Knowledge Base for Post-Fire Safe-Shutdown Analysis

As a result of a major fire that occurred at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in 1975, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) significantly revised its regulatory framework to enhance fire protection programs (FPPs) at operating nuclear power plants (NPPs). The revised criteria used in this framework had three main objectives to (1) prevent significant fires, (2) ensure the capability to shut down the reactor and maintain it in a safe-shutdown condition, and (3) minimize radioactive releases to the environment in the event of a significant fire.