Experimental Investigations of Fire Spread from Movable to Fixed Fire Loads in Office Fires

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in a full-scale model office equipped with movable and fixed fire loads to explore the influence of ignition source location (movable fire load(s)) on fire spread. The office space was a brick structure that measured 6 m in interior length, 5 m in width, and 3.3 m in ceiling height, and was equipped with a sprinkler system that was used as a sensor, but not for suppression. The southeast corner of the room featured a 2.1 m × 0.9 m open doorway. Four fire scenarios (four different ignited movable fire configurations) were investigated experimentally. The results show that when the movable fire load is close to the fixed fire load, the fire becomes more intense. The concentrated movable fire load configuration also increases the initial fire intensity.

Keywords

fire spread fire load office flashover.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Lai, C.M. , Su, H.C. , Chen, C.J. , Tsai M.J. , Tzeng, C.T. and Lin , T.H. (2010). Influence of Fire Source Locations on the Actuation of Wet-type Sprinklers in an Office Fire, Building and Environment, 45(1): 107-114.

Lai, C.M. , Chen, K.J. , Chen, C.J. , Tzeng, C.T. and Lin , T.H. (2010). Influence of Fire Ignition Locations on the Actuation of Smoke Detectors and Wet-type Sprinklers in a Furnished Office, Building and Environment , 45(6): 1448-1457.

Babrauskas, V. , Peacock, R.D. and Reneke, P.A. (2003). Defining Flashover for Fire Hazard Calculations: Part II, Fire Safety Journal , 38: 613-622.

Babrauskas, V. (1980). Estimating Room Flashover Potential, Fire Technology, 16(2): 94-103.

McCaffrey, B.J. , Quintiere, J.G. and Harkleroad , M.F. (1981). Estimating Room Temperatures and the Likelihood of Flashover using Fire Data Correlations, Fire Technology, 17(2): 98-119.

Mowrer, F.W. and Williamson, R.B. (1987). Estimating Room Temperatures from Fires along Walls and in Corners, Fire Technology, 23(2): 133-145.

Thomas, P.H. (1981). Testing Products and Materials for their Contribution to Flashover in Rooms, Fire and Materials , 5: 103-111.

Deal, S. ( 1994). NISTIR 5486. Technical Reference Guide for FPEtool Version 3.2, National Institute of Standards and Technology , Gaithersburg, MD, USA.

Foote, K.L. , Pagni, P.J. and Alvares, N.J. ( 1986). Temperature Correlations for Forced-Ventilation Compartment Fires, In: Fire Safety Science - Proceedings of the First International Symposium, International Association for Fire Safety Science, pp. 139-148, Hemisphere Publishing, Washington, DC.

10.

Lai, C.M. , Ho, M.J. and Lin , T.H. (2009). Experimental Investigations of Fire Spread and Flashover Time of Office Fires , Journal of Fire Sciences.

11.

Thornton, W. (1917). The Relation of Oxygen to the Heat of Combustion of Organic Compounds, Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 33: 196-203.

12.

Huggett, C. (1980). Estimation of Heat Release by means of Oxygen Consumption Measurement, Fire and Materials , 12: 61-65.

13.

Parker, W. ( 1982). Calculation of the Heat Release Rate by Oxygen Consumption for Various Applications, NBSIR 81-2427, National Bureau of Standards , Gaithersburg, MD.

14.

Janssens, M. (1991). Measuring Rate of Heat Release by Oxygen Consumption, Fire Technology, 27: 234-249.

15.

Fang, J.B. and Breese, J.N. ( 1980). Fire Development in Residential Basement Rooms , NBSIR 80-2120, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD.

16.

Sundström, B. (1986). Full Scale Fire Testing of Surface Materials (SP-RAPP 1986:45), Swedish National Testing Institute , Borås.

17.

Lee, Y.P. , Delichatsios, M.A. and Silcock, G.W.H. (2007). Heat Fluxes and Flame Heights in Facades from Fires in Enclosures of Varying Geometry, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 31: 2521-2528.

18.

Ohmiya, Y. , Tanaka, T. and Wakamatsu, T. ( 1998). A Room Fire Model for Predicting Fire Spread by External Flames, Fire Science and Technology, 18(1): 11-21.

19.

Kawagoe, K. and Sekine, T. ( 1963). Estimation of Fire Temperature Rise Curves in Concrete Buildings (Part 2), Architectural Institute of Japan, 86: 40-47.