TABLE OF CONTENTS The development and management of fires in buildings is often seen as a deterministic process whereby particular inputs result in well-defined outputs. However, it is better to recognize that there are uncertainties associated with both the prediction of fire development and the performance of the various measures employed to manage the effects of fires. The presence of such uncertainty implies that there is a probability that the fire safety design objectives may not be achieved for a given building. The process of risk assessment is therefore fundamental to deciding which building design is better from a fire safety viewpoint, and given a particular building design, the most effective on-going management protocol.
Fire is defined primarily as rapid oxidation accompanied by heat and light. In general, oxidation is the chemical union of any substance with oxygen. The rusting of iron is oxidation but it is not fire because it is not accompanied by light. Heat is generated, but so little that it can hardly be measured. Burning can occur as a form of chemical union with chlorine and some other gases, but for our purpose we need to only consider fire that involves oxygen.
Fire can usually take place only when three things are present: oxygen in some form, fuel (material) to combine with the oxygen and heat sufficient to maintain combustion. Removal of any one of these three factors will result in the extinguishment of fire. The...
