Zone Model Simulation of Fires in Chinese Restaurants in Hong Kong

Abstract

The fire risk in Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong is studied in this paper. The local regulation, the existing design for fire safety and the past fire record are discussed. Surveys on the fire load in fifteen Chinese restaurants of different sizes are made and reported. The fire equivalent duration period, which is related to the surveyed fire load density is calculated. Since smoke is a key factor in discussions of fire safety, the time required to fill the restaurants with smoke had to be calculated. In this case, fire models have to be used and the zone model CFAST developed at the Building and Fire Research Labora tory, NIST, U.S.A. is used to study the fire environment. Correlations are derived between the equivalent duration period and the predicted maximum hot gas temperature and the corresponding smoke layer interface height.