Water Flow Demands for Firefighting

摘要

A new method of calculating water flows for firefighting is developed. The method consists of determining fire flows for offensive operations (extinguishing the source) and defensive operations (protecting exposures). Fire flow for offensive operations is based on fire load densities for building occupancies and the area of the fire, which, combined with time to extinguishment, establish the heat release rate. When also combined with the cooling efficiency of water, a fire flow is determined. Fire flow for defensive operations uses the heat release rate and considers the view factors for the exterior walls coupled with unprotected openings in those walls. Total fire flow is the sum of the flows for offensive and defensive operations.