Simulation of the dynamics of a fire in a two-story duplex, Iowa, December 22, 1999

Original publisher: Gaithersburg, MD : Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, [2002] OCLC Number: (OCoLC)671493080 Subject: Fires -- Iowa. Excerpt: ... Figure 20 displays the plane of temperatures aligned with the center of the stairs, 0.4 m ( 1.3 ft ) into the house from the shared interior wall. Approximately 600 s or 10 min into the simulation, gases in excess of 600 ° C ( 1110 ° F ) have filled the open stairwell. 7.2.1. Flame Sheet Fire Simulation Figures 21 through 24 show a series of views of the simulation that approximate the flame spread through the structure. The iso-surface simulation provides a three dimensional approximation of the flame surface area where fuel, heat and oxygen are present such that flames may exist. The flames can be seen covering the top of the stove at approximately 220 s or 8: 28 AM, in figure 21. Approximately 4 minutes later, at 8: 32 AM the fire has spread across the kitchen ceiling and has vented through the kitchen window as shown in figure 22. Figure 23 presents a side view of the house at approximately 8: 33 AM. The flame front has extended through the dining room and into the living room. The final figure in the series, figure 24, shows the estimated flame sheet spreading up the stairway at 600 s of simulation time or 8: 34 AM. This series of figures is another demonstration of how rapidly the fire grew and quickly the flames spread through the house, trapping the firefighters. 8. SUMMARY The NIST FDS computer simulation predicted fire conditions and events that correlate well with information from NIOSH and ATF. The model simulation was based on a fire that started on the kitchen stove. Smoke and hot gases from the fire began to spread through the house within seconds after ignition occurred. However, the FDS / Smokeview simulation of the flame front indicates that the fire itself did not spread beyond the kitchen until approximately 8 minutes after flaming ignition. Th...