Flashover
A flashover is the spread of fire by a rollover of the flame, spark or by heat (radiation heat) from facade opening to front opening or from component to component. A fire flashover can occur in the horizontal direction (in the case of buildings and components that are opposite or at an angle to one another) and in the vertical direction, from storey to storey (facade openings). The effect of the wind or the thermals of the smoke and combustion gases that arise in the event of a fire can encourage the flames to spread, i.e. flashover.
Measures against flashover
There are basically three main measures against flashover:
- Fire-resistant construction of the structural equipment such as walls, windows, doors, etc.
- Compliance with minimum distances to other flammable components
- Installation of fire-extinguishing curtains on the structural facilities that encompass the fire compartment
Minimum clearances
The minimum distances to other flammable sources to prevent flashover are regulated differently in different laws and building codes and are usually defined as follows:
- Vertical flashover: 1.5 meters
- Horizontal, opposite fire flashover: 5 meters
- Horizontal parallel fire flashover: 1 meter
Further precise regulations can be found in the TRVBs (Technical Guidelines for Preventive Fire Protection).
Fire flashover simulation
In special test laboratories that are several meters high, flashovers can also be simulated, for example on facade parts over several floors. This enables a 1: 1 test of oversized components to test new architectural designs.
See also
- Flashover , which describes the horizontal spread of the fire.
- Various research reports on fire development from the start of a fire to a full fire (fire detection, fire fighting, influence of ventilation conditions, smoke, fire smoke analysis) on the website of the research center for fire protection technology at KIT
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fire Protection Forum Austria ( Memento from January 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Irmgard Eder, Harmonization of structural regulations, page 18
- ↑ FREIE UND HANSESTADT HAMBURG, Authority for Urban Development and Environment - Office for Building Regulations and Building Construction, pages 15, 19
- ^ Franz-Josef Sehr : The fire extinguishing system in Obertiefenbach from earlier times . In: Yearbook for the Limburg-Weilburg district 1994 . The district committee of the Limburg-Weilburg district, Limburg-Weilburg 1993, p. 151-153 .
- ↑ State Office for Fire Prevention Lower Austria
- ^ BVS fire prevention agency for Upper Austria reg. Gen.mbH, FIRE prevention 04/12, page 16 ff