Demand for Extinguishing Media in Manual Fire Fighting

Abstract: Risk analysis and intervention planning are important in fire prevention and risk management strategies. This study has shown that it is possible to use fire safety engineering models to estimate the development of fires on a realistic scale, and the corresponding requirement for extinguishing media. Data from the London Fire Brigade (UK) were used to investigate a possible correlation between the area of the fire and the fire-fighting measures employed. This data, together with data from two old investigations, published in the literature, were used to evaluate existing models for the dimensioning of manual fire suppression using water. The demand for water was also investigated theoretically and experimentally. Theoretical investigations were carried out using data from small-scale tests found in the literature, and data from real fires in London (UK). Experimental studies were carried out employing large-scale suppression tests in order to evaluate the difference in efficiency between a low-pressure and a high-pressure nozzle. The heat stress on the fire fighters was also studied. Apart from water, gaseous extinguishing media were also investigated with regard to the effect of external heat radiation on the required medium concentration.