Test Two: The ‘Controlled Fire’

Abstract

The main objective of Test Two was to demonstrate the effectiveness of ventilation changes and smoke management on the growth of a compartment fire and to display the potential for these techniques to be incorporated into an automated fire fighting system. The compartment furniture and sensory equipment was set up in an almost identical configuration to that of Test One as described in detail in Chapter 2 and in Abecassis Empis et al. (2007). The windows and doors leading to the fire compartment, and the front door of the apartment, were fitted with mechanisms enabling remote opening and closing thus permitting general control over the compartment’s ventilation. With the aid of live video streams, the ventilation was altered remotely during the fire to allow the outflow of any smoke accumulated within the compartment; the intention being to interrupt the positive feedback loop associated with a stratified compartment fire, thus delaying the fire growth rate and maintaining tenable conditions within the compartment. A substantial but enforced change to the ventilation conditions from Test One, given the circumstances, was the placing of a large hole in the wall from the fire compartment to the adjacent bedroom.