Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

Every year in North America, fire accounts for a significant number of deaths, injuries, and capital losses, as well as the related economic burdens of fire insurance, fire suppression and building fire protection systems. Indirect costs of fire due to emissions to the environment and groundwater contamination are immeasurable. These costs can be reduced through the development of fire-safe products, advancements in detection, suppression and fire fighting methodologies, and the development of innovative equipment for the fire protection and response industries. With this aim, University of Waterloo researchers from the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Health Sciences, together with the fire service in their region and other municipalities across Canada, have conducted collaborative fire training and research exercises for over a decade. A unique synergy has developed, leading to direct transfer of technology to the broader fire service community; however, it is very difficult to access facilities in which controlled, realistic, large-scale, live-fire research can be conducted. To address this need, a $5.6M, state-of-the-art Live Fire Research Facility is being constructed by the University of Waterloo with shared funding from the Region of Waterloo, the City of Kitchener, the Canadian federal and Ontario provincial governments and industry. The research facility is an integral part of a larger Region of Waterloo Emergency Services Training and Research Complex, situated on a 16 ha. site, minutes from the UW campus.