NIOSH Office of Mine Safety and Health Research

The Fire Fighting and Prevention Program conducts research and implements findings on the prevention, detection, and suppression of mine fires. Major areas of focus include:

• Ensuring that fire-safe materials are used, that combustibles are properly handled and stored, that mechanical and electrical equipment is properly used and maintained, and that personnel are adequately trained and educated in fire safety practices.
   
• Understanding the principles of fire dynamics, the interaction of gaseous or chemical agents with an expanding flame, the role that ventilation plays in fire control and extinguishment, and how different applications can impact these interrelationships..
   
• Reducing the hazards of underground coal mine fires, particularly in conveyor belt entries, by applying recent technological advances in the areas of fire-resistant and fireproof belt materials, belt fire suppression systems, atmospheric monitoring systems, and computer codes for predicting and assessing in real-time the impact of fire on the mine ventilation system and the spread of fire contaminants throughout the mine.
   
• Reducing spontaneous combustion hazards by using CFD modeling technique to simulate the spontaneous heating of coals in longwall gob areas; conducting CFD simulations to develop spontaneous combustion control methods and nitrogen injection strategies to prevent/suppress spontaneous heating in longwall gob areas.

Our fire science and engineering expertise and our dedicated laboratories - such as the Safety Research Coal Mine and Lake Lynn Fire Suppression Facility - let us perform cutting-edge research.