Basic Definition of Fire Growth

At the core of a fire, there exists a flame or a reaction front that is effectively a combustion process, and thus, is governed by the mechanisms and variables controlling combustion [1], The interaction between the fire and the environment determines the behavior of the flame and nature of the combustion processes. This is commonly referred to as fire dynamics. An extensive introduction to the topic is provided by Drysdale [2], 

As indicated by Drysdale [2], fire dynamics involves a compendium of different subprocesses that start with the initiation of a fire and end with its extinction. The onset of the combustion process, i.e., ignition, in a fire is a complex process that implies not only the initiation of an exothermic reaction, but also a degradation process that provides the fuel feeding the fire. In a fire, it is common to have different materials involved and given the nature of the fire growth, many could be involved 

This chapter describes all the abovementioned processes in more detail, extracting at each stage, the main material properties and physical parameters that affect fire growth and how they relate to the fire safety. 

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