Experimental and numerical investigation of fire development in a real fire in a five-storey apartment building

A fire in a five-storey apartment building was investigated experimentally and numerically. The room of origin of the fire was a living room in the second floor and the fire was started by a candle on a television set. The fire spread externally over the building facade and internally along the staircase and affected all the flats above leading to two fatalities. It is estimated that the fire was discovered minutes after ignition and the fire service was called very shortly after the detection and was at the scene 9 min after the call. By this time large sections of the facade were on fire already. The rapid fire that spread over the facade and the staircase necessitated detailed investigations. Compliance of building products with the building regulations was investigated. One conclusion of the investigations was that the person who caused the fire by leaving the candle on the TV set unattended should not be held responsible for the two fatalities in the upper floors. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.