Life Safety - Technical Reports
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A significant volume of research has been performed during the past 25 years on the dangers of telecom cable fires. A wide variety of plastics are used to cover the copper conductors of these cables. Most of the USA produced cables utilize fire retardant PVF as the exterior jacket.
In a fire event, the cable jacketing and the insulation can burn and create large amounts of toxic smoke. This smoke is particularly dangerous to building occupants when generated within a supply or return air plenum.
The following research reports are a sampling of the research done in this area.
Technical Reports
"Cable fire Smoke and Toxicity" by J.E. Robinson, F. Samson, and BA Sultan
Published in Eurocable 2000 - Stuttgard Germany
"Causes of Death in Fires" by W.A. Harland and R.A. Anderson
Published at the Conference on Smoke and Toxic Gasses from Burning Plastics - London, 1982
"Dangers of PVC Wire Insulation Decomposition" by D.N. Wallace
Studies of fire Fighters of the 1975 New York Telephone Fire & Survivors of the 1977 Beverly hills Supper Club Fire 1981
Flammability, Smoke, Toxicity, and Corrosive Gasses of Electric Cable Materials" by A. G. Gilbert - National Academy of Sciences, 1978
"Combustion Atmosphere Toxicity of Polymeric Materials Intended for Internal Cables" by BA Sultan, Filip Samson, and James Robinson
Published in the Proceedings of the 49th International Wire & Cable Symposium
