Investigation of fire in cars.

With the purpose to test how an engine compartment fire develops toxic gases and fire in the passenger compartment five full-scale tests have been performed by Saab Car Division together with the National Testing Institute of Sweden. This is a description of the test method, performed tests and the conclusions from the tests. The firewall was videorecorded during the tests to see where, when and how the fire passed through the wall into the passenger compartment. A heat sensing camera and thermocouples attached to the bulkhead were used to measure the differences in temperature during the tests. To achieve data about the smoke, Carbon monoxide and Carbon dioxide concentrations were sampled during the test. The conclusion is that this method is useful for testing the fire spread through the bulkhead and the development of toxic gases in the passenger compartment. The materials that are used to seal around the passages for electrical wiring, flexible tubings etc. are extremely important for the fire spread in cars. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 837684.