I thought introducting oxygen to an oxygen starved fire was called a backdraft, not a flashover...?
to be technically correct introducing oxygen could cause either phenomenon to occur. All depends on the conditions in the room/structure.
I am shocked at the lack of BA use for car fires!!!
To be technically correct, if there is limited ventilation and hence a lack of oxygen - the introduction of oxygen causes a sudden deflagration, thats a backdraught.
You can introduce as much oxygen as you want to a room, but until the room and its contents are heated sufficiently, and there is an ignition point for the released pyrolysis gases, it ain't flashing.
6739264 but you are only partly correct.
If an increase in oxygen causes a sudden event such as blow torching from openings then that is likely to be a back draught. A back draught is only likely to occur in a room where there is a lot of heat and the room is rich in fuel, most probably above the UFL.
By definition a flash over is the point at which a growing fire transitions and becomes a fully involved fire (that could be a very fast and violent event but not a back draught. So in the absence of sufficient heat in an oxygen starved fire a back draught may not occur, however the overall increase in fire behaviour due to more air may infact cause the fire to become rapidly fully involved by flashing over especially if the room is already rich in fuel.
But that's off topic, still would not put out a car fire without BA. Too many firies are dying of cancer. The national UFU are having a campaign right now about awareness of workplace exposure to all sorts of nasties.
Only need one fire fighter to Don up and only takes 30 - 50 seconds to do.
Play safe I say!