Title:NITRATE STORAGE VAULT BURNING TEST [Allocated Title]
Film Number:EXH 163
Other titles:
Summary: Record of a full-scale test to determine the fire integrity of the proposed design for the Imperial War Museum's nitrate store near Duxford, filmed by BRE (Building Research Establishment) as part of the trial.
Description: Reel 1 - Shots show the exterior and interior of the construction (consisting of a full specification cell with two adjoining dummy cells, all fitted with steel release vents) and the monitoring equipment in the nearby control centre. There are close-ups of the cans of nitrate film on the shelves inside the test cell. The fire is seen from a camera about 100 metres from the cell, a large and intense jet of flame being ejected from the vent. The exterior of the cell is shown after the fire has died down.
Reel 2 - Footage from a sacrificial camera positioned inside the test cell shows (after a few minutes) smoke bursting from the can of film which had been heated by hotplate, followed by flame which rapidly spreads to the rest of the films. The picture fades as the camera is engulfed.
