Wildland/urban interface fire research at the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory: past, present, and future
| Authors: | Robert H. White |
| Year: | 2000 |
| Type: | Proceedings - Paper |
| Station: | Forest Products Laboratory |
| Source: | In: Proceedings of the Thirtieth International Conference on Fire Safety; Proceedings of the Twelfth International Conference on Thermal Insulation; Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Electrical and Electronic Products |
Abstract
Because more homes are being built in the forests and other wildlands, the safety of these homes during forest fires has become a major issue. Although not noted for loss of life, fires in the wildland/urban interface (WUI) are responsible for extremely large property losses. Approaches to this problem include improved management of the forests to reduce fuel loadings, improved fire service response, improved community design, and improved home designs. Unlike the normal house fire, the forest fire represents an exterior fire exposure. As such, the components of a home that can immediately be affected by exposure to the flames and burning debris of a forest fire includes ornamental plants near the home, wood decks of preservative-treated or naturally durable wood species, exterior siding, and wood shingle roofs.
The USDA Forest Service is the federal agency responsible for our National Forests. In cooperation with other federal land management agencies and state governments, the Forest Service has a major role in the prevention and control of forest fires. At the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), in Madison, WI, our fire research program is oriented toward the fire behavior of wood products and wood structures. One component of our program is to develop information and methods geared toward helping homeowners in the WUI improve the fire survival capabilities of their own homes.
In this paper, we review past, present, and possible future research at FPL that has application to this problem. The research is discussed in terms of the various components of the home that can contribute to the loss of the structure to a forest fire.