Results of full-scale fire tests with electrical nonmetallic conduit and insulated wire in a vertical riser duct

Abstract

Full-scale fire tests were conducted during the summer of 1987 at the New York State Academy of Fire Science in Montour Falls, New York to determine if the results of small-scale smoke and toxicity tests reflected real-world conditions represented by full-scale testing. These tests were performed with 20ft-long sample bundles of conduit and wire hanging vertically in a 10 in-square riser duct installed in the Academy's three-story, reburnable, arson simulation and fire-training building. Present commercially available materials and novel reduced-emission materials were tested, and the results compared. The full-scale test results correlated with those from small-scale tests, with the reduced-emissions material producing substantially less smoke and being nonlethal under the test conditions.<>