1. A reminder of the physical phenomena responsible for fire generation

1.1 General case

Generally speaking, the genesis of a fire can be represented by the triangle shown in figure 1 . The different sides of this triangle represent respectively :

has a combustible material, usually a plastic or an organic liquid;

b an energy source, e.g. a heat flux emitted in the vicinity of the material whose surface heats up. Above a critical surface temperature, thermal degradation of the product gives rise to a gaseous phase through pyrolysis;

c an oxidizer, made up of the ambient atmosphere (usually air), with which the gas released combines to form a flammable or even explosive gas mixture. Ignition may then occur under...