Smoke Characterization for Reducing Uwanted Fire Alarm in Storage Facilities

As the number of storage facilities increases, the frequency of related accidents also increases. In particular, a fire in 2021 caused over 400 billion KRW of property damage and firefighter martyrdom. Storage facilities, owing to their large size and harboring of various combustibles, are characterized by considerable fire loads and pose significant risks. Therefore, extinguishing fires during their early stages is critical. In this study, the temperature, visibility, and carbon monoxide levels were compared and analyzed using a fire dynamics simulator to address the issue of safety complacency caused by false fire alarms, which was identified as the primary cause of the 2021 incident. The analysis revealed that the measurements varied similarly to those in compartment fires depending on the separation distance. However, as the separation distance increased, the impact of the stored materials on the measurements became more pronounced, emphasizing the need to consider both horizontal and vertical fire spread.