Reducing the Risk of Fire in Buildings and Communities: A Strategic Roadmap to Guide and Prioritize Research.

摘要

The burden of fire on the U.S. economy is significant, comprising approximately $310 billion annually, or about 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Over the last 30 years, the number of reported fires, and the number of civilian fire deaths and injuries have decreased due to the efforts of many organizations. On the other hand, the number of civilian deaths and injuries normalized by the number of reported fires has essentially remained flat, while the number of firefighter injuries and fatalities has significantly increased on a per fire basis. Furthermore, the cost of fire protection has increased, and new and potentially costly threats to fire safety are emerging. Consequently, now is an appropriate time to address this continuing problem and consider how best to impel consistent and significant reductions in overall fire losses and costs. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed this Roadmap as a response to the national fire problem. This roadmap was developed to provide a shared vision for communication, bring the limited available resources to bear on the U.S. fire burden in a focused and creative manner for enhanced effectiveness, establish a basis for NIST strategic planning, and identify gaps in knowledge and measurement science that hinder the development of critical enabling technologies.