This research is the first step towards providing the technical basis upon which the University of Canterbury could design and build a full-scale room fire laboratory. A preliminary review of current full-scale room fire experimental methods is presented. The role of scale on fire experiments is discussed. Fundamental principles of room fire behaviour are examined. The derivation of the principle of oxygen consumption calorimetry in measuring fire heat release rate is exhaustively presented. The two zone fire induced vent flow model is rederived from inviscide flow theory incorporating the latest measurement techniques. This document recommends that a full-scale room fire facility should be at least equivalent to the apparatus described in ISO 9705. The issues and considerations set down in the ASTM Standard Guide E-603 should also be addressed. The facility should also have the ability to be used for open air full-scale experiments.