On Dec. 20, 2024, the''Global Today'' program of CCTV-4 special reported State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (SKLFS) (https://tv.cctv.com/2024/12/19/VIDE9wXGYQQdFByp9bx9ztRt241219.shtml). This program highlighted the advanced fire simulation facilities and key technological developments in SKLFS:

Medium-scale Rotating Screen Fire Whirl Facility.

This facility is the largest experimental facility for fire whirl simulation of this kind in the world. The whole facility was placed in a large space hall. A fixed circular wood table is enclosed by a cylindrical wire-mesh screen with a diameter of 2.0 m and height of 10.0 m, consisting of five sections of 2.0 m in the vertical direction. The screen was driven by a servo motor and could rotate at any speed from 0 to 50 RPM with a precision of 0.01 RPM. A gas burner with a diameter of 20 cm was placed at the center of the bottom table. The flow rate of 99% propane was controlled by a mass flow controller and the fire heat release rates ranged from 15 to 300 kW. Compared with the fixed-frame facility, the key feature of this facility is that the heat release rate and the imposed rotation strength are completely decoupled. Thereby we can study in depth the combustion behavior of medium-scale turbulent fire whirls, such as the various flame patterns and geometric characteristics of fire whirls under weak to very strong imposed rotation strength.

Canyon Fire Spread Facility.

The experimental facility for canyon fire spread (length: 6 m, width: 8 m) consists of two symmetrical rectangular plates. It could simulate various canyon geometries by adjusting the central slope angle (0-40^o) and lateral slope angle (0-40^o) independently. The facility enables laboratory research on canyon surface fire spread, including the occurrence of eruptive fires, and complex evolutions of fire lines.

Forest Fire Spread Prediction System.

This system integrates four core functional modules: a static database module for input parameter management, a model selection module for surface fire spread simulation, a fireline identification module, and a 3D visualization interface. By inputting the terrain parameters (slope, aspect, and elevation), fuel parameters, ignition parameters (coordinates of fire points or fire lines), and weather parameters (wind speed and direction), the system can dynamically select an appropriate model from its library (Rothermel model, Wang Zhengfei model, and the upslope fire spread model developed by SKLFS, etc.) to rapidly simulate surface fire spread processes, and provide a 3D visualization result.

Intelligent Fire Suppression Technologies and Equipment.

The automatic fire cannon can monitor the fire situation throughout the day, and once an anomaly is detected, it can immediately identify and spray water to eliminate fire hazards in the bud. The

clean and efficient water mist fire extinguishing technology, suitable for fires in buildings, tunnels, warehouses, and other scenes, can quickly absorb fire source heat and achieve rapid fire suppression. The building facade fire fighting platform uses the UAV to deliver lightweight, efficient compressed air foam to designated heights and implement fast, efficient fire fighting on building façades.

During the interview, Prof. Jiao Lei indicated that when fire whirls occur, the burning rate, flame height, flame temperature, and radiative heat flux increase significantly, which can easily cause casualties. The forest fire spread prediction system has integrated models of fire whirl formation and their impact on fire spread, which can support the suppression and prevention of forest fires. Prof. Naian Liu stated that this system can also support the AG600 large amphibious firefighting aircraft by guiding flight path selection and firefighting decision-making.