A series of fire tests was conducted in a mobile home of typical construction. The purpose of these tests, which were completed in March 1975, was to evaluate the potential fire hazard resulting from an accidental ignition from cooking on the kitchen range.Specific attention was directed to (a) the ease of ignition of the overhead kitchen cabinets as a function of the clearance between the range and the underside of the cabinets with and without the presence of a metal hood, and (b) the flame spread following the ignition.The tests, in which a preheated pan of cooking oil was used as an ignition source, were conducted in a mobile home kitchen area. The materials tested were printed lauan plywood, printed particle board, and molded polystyrene, which are representative of materials used in kitchen cabinet construction in mobile homes.Under the test conditions employed, it was found that while the time to ignition of the cabinet materials was only slightly affected by the clearance between the cabinet bottom and the range, a significant time delay or no ignition resulted from the installation of a metal range hood.An additional problem area revealed by the tests was the ignition and burn-through of the wall partition directly behind the range.Specific design recommendations based on test results are presented along with suggestions for further investigation.
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