The construction industry promotes the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) as a more sustainable and
architectural material. This introduces unknown fire hazards in the built environment. The current study
investigates the differences in the external plume between compartments with CLT surfaces and noncombustible
surfaces. An exposed timber structure increases the fuel load, which in turn increases the
produced flammable gases. As oxygen supply is limited by the opening, part of the flaming combustion
will take place outside. This results in an external plume that could affect an adjacent building and the
building of origin. The global equivalence ratio (GER) indicates how much unburnt fuel exits from the
compartment opening. The GER is calculated from the air inflow rate, the stoichiometric fuel-air ratio,
and the burning rate. Medium-scale experiments, with a 0.7 m cubic compartment, have been
implemented to investigate the effect of exposed timber on the external plume. It was found that GER
was higher when timber lining were exposed, and that this resulted in higher heat fluxes on the façade
above the compartment opening.
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