Facilities 

The Fire Protection & Safety Engineering Technology program at Oklahoma State University has well established Fire & Safety Laboratory facilities equipped with several lab units: fire behavior lab, fire pump lab, fire alarm lab, fire suppression lab, and industrial hygiene and safety lab, and a hazardous materials lab.

• Fire Behavior Lab

  

   

  The Fire Behavior Lab is used to investigate various fire phenomena such as ignition, heat release rate, and compartment fire based on actual testing. Multiple small- and intermediate-scale experimental apparatus such as a cone-calorimeter, a large oxygen consumption calorimeter are housed in this lab. Previous research activities may include, but not limited to, flame jetting phenomena from portable gas containers, performance of fire retardants and suppression agents, suppression of cotton seed fires, and HRR measurements of various exterior wall components. Other testing-based research activities are also available in this lab. The fire behavior lab is used to provide FPSET and some FSEP students with hands-on knowledge of Fire Dynamics.

• Fire Pump Lab

  The fire pump laboratory is utilized primarily for teaching purposes to allow for students to study fluid flow. Students learn about fluid properties, friction loss, water supply system design and analysis, and fire pump system design and analysis. Students get to experience hands on testing of industrial size fire pumps using traditional and state of the art equipment. This lab is utilized by FPSET students and professional development courses throughout the year.

   

  

• Fire Alarms Lab

  

   

  This lab has been used to demonstrate concepts and provide hands-on learning opportunities in undergraduate, graduate, and professional development courses related to fire alarm systems, occupant notification, and smoke control. This has been done through both student workstations located around the lab as well as with demonstration units located throughout the space. This lab can be used for research related to fire alarm systems and notification of building occupants

• Fire Suppression Lab

  Main objectives

  •  Understand the function of water-based fire suppression systems, their basic code requirements, and their components.
  • Gain a practical understanding of conducting an inspection of and associated testing of wet and dry riser fire suppression systems

  Teaching Purposes

  • • Presenting numerous manufacturers of and different installation configurations of water-based fire suppression systems
    • Presenting disassembled and cut-away components to demonstrate their unique functions

  Currently, this lab is utilized for a long-term automatic fire sprinkler system corrosion experiment. The experiment is monitoring and testing for corrosion across a variety of systems, piping, and components while utilizing the recommended and industry accepted practices of inspection, testing, and maintenance of the systems in a controlled environment.

   

  

• Industrial Hygiene and Safety Lab

  

   

  Main Objectives

  • Educate students in the Anticipation, Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of occupational diseases such as hearing loss, heat stroke, occupational cancer (especially related to the fire service), and specific industrial diseases such as asbestosis and pneumoconiosis.
  • Deliver high-quality research related to the prevention of occupational and environmental disease.
    
    

  Research

  • Toxicity of fire effluent, especially in comparison of existing and future building products with and without added fire retardant materials
  • Exposure evaluation of respirable crystalline silica in construction
  • Evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination on firefighter turnout gear and uptake of PAH into the blood
  • Mitigation of hearing loss from impulse noise exposure, especially from firearms
    
    

  Teaching

  • Provide students with hands-on experience in using a wide variety of instruments commonly used in industry to evaluate human exposures to physical (radiation, noise, etc.) and chemical stressors.
  • Develop students' skills in quantitative and qualitative analysis of scientific data