COLUMBIA, MD -- UL Research Institutes’ Fire Safety Research Institute announced the launch of its newest research project, WUI Fire Modeling. This project leverages existing and newly developed fire models to establish a validated framework that improves the prediction of structure-to-structure fire spread in wildland-urban interface environments.

This research advances the understanding of structure-to-structure fire spread by integrating material-specific data into quantitative fire-spread analyses. Building on findings from ULRI’s fire safety team’s Structure-to-Structure Fire Spread research, the project evaluates and validates existing fire models against full-scale experimental data to develop a simplified, scientifically grounded approach for predicting fire spread in WUI scenarios. In parallel, the project is developing a CFD modeling framework that captures the effect of structural interactions and post-landing firebrand dynamics, including transport, landing, and ignition. 

Together, these frameworks will address key limitations in current WUI fire spread models and provide scientifically grounded tools for researchers, government agencies, and fire and life safety professionals. The resulting modeling capabilities will improve fire hazard and risk assessments, support operational decision-making, and enhance community planning, mitigation, and resilience strategies in WUI communities. 

Visit the WUI fire modeling project page to learn more about this research.