Validation of a smoke movement program

Abstract

Deaths due to toxic fumes produced during a building fire account for over 50 per cent of all fire deaths. This has given rise to the need for more detailed studies of smoke movement, particularly in health buildings. The development of computer techniques has provided methods to model various smoke control systems and test their effectiveness for any given fire condition. This paper describes the validation of the computer program developed by Oscar Faber and Partners for predicting the spread of smoke through buildings. The predicted smoke spread is discussed in relation to the known smoke spread following a fire in a large hospital complex.