OTTAWA, Jun 2, 2008 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) — — An engineering professor at Carleton University is conducting potentially lifesaving research by determining the role of flammable upholstered furniture in fires, thanks to a grant he received from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Dr. Ehab Zalok is leading one of 18 research projects funded under CMHC’s External Research Program (ERP) in 2008. The goal of this program is to support the work of housing researchers across Canada to improve the quality of housing for Canadians. Dr. Zalok joins two other CMHC grant recipients in Ottawa: Betty Dion of Betty Dion Enterprises Ltd. (BDEL), and Dr. Paulette Guitard of the University of Ottawa.

Before firefighters enter a building, they need to do a burn assessment to determine safety, and a slight misjudgement can cost them their lives. Firefighters examine indicators including, floor space, window size and fire type, but what is hard to predict is the flammability of furniture.

Approximately one-third of residential fire deaths are attributable to upholstered furniture. Dr. Zalok points to flammable upholstered furniture as the cause for a fire in Montréal last year that ended in tragedy.

“Some apartment-dwellers had been away for a few days, and they had a sofa leaning against a heating element,” says Dr. Zalok. “There was some smoke, so the neighbours called for a fire response. When the firefighters tried to move the sofa, it caught on fire, and the whole apartment went into flashover. Two of the firefighters escaped, but one died on the scene.”

A flashover is a sudden jump in temperature that can cause everything in a room to ignite. It’s one of the more dreaded possibilities in an enclosed fire, and because of a lack of research, it is often difficult to predict.

Dr. Zalok and his team plan to develop a database from existing information on fires attributed to upholstered furniture. By using computer models for typical single houses and townhouses, the team will study how different types of furniture could influence burn rates and times to critical events such as flashover, sprinkler activation, loss of visibility or release of toxic gases.

The task will be a complex challenge.

“Window size and floor area are easy to calculate,” says Zalok. “But it will be difficult to collect real data from manufacturers about the properties of their furniture, and characterize it in a way that will be useful to the study.”

Still, this project may help to save lives – and raise awareness about the role of furniture in fires.

“For example, if people lean sofas against heating elements, it may take four to five years for the material to dry out and become a fire hazard,” says Dr. Zalok. “I hope (the research) will lead to better recommendations to occupants about where they should put their smoke detectors – something that builders can pass along.”

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