Fire Protection Research Foundation report: "Development of Standardized Cooking Fires for Evaluation of Prevention Technologies: Data Analysis"
Authors: Joshua Dinaburg, Daniel Gottuk – Hughes Associates, Inc.
July 2014 report
Beginning in 2010, the Foundation began a program to review the potential effectiveness of various technologies potentially capable of preventing cooking range top fires. A workshop conducted as part of that project considered the emergence of commercial products on the market and identified the need to develop standardized tests and criteria to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of such devices. This report summarizes and analyzes the results of two live fire test series conducted to form the basis for such a test protocol.
Download the report.
(PDF, 5 MB) Download the executive summary.
(PDF, 20 KB)
October 2013 report
Cooking-equipment related fires are a leading cause of U.S. fire loss. Beginning in the mid 1980’s, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Consumer Product Safety Commission, and home appliance industry undertook a comprehensive review of strategies to mitigate death, injury and property loss from cooking fires. All strategies were engineering strategies defined by a condition to be detected (e.g., overheat of pan or food in pan, absence of person actively engaged in cooking process, early-stage fire on stovetop) and an action to be taken (e.g., shut off cooking heat, sound alarm, suppress fire). As part of this study, a comprehensive review of existing technologies was done.
In 2010, the Foundation conducted a study supported by NIST to develop this action plan. The study focused particularly on prevention technologies suitable for use on or with home cooking appliances. and consisted of a literature and technology review; the development of an enhanced technology evaluation methodology based on an in-depth review of cooking fire statistics; and the evaluation of currently available technologies using this methodology. The project culminated with a one day workshop of 35 leaders from the kitchen appliance, fire service, and user communities who met to review the above findings and identify gaps in information. The highest priority action item identified at that workshop toward implementation of commercially available cooking fire mitigation technologies was: "Develop standard fire scenarios and create test methods and performance criteria which can feed into standards development"
This report presents the results of a follow on project sponsored by NIST to gather data towards this goal.
Download the report. (PDF, 2 MB)
October 2011 report
This report presents the results of a study commissioned by the National Institute of Standards and Technology whose objective was to develop an action plan to mitigate loss from home cooking fires by furthering the implementation of proven effective safety technologies related to home cooking. The study was to focus particularly on prevention technologies suitable for use on or with home cooking appliances. The study was overseen by a project technical panel consisting of stakeholder leaders, and consists of a literature and technology review; the development of an enhanced technology evaluation methodology, building on the ADL study described above to include a basis in an in-depth review of cooking fire statistics; and the evaluation of currently available technologies using this methodology.
Download the report. (PDF)