Lars Rosell

Emissions from Fires Part II: Simulated Room Fires

Detailed quantitative characterization of the combustion gases from a series of room fires is reported in this article. Three simulated room fires were conducted with a test room containing a typical domestic fuel load of furniture including a TV-set. Two types of TV-sets were studied in the experiments, i.e. those containing fire retarded and non-fire retarded enclosure material. The measurement of the combustion gases included inorganic species and various organic species among them polychlorinated and polybrominated dibenzodioxins and furans, and selected brominated flame retardant agents. The detailed quantitative characterization of the combustion gases from the room fires forms a unique source of emission data for fire incidents in buildings. Chlorinated dibenzodioxins and furans were found in the combustion gases from all room tests. No brominated dioxins were found, however brominated furans were found. Further, the results from the room tests indicate that a TV-set treated with brominated flame retardants included in the fire load of a room fire does not necessarily increase the emission of bromine containing organic combustion products. The methodology applied for the sampling and analysis has been described in Part I of this series of articles.

Small and Large Scale Fire Experiments with Electric Cables under Well-Ventilated and Vitiated Conditions

Results from a series of small scale (using the DIN 53 436 tube furnace) and large scale experiments (using the IEC 60332-3 rig) are presented for two types of power transmission cables used in buildings. The results are unique in that they catalogue the production of a wide variety of organic and inorganic species under different fire conditions. The experiments were conducted to provide input to an LCA model and the specific organic species studied in detail have been chosen based on the information required by the LCA model.During the process of this study it became apparent that information concerning quantitative organic species evolution from cable fires is lacking in the open literature. This paper aims to provide such information for two specific sets of fire conditions, i.e., a well-ventilated and a vitiated cable riser fire.