Re: Re: Electric windows and opening in a fire?

[Chris Hunter <cjhunter@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

somehow, I'm sure opening it would make the fire usurvivable ...
maybe, though, that would depend on there being a source for the
draught elsewhere ... maybe it depends, as always ...

Chris


On 1 Jun 2007, at 19:12, rb_ziggy wrote:

> I'm sure I saw a programme recently - Horizon possibly - that showed
> work by a fire engineer.  They had designed a 'smart' monitoring
> system for very large/high buildings.  It was quite counter-intuitive.
>
> A key issue seems to be the room temperature.  As it reaches a certain
> temperature a 'flashover' occurs and the room virtually explodes in a
> fireball due to radiant heat.  The system monitored temperatures in
> floors/ceilings and in a fire situation opened windows and doors to
> create a cooling draught.  Though I think it could also close them too
> in the initial stages to prevent smoke spreading and create exit
> routes.
>
> They showed how it gave extra time to escape and allow firefighters
> time to deal with the situation - in big fires it also allowed the
> fire crews to monitor the building and understand when structural
> failure (9/11) would occur.
>
> So, not necessarily true that opening a window causes a problem, as I
> say, quite counter-intuitive.  Mind you, the degree of sophistication
> was staggering.  Not really HA and not exactly cheap if I recall.
>
> --- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Andy Davies" <dajdavies@...>
wrote:
>>
>> I'm no fire tech but I reckon it could make it worse as it creates
a
> chimney
>> effect - hot air escaping will draw fresh air (and hence oxygen)
in
> - isn't
>> the current fire prevention advice to close doors if you find a
fire?
>>
>> A friend's Mum died in a fire about 15 years ago, she fell asleep
> smoking
>> but because the doors of the room she was in were closed the room
> burnt out
>> but the fire didn't spread.
>>
>>
>> On 28/05/07, Paul Gale <groups2@...> wrote:
>>>
>>> Just wondering what the combined wisdom is of allowing an
> automatic velux
>>> window to open in the event of fire/smoke?
>>>
>>> Obviously (?) opening if a smoke detector goes off may be OK
but
> how about
>>> opening in the event of a heat detector being triggered? Could
> that make the
>>> situation worse? (i.e. providing a nice supply of oxygen to
the
>>> fire?)
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>
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