Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

The form of the temperature-time curves for the class of large scale fire where the entire compartment is involved and the ventilation is restricted has been examined and found to be similar to that obtained from fires in small scale compartments (1). There is a growth period and a development period followed by a decay period. The estimated burning rate during the development period is proportional to the induced air flow. The maximum temperature reached increased with air flow up to a limit of about 1200C. Exceptions to this general rule occur at low fire loads when the maximum temperature reached is lower than 1200C, and explanation for this effect is suggested, but more experimental work on this point is needed. Subject to this limitation the results from small scale models probe used to predict the temperature and duration for this class of large scale fire.