- Author
-
Robison, M. M.
|
Wagner, P. E.
|
Fristrom, R. M.
- Title
- Accumulation of Gases on an Upper Floor During Fire Buildup. Topical Report. Fire Problems Program.
- Coporate
- Johns Hopkins Univ., Laurel, MD
- Sponsor
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC
- Report
-
APL/JHU FPP TR9
April 1972
31 p.
- Contract
- NSF-GI-12
- Keywords
-
oxygen
|
carbon monoxide
|
carbon dioxide
|
large scale fire tests
|
toxic gases
|
building fires
|
life safety
- Abstract
- To contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of death by toxic gases in building fires, full-scale tests were performed to measure the concentrations of oxygen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide during the early stages of fires in dwellings. The gas concentrations were measured at three heights in a second floor room after fires were ignitedon the first floor. Measurements were made for both a rapidly developing fire (wooden crib) and a slowly developing fire (overstuffed chair). The results indicate significant buildup of carbon monoxide in periods ranging from ten minutes for the crib fire and twenty-three minutes for the chair fire.