Estimating room temperatures from fires along walls and in corners

Determination of temperatures associated with room fires provides a means of assessing an important aspect of fire hazard: the likelihood of the occurrence of flashover. Layer temperatures in excess of 600°C have been associated with the occurrence of flashover. A data correlation has previously been presented to estimate layer temperatures for fires burning in the center of rooms. For fires in corners and along walls, restricted entrainment results in higher layer temperatures than predicted by the previous correlation. Modification factors for the previous correlation are developed to extend its applicability to wall and corner burning geometries. The present analysis suggests that a fire in a corner may cause flashover with only half the heat release rate necessary for a fire burning in the center of a room.