As every firefighter knows, to learn how to fight a fire you have to train in an actual blaze. The question is, how do you properly prepare for that first blaze or for a fire situation that you've never been in before?

The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently announced its intent to develop a virtual-reality fire simulation that will enable fire professionals to demonstrate how life-threatening conditions can develop in structures. The simulator will allow students to test tactics on computers without risk to life and limb.

To build the most realistic physics-based computer fire simulations to date, NIST researchers are retooling Fire Dynamic Simulator, the agency's fire modeling software, and Smokeview, a fire imaging program.

Refinements to the fire modeling software will increase the system's ability to simulate smoke, hot air, and other gas flow caused by fire, wind, ventilation, and structural conditions. The upgrade also will improve data processing, yielding speedier calculations that will permit even the most complex multi-story or multi-building events to be portrayed.

NIST plans to work with firefighter instructors to develop a simulation of all of the possible outcomes for different training scenarios. With the simulator, firefighters will be able to observe the ramifications of actions such as opening a window, closing a door or flowing water in a certain direction.

According to NIST, enhancements such as picturing smoke realistically on the computer screen instead of denoting it symbolically will add to the real feel.