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Poole Fire Protection and University of Maryland Awarded NFPA Research Project Contract for Aircraft Hangar Fire Protection

October 5, 2020

OLATHE, KS – Poole Fire Protection Inc. and the University of Maryland have been awarded a contract by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Research Foundation to conduct a research project aimed at establishing an evaluation method that can be used to assess the performance of fire protection systems for aircraft hangar facilities. Poole Fire Protection, a 29 year old fire protection engineering firm based in the Kansas City area, will work with the University of Maryland to determine the baseline performance criteria of existing fire protection systems in aircraft hangars.

NFPA 409, the Standard on Aircraft Hangars, helps safeguard life and property through requirements for the proper construction and fire protection of aircraft hangars. The existing requirements for foam fire protection systems currently in NFPA 409 are largely based on large-scale fire tests conducted in the 1970s. As these large scale tests are challenging to replicate today, this research project will evaluate alternative fire protection methods / technologies to contend with a scenario such as a large jet fuel pool fire.

During this research project, Poole Fire Protection and the University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering, the country’s leading fire protection engineering school, will analyze existing data on aircraft hangar fire incidents, identify and summarize fire protection systems used in hangars, and identify common fire scenarios in hangars and conduct fire risk assessments. Once the research assessments are complete, the team will develop a research plan to investigate the effectiveness of fire protection solutions in aircraft hangars.

“We are honored to be awarded this very important research project to help protect aircraft hangars from both fires caused by jet fuel pool fires and costly accidental discharges of foam suppression systems,” said Jack Poole, Principal of Poole Fire Protection. “We are looking forward to working with the NFPA Research Foundation and University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering to update NFPA 409 and improve fire protection for hangars worldwide.”

“Poole Fire Protection is a recognized industry leader in fire protection engineering for aircraft hangars, and combining their expertise with the University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering gives us a great level of confidence in the outcome of this research project,” said Victoria Hutchison, Research Project Manager for the NFPA Research Foundation.

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