BY HOWARD HILL
Firefighters operating in hallways of fire resistive multiple dwellings have reported an unusual event: When the door to the apartment is left open to allow the heat and hot gases to travel down the enclosed hallway, the movement of the hot gases toward the dead end of the hallway can result in the heat's building up and radiating back down the hallway at an intensity higher than that of the area near the fire apartment door.
Ladder company members performing a search in heavy smoke with zero visibility are directed toward the fire by their sense of heat. They might be drawn toward the area away from the fire because there has been an increase in the heat flux from the ceiling layer in the dead-end area of the hallway. This condition has been reported to be particularly evident from the "T" configuration (see Figure 1). This condition can also occur when entering a straight hallway from an enclosed stairway (see Figure 2).
If you are a current subscriber,login hereto access this content.
If you would like to become a subscriber, please visit ushere.
