A series of flashover fire tests were carried out using standard wood as fuel with various ventilation, and a comprehensive set of experimental data is presented. Fighting against compartment fires with occurance of flashover could cause fatal consequences on firefighters. This work shows that the potential dangers as flashover can be detected as soon as possible thanks to the comparison between two moving averages in the past calculated from a temperature recording in a very short time. The present study aims to evaluate the possibility of using only commonly available measurements as data to be assimilated into the model. A real-time decision method is developed, allowing to the selection of optimal intervention to minimize firefight occupant exposure to the detected hazard. This approach includes the mathematical analysis which is based on the comparison of two moving averages centered in the past, calculated on the recordings of the smoke temperature. Firefighters would greatly benefit from this predictive method in real time, able to assist their decision making process during operations against a compartment fire. From the safety point of view, the model gives conservative predictions for flashover fire.

In compartment fires (houses, buildings, underground, warehouse, etc.), smokes are a major danger during firemen intervention. Most of the time, they are at high temperature (>800˚C) and they flow everywhere through many kinds of ducts, which leads to the propagation of the combustion by the creation other fires in places which may be far away from the initial fire. In this paper, we present a new approach of the problem, which allows to better follow the fire behavior and especially to detect the dangers that may appear and endanger firefighters. This approach consists in a mathematical analysis based on the comparison of moving averages centered in the past, calculated on the temperature recordings of the smokes. As a consequence, this method may allow to improve decision support in real time and therefore to improve the security and the efficiency of firefighters in their operations against that kind of fires.