Confined space fires are common emergencies in our society. Enclosure size, ventilation, or type and quantity of fuel involved are factors that determine the fire evolution in these situations. In some cases, favourable conditions may give rise to a flashover phenomenon. However, The difficulty of handling this complicated emergency through fire services can have fatal consequences for their staff. Therefore, there is a huge demand for new methods and technologies to tackle this life-threatening emergency. Modelling and simulation techniques have been adopted to conduct research due to the complexity of obtaining a real cases database related to this phenomenon. In this paper, a review of the literature related to the modelling and simulation of enclosure fires with respect to the flashover phenomenon is carried out. Furthermore, the related literature for comparing images from thermal cameras with computed images is reviewed. Finally, the suitability of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for flashover prediction in enclosed spaces is also surveyed.

There is a huge demand for new techniques and technologies to tackle life-threatening in fire emergencies. Enclosure fires are a type of emergency involving firefighters whose lives are sometimes put at risk. In any confined fire, the emergency team may encounter two types of combustion environments, ventilated or under-ventilated. The rapidly changing behaviour of this scenario depends on multiple factors such as enclosure size, ventilation, or type and quantity of fuel involved. However, the difficulty of handling this situation coupled with the potential for human error, even if there is undivided attention to the task in hand, remains an unresolved challenge for firefighters today. New technologies based in Thermal Imaging Cameras can help firefighters to prevent this situation. Fire Science Living Lab is presented as a solution to test new technologies for this area. This papers shows a resume about the process to develop a prediction system in a living lab for one of the most dangerous situation for firefighters, flashover.