Compartment fires remain a key topic in fire science and engineering, particularly as modern building practices introduce new materials and design concepts. The increasing use of bio-based combustible materials, like engineered timber products, in buildings alters the compartment fire dynamics, for instance, when adding exposed combustible surfaces as walls, ceilings, and floors. Under post-flashover fire conditions, limited oxygen availability prevents complete combustion within the compartment, causing excess fuel to burn outside openings and creating more extensive external fire plumes. This affects the mass flow, temperatures, and heat fluxes at compartment openings, possibly enabling fire spread to adjacent compartments and/or buildings.  

The research project investigates external flame behaviour from compartments with exposed combustible surfaces with a focus on opening size, fuel characteristics, surface exposure configuration, and resulting flow conditions. Highly-instrumented compartment fire experiments at various scales will be conducted, and the influence of combustible surfaces on external plume development will be quantified. The resulting data will be used to develop and validate predictive models and engineering tools that improve current engineering design methods and increase fire safety in the built environment.