Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

In the Netherlands, the building regulations have no design rules for large fire compartments (over 1000 m²). With respect to the ability of people to escape from a fire in such large spaces, the Centre for Fire Research of TNO Building and Construction Research has developed a guideline that integrates the calculation of the available safe escape time (ASET) and the required safe escape time (RSET). The ASET is calculated using traditional zone models which were extended modeling several aspects relevant for large spaces, such as the cooling of smoke on ceiling and walls as well as the effects of unstratified smoke spread in the room. A calculation model for the RSET using the flow capacity of exits was extended by taking into account the travel distance inside large fire compartments and the moment people start to escape. These extensions for modeling both aspects, ASET and RSET for large compartments, may also be useful outside the scope of the proposed Dutch guideline.