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Search Publications by: Erik L. Johnsson (Fed)

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Displaying 1 - 25 of 126

Wind-Driven Fire Spread to a Structure from Landscape Timbers

April 16, 2025
Author(s)
Erik Johnsson, Kathryn Butler, Marco Fernandez, Wei Tang, Shonali Nazare, Philip Deardorff, Sebastian Arana, Alexander Maranghides
NIST is studying how combustible landscape features around a home burn to better understand their levels of hazard and potential roles in spreading wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires. A series of field experiments was conducted to examine the effects of

The Burning Characteristics of 3 m to 6 m Dry Douglas-Fir Trees

February 5, 2025
Author(s)
Erik Johnsson, Giovanni Di Cristina Torres, Eric Mueller, Matthew Bundy, Anthony Chakalis, Marco Fernandez, Anthony Hamins
A series of experiments are reported on the burning behavior of dry, 3 m to 6 m tall, Douglas fir trees. The measurements were conducted in the open under quasi-quiescent conditions. The global measurements reported include the transient, peak, and total

NIST Outdoor Structure Separation Experiments (NOSSE) with Wind

May 31, 2023
Author(s)
Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Eric Link, Kathryn Butler, Erik L. Johnsson, Matthew Bundy, Artur A. Chernovsky, Frank Bigelow, Steven Hawks, William (Ruddy) Mell, Anthony Bova, Thomas Milac, William Walton, Bob Raymer, Frank Frievalt
The NIST Outdoor Structure Separation Experiments are part of the NIST Structure Separation Experiments project, which is designed to assess structure-to-structure fire spread in the wildland-urban interface. In the first phase of this project, fire

Wind-driven Fire Spread to a Structure from Firewood Piles

March 30, 2023
Author(s)
Erik L. Johnsson, Kathryn Butler, Marco G. Fernandez, Shonali Nazare, Alexander Maranghides
A series of field experiments was conducted to examine the effects on fire spread toward a structure for firewood piles under conditions that may be encountered in a wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire. The fire behavior of a variety of firewood types in

Wind-Driven Fire Spread to a Structure from Fences and Mulch

December 12, 2022
Author(s)
Kathryn Butler, Erik L. Johnsson, Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Marco G. Fernandez, Rachel McIntyre, William Saar, Mariusz Zarzecki, Wei Tang, Eric Auth, Michael Pryor, Colin McLaughlin
A series of field experiments was conducted to examine the effects on fire spread toward a structure for combustible fences and mulch under conditions that may be encountered in a wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire. The fire behavior of a variety of

Wind-Driven Fire Spread to a Structure from Fences and Mulch

August 10, 2022
Author(s)
Kathryn Butler, Erik L. Johnsson, Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Marco G. Fernandez, Rachel McIntyre, William Saar, Mariusz Zarzecki, Wei Tang, Eric Auth, Michael Pryor, Colin McLaughlin
A series of field experiments was conducted to examine the effects on fire spread toward a structure for combustible fences and mulch under conditions that may be encountered in a wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire. The fire behavior of a variety of

NIST Outdoor Structure Separation Experiments (NOSSE): Preliminary Test Plan

January 10, 2022
Author(s)
Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Eric Link, Matthew Bundy, Artur A. Chernovsky, Erik L. Johnsson, Kathryn Butler, Steven Hawks, Frank Bigelow, William (Ruddy) Mell, Anthony Bova, Derek McNamara, Tom MIlac, Daniel Gorham, Faraz Hedayati, Bob Raymer, Frank Frievalt, William Walton
The Structure Separation Project is a multi-level project to assess structure-to-structure fire spread in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) communities. The project is divided into three phases with each phase assessing radiant and convective heat exposures

Structure Vulnerability to Firebrands from Fences and Mulch

July 23, 2020
Author(s)
Kathryn M. Butler, Erik L. Johnsson, Wei Tang
Fences and mulch contribute to the spread of WUI fires. They act as both ignition targets and as sources that may themselves ignite nearby objects through direct flame contact and firebrand generation. The linear nature of fences gives them the capability

Flame Spread Along Fences Near a Structure in a Wind Field

October 20, 2017
Author(s)
Kathryn M. Butler, Erik L. Johnsson, Marco G. Fernandez, Mariusz Zarzecki, Eric Auth
Combustible fences have been identified in post-fire investigations of wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires as potential threats to homes and other structures. They may ignite due to direct fire contact or firebrands, they may conduct fire along their

Wind Effects on Flame Spread and Ember Spotting Near a Structure

February 6, 2017
Author(s)
Kathryn M. Butler, Erik L. Johnsson, Marco G. Fernandez, Mariusz Zarzecki, Glenn P. Forney, Eric Auth
In wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires, combustible materials pose a potential threat to contiguous or nearby structures. Flame spread and firebrand spotting have been studied in a series of field experiments involving fences and mulch beds under a

Effects of Wind Speed and Angle on Fire Spread along Privacy Fences

July 25, 2016
Author(s)
Erik L. Johnsson, Alexander Maranghides
A series of experiments was conducted to examine fire spread along fences subjected to wind at various speeds and angles. Specifically, sections of western redcedar, California redwood, or vinyl privacy fences were ignited with a burner. Wind fields of 9 m

Ignition of Wood Fencing Assemblies Exposed to Continuous-Wind Driven Firebrand Showers

July 30, 2015
Author(s)
Sayaka Suzuki, Erik L. Johnsson, Alexander Maranghides, Samuel Manzello
A series of experiments were conducted to examine ignition of wood fencing assemblies subjected to continuous, wind-driven firebrand showers. Specifically, Western Red Cedar and Redwood fencing assemblies were exposed to continuous, wind-driven firebrand

Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Research Needs- Summary Report

May 14, 2013
Author(s)
Nelson P. Bryner, Erik L. Johnsson
In response to the increasing losses due to WUI fires and to ensure that measurement science keeps pace with needed improvements in materials, fire-resistant design, mitigation response, and building and fire codes, NIST sponsored the Workshop on Wildland