Assessment of fuel load survey methodologies and its impact on fire load data

•Study seeks to validate different fire load survey methodologies.•Develop means to correlate fire load results developed using different methodologies.•Fire load densities by inventory method are 45% greater than weighing method.•Fire load densities by inventory method are 38% greater than the combination method.•Fire load densities by combination method are 10% less than that by weighing method.

Fuel load survey methodology has been recognized to have a significant impact on survey results; however, this impact has not been explicitly quantified. This study seeks to establish a structured approach to validate different fuel load survey methodologies and to enhance and develop guidance on means to correlate the fire load developed using those methodologies. A total floor area of 935 m2 in five office buildings was surveyed. The percentage difference in fire load densities obtained from different survey methods ranged between 1% and 50%. This difference has been attributed to the uncertainties associated with the use of each survey method. Statistically, the fire load density was found to be an extreme value (Gumbel) distributed using Kolmogorov–Smirnov test.