＜概要＞

  Before the World War �Uonly two fire tests concerning fire resistive constructions were made in Japan; the fire test in Dojunkai apartment house by Tokyo University and in Premium House sponsored by Osaka City. In other countries also there are only few research papers concerned. Soon after the War the Building Research Institute Began to engage in the strength judgement of fire-damaged buildings, but there were difficulties in judging the rate of fire-damage, since the method to assume the fire duration had not been established.

  In U.S.A. it has been regarded that the weight of fuel (timbers) per unit floor area (“fire load”) is proportional to the fire duration.

1. In U.K. the calorific value per unit floor area has been regarded as proportional to the fire duration.

2. However, it is evident, as this study will show, that the window area plays an influential role in the fire duration as well as calorific value. In Japan, therefore, it has been convinced that the method to assume the fire duration will be established from the window area and the weight of fuel.

  For this reason our institute made fourteen fire experiments with full-scale living rooms from 1949 to 1957. The rough method to assume the fire duration has been obtained from a series of experimental studies.

  Fire is a very complicated phenomenon, and the fire engineering has many unsolved problems in the future. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the fire researchers, if any.