With the rapid development of the modern economy and the continuous acceleration of urbanization, population concentration has become severe, making large cities the ultimate gathering places for people. In major cities where land resources are scarce, the influx of outsiders from all over the world has made the rise of high-rise buildings inevitable. However, as the number of high-rise buildings increases, so do the risks associated with them, particularly fire accidents, which are among the most dangerous. In recent years, several serious high-rise building fire incidents have occurred.

This article summarizes research progress on building fires, reviews full-scale fire experimental examples, and analyzes the movement and diffusion of smoke within rooms, adjacent spaces, and stairwells caused by high-rise building fires. A full-scale experimental design for high-rise building fires was conducted, and the specific design methods for the fire source device, experimental measurement system, test conditions, procedural steps, and result analysis were explored. The experiment was carried out in an actual high-rise building in a certain city, and it incorporated four practical scenarios: multiroom blockage, adjacent multiroom setups, open large rooms, and stairwells.

The layout of the experimental measurement system for full-scale high-rise building fire scenarios was presented in accordance with design specifications. Considering the influence of fire source location and heat release rate under natural ventilation conditions, the temperature distributions of smoke in the fire area, adjacent rooms, and stairwells were measured in both horizontal and vertical directions, and the settling, horizontal, and vertical diffusion patterns of fire smoke were analyzed. High-rise building fires typically involve complex ignition factors, abundant flammable and combustible materials, rapid fire spread through multiple pathways, and intricate building structures, all of which significantly increase the challenges of firefighting and safe evacuation. Therefore, addressing the numerous fire safety hazards in high-rise buildings in China is an urgent priority. Full-scale fire experiments enable scenario simulations of fire accident evolution, allowing for the study of smoke spread characteristics and settlement patterns in high-rise building fires. This research contributes to optimizing building fire safety design and provides scientific support for enhancing emergency response capabilities and fire rescue efforts.