Citation

Briggs PJ. Fire Safety J. 1993; 20(4): 341-351.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Provision of means for escape in case of fire is a fundamental principle employed to ensure the fire safety of the occupants of a building. Obscuration of exits by smoke is a major hazard to the escape of the occupants as well as hindering access for the fire brigade. Considerable research has been carried out into smoke movement and smoke control systems but an unsatisfactory situation persists for manufacturers, designers and regulators concerning the relevance of smoke data from existing test procedures and how it may be applied to control materials for diverse applications. This paper examines the latest developments in smoke test procedures (both cumulative and dynamic) and indicates how the test data may be related to potential fire scenarios. The use of small-scale test data to predict fire growth and smoke generation in these defined scenarios is then proposed as the basis for future classification and risk assessment protocols.