Fire Safety Testing Facility

National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
What the facility does

Supports fire safety research including characterization of material fire behaviour; fire resistance testing; development and testing of fire protection systems

Areas of expertise

The National Research Council of Canada's (NRC) fire safety testing facilities have been established to support Canadian industry, government and academia in fire safety research.

We work with the construction, transportation, marine, aerospace, and automotive industries in our world-class facilities: advancing technologies for saving lives, improving the fire safety of buildings and transportation systems, enhancing fire detection and suppression systems, and reducing the risk and costs of fire in Canada.

Our fire safety testing facilities are adaptable to a wide range of testing needs to meet industry and association standards, or for conducting custom tests for research and development purposes.

Our experts are capable of leading from bench- to large-scale experimental studies as well as numerical modelling of fire behaviour and people movement. Maintaining high standards, we have delivered high-quality and impactful R&D to our Canadian and international clients.

Research services

• Characterization of fire performance of materials, structural systems and products

• Fire resistance research

• Technology development, enhancement and testing of fire protection systems; smoke management, fire detection and fire suppression systems

• Ad hoc testing and standard testing in accordance with most international fire test standards

• Fire modelling and fire risk assessment

• Human behaviour in fire emergencies

Sectors of application
  • Automotive
  • Chemical industries
  • Construction (including building, civil engineering, specialty trades)
  • Consumer durables
  • Consumer non-durables
  • Defence and security industries
  • Energy
  • Forestry and forest-based industries
  • Manufacturing and processing
  • Transportation
Equipment Function
Column Test Furnace Measures fire resistance of specimens. Capable of ASTM E119, CAN/ULC-S101, ISO 834 and hydro carbon fire exposure tests.
Wall Test Furnace Provides fire resistance of wall assemblies and doors and can fit 3.65m x 3.04m with a load of up to 2000 kN
Floor/ceiling Test Furnace Measures fire resistance of 3.9m x 4.8m specimens with load up to 400kN uniformly distributed using ASTM E119, CAN/ULC-S101, ISO 834 and UL 1709
Intermediate-Scale Test Furnace Measures fire resistance of specimens using time-temperature of ASTM E119, CAN/ULC-S101, ISO 834 and hydro-carbon fires
Immersive technologies for human behavior in fire lab Virtual and augmented reality simulation of emergencies to study evacuation with ecological validity and experimental control
Fire chemistry lab Equipped with a cone calorimeter and analytical instruments to determine properties of materials in fire conditions