Dynamics of a FireThe goals for fire retardants are universal and can be simply stated as follows: - Prevent fire or retard its growth and spread i.e. prevent flashover:
- Control fire properties of combustible items,
- Provide for suppression of the fire.
Flash over time vs fire retardant use
Under the conditions of fire the use of the flame retardant gives a significant increase in the escape time available.
Smoke release vs fire spread
The use of fire retardant reduces the rate of flame spread and smoke. Less smoke production gives an increase in the escape time available.
To prevent the fire or retard its growth and spread, material and product performance testing is used to set limits on the fire properties of items which represent the major fuels in the system. The majority of fire safety requirements consist of material fire performance test criteria to retard its growth and spread. Based on test methods that evaluate fire properties of individual materials, the test methods are generally based on the measurement of flame-spread spread.
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