[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 10012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2776]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Announcement of Residential Fire Suppression Research Needs 
Workshop

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Workshop.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
invites interested parties to attend a one-day Residential Fire 
Suppression Research Needs Workshop. The Workshop will provide a forum 
to discuss test methods, technologies, and R&D that can significantly 
improve residential fire protection through the development of science-
based methods that test the performance of fire suppression technology 
with emphasis on residential kitchen applications. The Workshop program 
will include experts from the standards, hardware manufacturer, testing 
and fire service communities, and those doing research on fire 
suppression, speaking on today's fire safety challenges. The workshop 
will be held April 11, 2006 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    The goal of the workshop is to identify barriers that impede 
advances in the application of localized suppression systems in 
residences. In this regard, the Workshop will explore:
     Residential Fire Trends
     Developments in Suppression System Technologies
     Characterization of the Performance of Suppression Systems
     The Role of Federal Agencies and Standards Committees
     Opportunities for Collaboration
    We expect this workshop to provide a strong foundation for follow-
on efforts among government agencies, industry, and academia to
     Identify/define research needs on Residential Fire 
Suppression
     Develop performance standards
     Demonstrate performance metrics
    Due to space limitations, attendance will be limited to 45 
registered participants. Participants will be registered on a first 
come first serve basis. Attendees must pre-register; there will be no 
same-day registrations.

DATES: The Residential Fire Suppression Research Needs Workshop will be 
held April 11, 2006. The workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST), 100 Bureau Drive, Bldg 224, Rm B-245, 
Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for the conference, 
contact: Yalasha Redd at (301) 975-6864, or via e-mail 
[email protected]. Please pre-register by no later than March 24, 
2006. For technical information, contact: Anthony Hamins at 301-975-
6598, [email protected], or Daniel Madrzykowski at 301-975-6677, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Of the 400,000 residential fires reported in 
2001, approximately 30% involved cooking equipment in the kitchen, 
resulting in approximately 370 fatalities and 4,300 injuries. Sixty-
eight percent of these cooking fires involved the stovetop. To address 
this life-safety issue on a timely basis, retrofit fire suppression 
systems must be considered as part of the solution. A number of range 
top fire suppression systems have been developed, however, market 
acceptance has been limited. Broad acceptance of effective fire 
suppression systems will require the development and industry 
acceptance of a standard test method. Existing standard suppression 
test methods designed for residential sprinklers (UL 1626) and 
commercial systems (UL 300) are not optimized for devices developed 
specifically for residential stovetop fires. There is currently no 
widely accepted standard test method for residential kitchen fire 
hazards, although there is an outline for fire test methods for self-
contained units, UL300A, ``Outline of Investigation for Extinguishing 
System Units for Residential Range Top Cooking Surfaces''. For more 
information on the workshop agenda refer to http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/info/workshop/resfire/.

    Dated: February 17, 2006.
William Jeffrey,
Director.
[FR Doc. E6-2776 Filed 2-27-06; 8:45 am]
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