Re: Electric windows and opening in a fire?

["rb_ziggy" <rb.lists@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think the point being made was that there is 'always sufficient'
oxygen for combustion once the fire has started.  That is, it's not
like fanning an ember.  The real danger is flashover when the air /
radiant heat gets so hot that it ignites material nearby - it was
quite spectacular on film.

Introducing air cooled this down and doubled the time it took to
flashover.

Like I said, it was quite counter-intuitive but they showed it working
in an old block of flats.  Scary, I will not be experimenting!

--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, Chris Hunter <cjhunter@...> wrote:
>
> 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]
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>