6. Conclusion

One of the primary aims of this article was to highlight the complexity of the phenomena involved in fire development. This is essentially due to the accelerating effect of energy Û matter couplings. Significant progress has been made, however, in understanding the main stages in the transition from an initial small-scale outbreak to a fire affecting an entire dwelling or public building. Among the factors that have contributed to this progress, we would highlight the following:

• the contribution of full-scale tests in identifying the predominant processes and determining the ranges of variation of important quantities; this information has made it possible to define relevant experimental conditions for laboratory studies;

• the development of measurement devices for the quantities that most strongly affect the...