Summary This article explores how egress drills—specifically those related to fire incidents—are currently used, their impact on safety levels, and the insights gained from them. It is suggested that neither the merits of egress drills are well understood, nor the impact on egress performance well characterized. In addition, the manner in which they are conducted varies both between and within regulatory jurisdictions. By investigating their strengths and limitations, this article suggests opportunities for their enhancement possibly through the use of other egress models to support and expand upon the benefits provided. It is by no means suggested that drills are not important to evacuation safety—only that their inconsistent use and the interpretation of the results produced may mean we (as researchers, practitioners, regulators, and stakeholders) are not getting the maximum benefit out of this important tool. © 2017 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Fire and Materials StartCopText© 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ongoing international collaborative research clearly demonstrates that the concept of adiabatic surface temperature is a simple single parameter to describe the complex convective and radiative conditions to which the surface of a structural element is exposed during fire. This parameter is a convenient and simple interface between fire and thermal/structural models. This paper presents existing published and new unpublished research for fire/structural engineers so as to contribute to the advancement of the engineering practice of designing structures in fire.

Regulations for cigarette ignition resistance (CIR) of soft furnishings (beds and upholstered furniture) and less fire-prone cigarettes have contributed substantially to the decrease in losses from cigarette-initiated fires over time. Two standard reference cigarettes play key roles in mitigating these losses and in sustaining the effectiveness

Existing and proposed U.S. flammability standards for soft furnishings such as mattresses and upholstered furniture specify a "standard" cigarette as the ignition source in smoldering resistance performance tests. With the introduction of reduced ignition propensity cigarettes into the marketplace, the specific conventional cigarette that has been widely used in testing for ignition resistance is no longer in production. A standard reference cigarette, SRM 1196, has been developed as a short-term replacement. However, to support furnishings manufacturers and testing organizations in product design and evaluation, and to assist regulators in the compliance evaluation process, a feasible and preferably non-agricultural ignition source with long-term availability is desirable. A key first step in establishing such a standard ignition source is examination of prior characterizations of smoldering ignition sources and the cigarette ignition process. This report documents a literature survey on these topics.