These laboratories are equipped to simulate and study the behaviour of fires of many types and sizes, most particularly forest and grassland wildfires. A facility containing several labs directed at specific studies, they have, as well, two wind tunnels. The smaller one is about three feet in cross section, while the larger one is about eight to ten feet in size.
Knowledge gained from their research is shared worldwide, the aim of which is to mitigate the damage and loss resulting from wildfires worldwide. A PDF outlining their history and research is
Here. It gives a comprehensive explanation of their research, the habits of wildfires, and the history of the centre.
The Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program (FFS) of the
Rocky Mountain Research Station is located at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. The Program’s scientists, technicians and support staff conducts international, cutting edge work in wildland fire research from fire physics to fire ecology. Specific research activities are centered toward wildland fire processes, terrestrial and atmospheric effects of fire, and ecological adaptations to fire which evolves into the development of associated knowledge tools and applications for both managers and scientists. Our mission is to improve the safety and effectiveness of fire management by creating and disseminating the basic fire science knowledge, tools, and applications for scientists and managers.
On September 12, 1960, the brand new Northern Forest Fire Laboratory was dedicated in Missoula, MT. The fire lab’s mission was—and is—to improve scientific understanding of wildland fire so it can be managed more safely and effectively in the field. The first scientists to work at the fire lab initiated research that continues to be used, refined, and extended.
The questions studied and the technology used at the fire lab have
evolved continually since 1960, and the lab’s name has changed more than once. Today, it is the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory. But the original focus—developing a greater understanding of wildland fire and using the best technology available to get that knowledge into the hands of fire managers—has been a way of life for fire lab scientists
for a half-century.
From the Fire Lab