In some cases, hypoxia and uptake of products of combustion can be an issue. CO can impair a person's faculties. A really good example is climbing Mt. Everest. Some climbers will place full oxygen bottles at the base of Hilary's Step. Upon decent, they will use the oxygen once they have returned to the bottom of Hilary's Step. In one account, a climber picked up the bottle and discarded it, having unreliably determined that it was now empty.

I had a fire case in a closed bedroom, where the occupant said he tried to open an unlocked bedroom door, but it was not locked. He had last his ability to open the door and lacked the judgment to understand what was happening. He tried the unlocked windows and made the same determination. He ultimately became incapacitated in the room, before he was ultimately rescued.

The rate of uptake plays an important role in this condition. This does not occur in all fires. In my case, it was an unventilated (not under-ventilated) compartment fire where the rate of uptake was reduced when compared to a ventilated compartment fire.

Douglas J. Carpenter, MScFPE, CFEI, PE, FSFPE
Vice President & Principal Engineer
Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc.
8940 Old Annapolis Road, Suite L
Columbia, MD 21045
(410) 884-3266
(410) 884-3267 (fax)
www.csefire.com