Geoff M and I have been discussing the impact of cold temperatures upon the initial fire growth rate. The consensus is that there is a reduction in fire growth rate, but quantification of any reduction is not supported by sufficient technical information to enable the relevant calculations to be applied to real life cold storage. The Arrhenius Equation gives the theoretical basis for the change in fire growth rate, but minimal testing has been undertaken. A paper titled “Performance based fire safety design of cold storages” was produced in 2013 (?) but little further information seems to exist. Note that this paper ignores the fact that food products exposed to fire events are automatically lost, as they cannot be sold once contaminated.
Does anybody have any additional information on this subject?
Paul C
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