ASTM E2061-02a

Guide for Fire Hazard Assessment of Rail Transportation Vehicles

SCOPE
1.1 This is a guide to developing fire hazard assessments for rail transportation vehicles. It has been written to assist professionals, including fire safety engineers, who wish to assess the fire safety of rail transportation vehicles, during or after their design (see also 1.6). This guide is not in itself a fire hazard assessment nor does it provide acceptance criteria; thus, it cannot be used for regulation.
1.2 Hazard assessment is a process that results in an estimate of the potential severity of the fires that can develop under defined scenarios, once defined incidents have occurred. Hazard assessment does not address the likelihood of a fire occurring. Hazard assessment is based on the premise that an ignition has occurred, consistent with a specified scenario, and that potential outcomes of the scenario can be reliably estimated.
1.3 Consistent with 1.2, this guide provides methods to estimate whether particular rail passenger designs provide an equal or greater level of fire safety when compared to designs developed based on the traditional applicable fire-test-response characteristic approaches currently widely used in this industry. Such approaches have typically been based on prescriptive test methodologies, as exemplified by guidelines of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and recommended practices of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) (Table X1.1). Selective use of parts of the methodology in this guide and of individual fire-test-response characteristics from Table X1.1 does not satisfy the fire safety objectives of this guide or of the table. This guide shall be used in its entirety to develop a fire hazard assessment for rail transportation vehicles or to aid in the design of such vehicles.
1.4 This guide includes and applies accepted and clearly defined fire safety engineering techniques and methods consistent with both existing, traditional prescriptive codes and standards and performance based fire codes and standards under development throughout the world.
1.5 This guide provides recommended methods to mitigate potential damage from fires in rail transportation vehicles, by assessing the comparative fire hazard of particular products, assemblies, systems or overall designs intended for use in rail transportation vehicles. Such methods could include changes to the materials, components, products, assemblies, or systems involved in the construction of the rail transportation vehicle or changes in the design features of the vehicle, including the number and location of automatically activated fire safety devices present (see 4.4.4 for further details).
1.6 This guide is intended, among other things, to be of assistance to personnel addressing issues associated with the following areas.
1.6.1 Design and specification of rail transportation vehicles.
1.6.2 Fabrication of rail transportation vehicles.
1.6.3 Supply of assemblies, subassemblies, and component materials, for use in rail transportation vehicles.
1.6.4 Operation of rail transportation vehicles.
1.6.5 Provision of a safe environment for all occupants of a rail transportation vehicle.
1.7 The techniques provided in this guide are based on specific assumptions in terms of rail transportation vehicle designs, construction and fire scenarios. These techniques can be used to provide a quantitative measure of the fire hazards from a specified set of fire conditions, involving specific materials, products, or assemblies. Such an assessment cannot be relied upon to predict the hazard of actual fires, which involve conditions, or vehicle designs, other than those assumed in the analysis. In particular, the fire hazard may be affected by the anticipated use pattern of the vehicle.
1.8 This guide can be used to analyze the estimated fire performance of the vehicle specified under defined specific fire scenarios. Under such scenarios, incidents will begin either inside or outside a vehicle, and ignition sources can invo...

General Information

• Status: Historical
• Publication Date: 09-Sep-2002
• ICS: 45.120 - Equipment for railway/cableway construction and maintenance
• Technical Committee: E05 - Fire Standards
• Drafting Committee: E05.17 - Transportation

Relations

• Replaces: ASTM E2061-02 - Guide for Fire Hazard Assessment of Rail Transportation Vehicles
• Effective Date: 10-Sep-2002
• Replaced By: ASTM E2061-03 - Guide for Fire Hazard Assessment of Rail Transportation Vehicles
• Effective Date: 10-Apr-2003
• Referred By: ASTM E176-21ae1 - Standard Terminology of Fire Standards
• Effective Date: 10-Sep-2002
• Referred By: ASTM E2280-21 - Standard Guide for Fire Hazard Assessment of the Effect of Upholstered Seating Furniture Within Patient Rooms of Health Care Facilities
• Effective Date: 10-Sep-2002
• Referred By: ASTM D5425-23 - Standard Guide for Development of Fire Hazard Assessment Standards of Electrotechnical Products
• Effective Date: 10-Sep-2002
• Referred By: ASTM E1546-21 - Standard Guide for Development of Fire-Hazard-Assessment Standards
• Effective Date: 10-Sep-2002
• Referred By: ASTM E2574/E2574M-17(2021) - Standard Test Method for Fire Testing of School Bus Seat Assemblies
• Effective Date: 10-Sep-2002

Standards Content (Sample)

NOTICE: This standard has either been superceded and replaced by a new version or discontinued.
Contact ASTM International (www.astm.org) for the latest information.
Designation: E 2061 – 02a
Standard Guide for
1
Fire Hazard Assessment of Rail Transportation Vehicles
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E 2061; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
INTRODUCTION
The traditional approach to codes and standards is the specification of individual fire-test-response
requirements for each material, component, or product that is found in a given environment and is
deemed important to maintain satisfactory levels of fire safety. This practice has been in place for so
long that it gives a significant level of comfort; manufacturers know what is required to comply with
the specifications and specifiers simply apply the requirements. The implicit assumptions are not
stated, but they are that the use of the prescribed requirements ensures an adequate level of safety.
There is no need to impose any change on those manufacturers who supply safe systems meeting
existing prescriptive requirements; however, as new materials, components, and products are
developed, manufacturers, designers, and specifiers often desire the flexibility to choose how overall
safety requirements are to be met. It is the responsibility of developers of alternative approaches to
state explicitly the assumptions being made which result in a design having an equivalent level of
safety. One way to generate explicit and valid assumptions is to use a performance-based approach,
based on test methods that provide data in engineering units, suitable for use in fire safety engineering
calculations, as this guide provides.
This fire hazard assessment guide focuses on rail transportation vehicles. Such a fire hazard
assessment requires developing all crucial fire scenarios that must be considered and consideration of
the effect of all contents and designs within the rail transportation vehicle, which will potentially affect
the resulting fire hazard. The intention of this guide is that rail transportation vehicles be designed
either by meeting all the requirements of the traditional prescriptive approach or by conducting a fire
hazard assessment, that needs to provide adequate margins of error, in which a level of safety is
obtained that is equal to or greater than the level of safety resulting from the traditional approach.
1. Scope 1.3 Consistent with 1.2, this guide provides methods to
estimate whether particular rail passenger designs provide an
1.1 This is a guide to developing fire hazard assessments for
equal or greater level of fire safety when compared to designs
rail transportation vehicles. It has been written to assist
developed based on the traditional applicable fire-test-response
professionals, including fire safety engineers, who wish to
characteristic approaches currently widely used in this indus-
assess the fire safety of rail transportation vehicles, during or
try. Such approaches have typically been based on prescriptive
after their design (see also 1.6). This guide is not in itself a fire
test methodologies, as exemplified by the former guidelines of
hazard assessment nor does it provide acceptance criteria; thus,
the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and recommended
it cannot be used for regulation.
practices of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and,
1.2 Hazard assessment is a process that results in an
more recently, by FRA requirements (Table X1.1). Selective
estimate of the potential severity of the fires that can develop
use of parts of the methodology in this guide and of individual
under defined scenarios, once defined incidents have occurred.
fire-test-response characteristics from Table X1.1 does not
Hazard assessment does not address the likelihood of a fire
satisfy the fire safety objectives of this guide or of the table.
occurring. Hazard assessment is based on the premise that an
This guide shall be used in its entirety to develop a fire hazard
ignition has occurred, consistent with a specified scenario, and
assessment for rail transportation vehicles or to aid in the
that potential outcomes of the scenario can be reliably esti-
design of such vehicles.
mated.
1.4 This guide includes and applies accepted and clearly
defined fire safety engineering techniques and methods consis-
1
This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E05 on Fire Standards
tent with both existing, traditional prescriptive codes and
and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E05.17 on Transportation.
standards and performance based fire codes and standards
Current edition approved Sept. 10, 2002. Published November 2002. Originally
published as E 2061 – 00. Last previous edition
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