Investigation and numerical reconstruction of a full-scale electric bicycle fire experiment in high-rise residential building

Electric bicycle (E-bike) fires have attracted more concerns recently in the field of fire safety science since several fatal fires occurred especially in residential buildings. This paper conducts a full-scale experiment of E-bike fire in a typical high-rise residential building of China. Fire and smoke characteristics as well as their influences on the residents’ safety and evacuation are studied. It was found that E-bike fire grows quite rapidly once ignited. Less smoke could spread into these residential rooms with closed door. Sealing the entrance door gap could effectively help to prevent the smoke. At the very first stage of the fire (around 4.5min from igniting), the residents could choose to evacuate downstairs. However, it is a better option to stay at home waiting for help during most of the fire period. Smoke from this fire did not exceed the height of the 10th floor in the staircase. Thus, for the residents on the 10th floor and above, to escape through the staircase upward to the building roof is another safe option. Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) was used to numerically reconstruct this fire. The numerical results show good agreement with the experiments. Based on accurate parameters and boundary conditions, FDS is verified to be feasible to conduct numerical reconstruction of E-bike fires for the purpose of assisting fire investigation.