About this collection

In 1901, Congress founded the National Bureau of Standards, known since 1988 as the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It is a non-regulatory U.S. Department of Commerce agency intended "to establish an authoritative domestic measurement and standards laboratory."

In 1928, the Bureau’s Fire Resistance Division burned down two condemned brick buildings in Washington D.C. to study the results. This action was likely the first full-scale fire test ever conducted. The data gathered during these fires was compared against theoretical time-temperature curves that were used at the time, and was eventually used to create uniform fire resistance standards for buildings.

The Bureau of Standards fire test of steel furniture album (Accession 1993.265) documents tests conducted by the bureau between 1926 and 1927 concerning the effect of fire on steel furniture. Captioned images show the aftermath of a fire test in an office with furniture supplied by the National Association of Steel Furniture Manufacturers.

Image: Trial #4, Wood floor after slow start. ca. 1926. Click here to view.