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Enclosure fires

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6.1 Pulsations<br />

In a ventilation-controlled fi re the heat release rate is limited<br />

by the amount of oxygen fl owing into the compartment. This<br />

can sometimes cause the fi re to “draw breath”. Pulsations start<br />

as a result of the heat release rate falling due to the limited<br />

amount of oxygen. When the temperature drops the volume<br />

of gas in the fi re room will also drop, thereby creating a certain<br />

amount of negative pressure. Air can be drawn into the fi re<br />

room again and when the oxygen reacts with the combustible<br />

gases, combustion occurs.<br />

When the smoke gases ignite the volume increases, which<br />

generates positive pressure. Smoke gases are then forced out<br />

through the available openings. This causes a lack of oxygen<br />

again, which limits the release rate, thereby triggering the next<br />

pulsation. Fire pulsations are shown in Figure 79.<br />

It is diffi cult to determine in which situations a fi re may<br />

start to pulsate. One of the factors causing pulsations is the<br />

size of the openings in relation to the heat released.<br />

6.2 Fire has spontaneously gone out<br />

If the fi re continues burning in an oxygen-defi cient environment<br />

it is very likely that gradually, it will spontaneously go<br />

out or start smouldering. This probably happens before the<br />

temperature in the fi re room has risen suffi ciently to trigger<br />

signifi cant pyrolysis of other fuel surfaces in the room. If the<br />

fuel surface is also limited the chances of the gaseous mass<br />

being able to ignite will be low.<br />

When the temperature drops the pressure will also fall in<br />

the fi re room, which means that so many smoke gases will not<br />

be forced out. As a result, it can take a long time for the fi re to<br />

be detected.<br />

This situation is very common in apartment fi res. Often the<br />

apartments are affected by quite extensive smoke damage, but<br />

there are very often no problems at all in extinguishing the fi re.<br />

In this situation too, the conditions in the fi re room will be<br />

very dangerous for people. The smoke gases contain a number<br />

of hazardous substances, such as carbon monoxide, which can<br />

mean that someone who is asleep will not wake up when the<br />

Temp<br />

Figure 80. The fi re has<br />

spontaneously gone out<br />

due to oxygen defi ciency.<br />

117<br />

Oxygen deficiency

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