Wildfire Safety Research: An Evaluation of DIY Air Filtration

The Chemical Insights Research Institute of Underwriters Laboratories, with the support of the Office of Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a study assessing the potential fire risks of operating DIY air cleaners. Specifically, this study evaluated the risks of fan overheating and potential fire ignition resulting from different fan/filter test scenarios. Five different electric box fan models (approximately 20” × 20” in size) were tested with a filter attached to the back side of each fan.