>> Burning a candle or gas flame or wood or paper in a sealed
>> container may provide some guide to this

> You'd be aware of how charcoal is/was made, and how oxygen-
> starved fires smoulder, and erupt causing flashbacks when a door
> or window is opened

Indeed.
I'd imagine that a wad of paper with easy air access over all surfaces 
would burn freely at first and then at a lesser rate as oxygen 
availability decreased. Whether there was a reasonably sudden 
extinction of free flame would be of interest.

AFAIK formal charcoal making relies on thermal decomposition as much 
as or even without combustion per se.


        Russell

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