Extramural Fire Research Grants Program

The Fire Research Grants Program is open to institutions of higher education; hospitals; non-profit organizations; commercial organizations; state, local, and Indian tribal governments; foreign governments; organizations under the jurisdiction of foreign governments; and international organizations. Joint programs with participation by more than one eligible entity are possible.

All grant awards are made on a competitive basis. An annual notice that provides additional information on the availability of grant funds, applicant eligibility, program objectives, and selection criteria is issued in the Federal Register when funds are approved by Congress (normally by the end of the first quarter of each fiscal year). Proposals should be compatible with the following program goals and objectives:

Fire Fighting Technology Group. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to improve fire fighting safety and effectiveness, and provide a science-based understanding of fire phenomena. Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to advance fire fighting tactics; technology integration into fire-fighting equipment; physics-based training tools that predict fire phenomena and their effects on structures and occupants; fire forensics; and conduct disaster and failure studies to reduce the risk of fire hazard to buildings and fire fighters. The contact person for this group is Daniel Madrzykowski and he may be reached at (301) 975-6677 or daniel.madrzykowski@nist.gov.

Engineered Fire Safety Group. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science for cost-effective fire protection of structures. Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to predict the fire performance of structures with respect to ignition fire growth and spread, detection, suppression, toxicity, and egress; develop cost-effective performance-based codes, standards, and practices used for fire prevention and control; and conduct disaster and failure studies to reduce the risk of fire hazard to buildings and occupants. The contact person for this group is Jason Averill and he may be reached at (301) 975-2585 or jason.averill@nist.gov.

Flammability Reduction Group. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to reduce the fire hazard of building contents and construction materials. Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to reduce material ignition probability, fire growth and spread, and environmental impacts; and develop codes and standards for cost-effective, fire-safe building contents and construction materials. The contact person for this group is Rick Davis and he may be reached at (301) 975-5901 or rick.davis@nist.gov.

Wildland Urban Interface Fire Group. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to reduce the risk of fire spread in wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities. Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to develop risk exposure metrics; predict the spread of fires in WUI communities; assess fire performance of structures and communities; mitigate the impact of WUI fires on structures and communities; and conduct disaster and failure studies to reduce the risk of fire hazard in WUI communities. The contact person for this group is Nelson Bryner and he may be reached at (301) 975-6868 or nelson.bryner@nist.gov.

The National Fire Research Laboratory. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to characterize the real-scale fire behavior of combustibles, and the fire performance of structures under realistic fire and structural loading. Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to improve the fire performance of communities, structures and building contents; develop physics-based models that predict fire behavior and structural performance; and conduct disaster and failure studies to reduce the risk of fire hazards to structures and fire fighters. The contact person for this group is Jiann Yang and he may be reached at (301) 975-6662 or jiann.yang@nist.gov.

Prospective proposers are encouraged to contact the above researchers to determine the extent of interest prior to preparation of a detailed proposal.