to cause cumulative doses above the level of concern to either responding personnel or the offsite public.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

INL@Work Firefighter

Did you know INL has its own firefighting team? Its members help protect our remote 890-square-mile site from range fires and other incidents. Meet firefighter Wendy Baron, who was recently named Idaho's firefighter of the year.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Modelling and mitigating dose to firefighters from inhalation of radionuclides in wildland fire smoke

Firefighters responding to wildland fires where surface litter and vegetation contain radiological contamination will receive a radiological dose by inhaling resuspended radioactive material in the smoke. This may increase their lifetime risk of contracting certain types of cancer. Using published data, we modelled hypothetical radionuclide emissions, dispersion and dose for 70th and 97th percentile environmental conditions and for average and high fuel loads at the Savannah River Site. We predicted downwind concentration and potential dose to firefighters for radionuclides of interest ( 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 90 Sr and 210 Po). Predicted concentrations exceeded dose guidelines in the base case scenario emissions of 1.0 × 10 7 Bq ha –1 for 238 Pu at 70th percentile environmental conditions and average fuel load levels for both 4- and 14-h shifts. Under 97th percentile environmental conditions and high fuel loads, dose guidelines were exceeded for several reported cases for 90 Sr, 238 Pu and 210 Po. Potential for exceeding dose guidelines was mitigated by including plume rise (>2 m s –1 ) or moving a small distance from the fire owing to large concentration gradients near the edge of the fire. As a result, our approach can quickly estimate potential dose from airborne radionuclides in wildland fire and assist decision-making to reduce firefighter exposure.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Utilizing multimodal high-intensity interval training for a firefighter training academy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Firefighters typically undergo a 16–24-week training academy during which they perform a variety of traditional exercise programs such as cardiovascular, resistance, and concurrent training. Because of limited facility access, some fire departments seek alternative exercise programs, such as multimodal high-intensity interval training (MM-HIIT), which essentially combines resistance and interval training. Here, the primary purpose of this study was to assess the effect of MM-HIIT on body composition and physical fitness in firefighter recruits who completed a training academy during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A secondary purpose was to compare the effects of MM-HIIT to previous training academies that implemented traditional exercise programs. Healthy and recreationally-trained recruits (n=12) participated in 2-3 days/week of MM-HIIT for 12 weeks and had several components of body composition and physical fitness measured before and after the program. Because of COVID-19-related gym closures, all MM-HIIT sessions were performed outdoors at a fire station with minimal equipment. These data were retroactively compared to a control group (CG) that previously completed training academies with traditional exercise programs. Subjects in the MM-HIIT group significantly improved several components of body composition and fitness, including fat mass, fat-free mass, body fat percentage, aerobic capacity, and muscular endurance (p < 0.005). Moreover, there were no significant differences for any dependent variable when MM-HIIT was compared to the CG (p≥0.005). These results suggest that MM-HIIT may serve as an effective substitute for traditional concurrent training paradigms that are typically used for firefighter academies.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Lung function changes in wildland firefighters working at prescribed burns.

Although decline in lung function across workshift has been observed in wildland firefighters, measurements have been restricted to days when they worked at fires. Consequently, such results could have been confounded by normal circadian variation associated with lung function. We investigated the across-shift changes in lung function of wildland firefighters, and the effect of cumulative exposure on lung function during the burn season.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Solar/Photovoltaic DC Systems: Information for Electrical Workers and Firefighters

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are common and continue to gain popularity. This article helps electrical workers and firefighters understand basic operating principles and hazards of PV dc arrays. The effects of solar radiation and temperature on power output are discussed including; PV-module testing standards; methods for calculating the number of modules in a PV string; some National Electrical Code (NEC) guidelines that are aimed toward improving array safety; dc-array commissioning, periodic maintenance, and testing; arc-flash-hazard potential ways firefighters can work safely around PV arrays; potential risks posed by moonlight and other light sources; some unique dc-system hazards. We also present statistics on PV dc-array electrical incidents and injuries.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Photovoltaics and Firefighters' Operations: Best Practices in Selected Countries

Components of photovoltaic (PV) systems undergo rigorous safety and reliability testing protocols during manufacturing and fulfill the electrical safety requirements established by various codes and standards. These systems do not pose health, safety, or environmental risks under normal operating conditions if properly installed and maintained by trained personnel as required by electrical codes. However, with the ever-growing deployment of PV systems globally and the myriad of applications - from traditional rooftop and ground-mounted installations to more advanced building-integrated and facade systems - it is becoming increasingly important to develop practices and share knowledge on the safe management and risk mitigation of PV systems under non-routine circumstances. This focus includes conditions in which firefighters encounter a PV system that may have been installed improperly or has become damaged. This report aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge on the best practices and standards of firefighters' operations in relation to selected countries with considerable deployment of PV systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

LAFD: TA-15 DARHT Firefighter Facility Familiarization Tour, OJT 53044, Revision 0.2

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Lab) will conduct familiarization tours for the Los Alamos County Fire Department (LAFD) at the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) Facility, TA-15-0312. The purpose of these tours is to orient LAFD firefighters to the DARHT facility layout and hazards. This document provides information and figures to supplement the familiarization tours. The document will be distributed to the trainees at the time of the familiarization tour. A checklist (Attachment A) has also been developed to ensure that all required information is consistently presented to LAFD personnel during the familiarization tours.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2018

A Conservative Approach to Defining Photovoltaic System Hazards to Firefighters

Sandia National Laboratories performed analysis to develop conservative hazard guidelines regarding firefighters working near photovoltaic (PV) arrays. Assuming implementation of NFPA 70 system shutdown requirements, the analysis focused on DC hazards only. Several different PV variables were considered, including system grounding and DC voltage classes. The hazard scenarios considered the contact conditions, current paths through the body, and PPE. Guidelines for the hazard definitions for men and women were based on the IEC TS 60479-1 guidelines. The importance of PPE was illustrated in the results.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Wild Fire Computer Model Helps Firefighters

A high-tech computer model called HIGRAD/FIRETEC, the cornerstone of a collaborative effort between U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station and Los Alamos National Laboratory, provides insights that are essential for front-line fire fighters. The science team is looking into levels of bark beetle-induced conditions that lead to drastic changes in fire behavior and how variable or erratic the behavior is likely to be.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗