http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/offerings/industries/buildingmaterials/fire/fireservice/ventilation/

Under the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program, Underwriters Laboratories examined fire service ventilation practices as well as the impact of changes in modern house geometries. Two houses were constructed in the large fire facility of Underwriters Laboratories in Northbrook, Ill.

The first of two houses constructed was a one-story, 1200 ft2, three bedrooms, one bathroom house with eight total rooms. The second house was a two-story 3200 ft2, four bedroom, two and one-half bathroom house with 12 total rooms. The second house featured a modern open floor plan, two-story great room and open foyer. Fifteen experiments were conducted varying the ventilation locations and the number of ventilation openings. Ventilation scenarios included ventilating the front door only, opening the front door and a window near and remote from the seat of the fire, opening a window only and ventilating a higher opening in the two-story house. One scenario was conducted in triplicate to examine repeatability.

The final report will be available October 2010.