The Different Roles of Fire Professionals and Their Importance to Fire Safety - Assignment Example

University of Central Lancashire School of Forensic and Investigative Sciences Section A – Part 1: The different roles of fire professionals and their importance to fire safety Roles of fire professionals are multifaceted. To begin with, one key role played by the professionals is to carry the assessment of foreseeable fire and rescue challenges and risks that could affect people. According to Fingas (1995), this role can be realised if there is proper adjustment of provisions and collaboration and partnership with different agencies. In addition, fire professionals should deliver effective and proportionate protection and prevent activities thus responding to issues touching on countries and across the countries. Secondly, fire professionals work within a well-established statutory or policy framework such as Petersen and Markert (2004) and these policies and frameworks are aspects that they are familiar with. Therefore it is the role of these professionals to carry out task as pertained in these frameworks and policies and such should be in relation to the discharging of duties such as putting fire off in accordance to standard of practice stipulated in these frameworks. This role is related to yet another role which is the identification and assessment of fire and its risks. As required by the standard of practice, it is the role of fire professionals to ensure that they produce an integrated risk management plan which will identify as well as assess possible fires and mitigate any related risks that can affect the community, national nature and or multi-authority. In some countries, particularly United Kingdom, fire professionals are given proper guidance from authorities such as the National Risk Assessment that informs the professionals on how to effectively ensure there is integration of risk assessment process. According to report prepared by Tuovinen (2004), fire professionals have the role of ensuring that they define the consequences of fire related risks which should also include or reflect national risk assessment. This role will ensure that there is a set benchmark of generic capability required to ensure that the organisation can respond to and make recovery to different range of potential emergencies. Fire prevention and protection is another role played by the professionals. Through their designated roles, the professionals are supposed to make partnership arrangement with different organisations so as to make a safer society. Participation in the prevention and protection of fire plays a significant role in the creation of a strong links with communities thus minimising risk of fire spread and its effect on the community. On the other hand, it is the role of fire professionals to ensure that there is provisions that necessitate response to cases of road traffic accidents, fires and emergencies emanating from their areas of operations as well as areas that may fall within their line or aid agreements. According to Walton (2008), this role can be performed effectively if these professionals enter into aid agreements with local or national fire and rescue bodies or authorities that ensure mutual coordination and assistance as may be required by the code of practice. Conclusively, this particular role stretches to situations where these professionals team up with different departments during emergencies to co-ordinate the process of deploying arrangement for specialist rescue of fire. In some cases, fire professional should have the needed capability in place to ensure the management of the majority of risks that may their areas of operations, either as an individual or as a group. This can be done through collaboration with other departments or organisations. Going by suggestions by BS 9999, management of majority of risks means that these professional engage in resilient activities. To understand that meaning of being resilient within the context of fire rescuing, the professionals should ensure that they have the capability and capacity of working together so as to deliver effective and sustained response to major fire related risks that should be planned for on a strategic and national basis since their consequences and impacts would be of wider complexity that their input alone may be insufficient. Blomqvist (2005) cites that gap analysis is another critical role that should be played by fire professionals. This study has already reviewed risk assessment and thus linking it to gap analysis as one of the roles of fire professionals; individuals trained to mitigate fire related hazards should assess the possibility of fire occurrence and as a result use this information to inform contingency planning. To ensure that this is happening, the fire professionals will be expected to make assessment of the existing capability and make the identification of gaps as part of the integrated risk management planning process. This is what Blomqvist (2005) terms as analysis of gaps in the execution of fire related duties. Just like it has been the case with roles of fire professionals, their importance to fire safety is interrelated and connected to the roles they play. One of the significance of fire professionals to fire safety is that the emergency response can be made easier especially in cases where there are fire professionals knowing their respective roles and responsibilities. According to Fingas (1995), the importance of fire professionals to fire safety is that they are able to establish detailed and comprehensive emergency evacuation plans which also dictate ways in which to respond and identify a path of egress. This is important in fire safety especially in cases where residents or workers in a building need special attention in cases of fire. In addition, the behaviour of victims where there is fire should be connected to the importance of fire professionals. That is, when people realise fire break up, they suddenly react and the decision they make may not be well informed and instead, does so for safety. In most cases, such decision will either make people to fight to flee. Therefore in cases where there are fire professionals then the time delay to start evacuation will ultimately be reduced thus saving situations where people might be torn with the decisions to make in the event of fire. Thirdly, fire professional help in informing occupants on the reasons for immediate evacuation and in presence of fire professionals, people are able to obtain the necessary fire cues that help them mitigate fire related injuries or deaths (Approved Document B 2006). Part 2: Flame and the different categories of flame Just like it might be with the case of fires and combustion, understanding the meaning of flame with regard to fires needs deeper understanding. These differences can be understood by discerning categories of flames. Flame is produced in the event when inflammable material is made to undergo combustion (Moussa et al. 1995). The burning of any material produces smoke, heat and light which are seen as a flame. On the other hand, Blomqvist (2005) argues that flame is the substance that can be produced when a fuel as well as oxidising material such as oxygen or air, in presence of a heat, comes together. Scholars such as Moussa et al. (1995) argue that flame is the substance formed when combustible a material is made to produce vapour during the process of burning. From this definition, it remains that flame can act as the luminous region of the rapid exothermic reaction in burning of vapour with the formation of heat and light energy. On the other flame can be argued in terms of non-luminous where in this case non-luminous region should appear just after the flame where the temperature is reduced slightly. Based on luminous and non-luminous flames, a flame should be bound between the ignition zone and a non-luminous gaseous zone. In addition, BR 187 as a code of practice argues that understanding the meaning should first appreciate that the burning of gaseous fuels in a flame should consider intimate contact occurring between fuels with an oxidant, either air or oxygen prior to the reaction. Since definition of what constitute flame remains divergent, so are the categories of flame. There are different categories of flames depending of the extent of mixing of oxidiser and fuel or how the mixture can be able to reach the zone of reaction. Concerning flames in buildings or any other structures, categories of flame are based on the flow patterns in the vessel of reaction---well mixed and plug flows. In broad term, flames can be categorised as either laminar or turbulent and such depend on the flow behaviour of the gases or materials under combustion. On the other hand, there are other categories under laminar or turbulent which include premixed flame. Premixed flame according to Tuovinen et al. (2004) is the situation where the oxidant and fuel are mixed molecularly before the process of process of combustion. Another category related to premixed flame is the non-premixed or diffusion which can either fall under turbulent or laminar. Starting with non-premixed flames, these are categories of flame that occur when oxidiser and fuel are kept on either side of the zone of reaction and as a result moved to the zone of reaction. It is because of these movements that these flames can be categorised as diffusing or non-premixed flames. On the other hand, premixed flames are the category where oxidant gas can mix at ambient condition before it is delivered to the flame zone. It is important to note that with this category of flame the oxidant is mixed well before reaching the flame front, and in this case the location of the flame is independent of the diffusion of reactants. Part 3: The similarities and differences between fires and explosions Chemicals can generate a substantive hazard owing to the act that they have the ability to generate explosions and fires. The combustion of half gallon of toluene for instance can destroy an ordinary building in minutes. As matter of fact, fires and explosions are common causes of accidents therefore there is need to understand the difference and similarities between the two. The first distinction is the rate at which they release energy (Petersen and Markert 2004). That is, while fire release energy considerably slowly, explosions does it faster. Additionally, fires can result from explosions and at the same time explosions resulting from fires. The second difference is that fire comes as a result of chemical reaction where a substance combines with oxidant and generates energy while explosion is the expansion of gases from fast moving shock wave. On the other hand, the similarity between the two is equally varied. To begin with, both explosion and fires require oxygen which in turn combines with substance to release energy. Secondly, BS 9999 notes that both explosions and fires operates or are started when there is a source of fuel. It is this fuel that will combine with the energy in the air to release energy. Lastly, the relationship between explosions and fires is that gas and heat generated by an explosion often lead to a fire. Part 4: The different sources of ignition and common causes of fire Beginning with sources of ignition, it is important to note that scholars are divided on the exact number of sources of ignition and it remains that these sources are myriad depending on the situation. Consequently, it is a challenging task to name them all however, the key reason for rendering a flammable liquid inert is to prevent an explosion or fire by ignition from an unidentified source. Generally research by Blomqvist (2005) documents the following ignition sources of common fires and explosions: Electrical Smoking Friction from worn out parts Overheated materials Hot surfaces Burner flames and Combustion flames It is important to note that the sources above are external in nature in the sense that they can deliver the needed energy in the form of heat to cause fire or ignite a substance. While external ignition sources as explained remain to be common sources of ignition, specific sources such as open flames, mechanical sparks and electric arcs remain to be prudent. Studies by Blomqvist (2005) have categorised sources of ignition as follows: Figure 1: Sources of Ignition Source: Blomqvist (2005) Taking some ignition sources as case studies, hot surfaces are operations with the ability of producing enough heat to cause fire or flame. As a matter of fact, they have sufficient energy to ignite flammable vapours, dust or gases. Grinding, flaming, brazing, chipping, drilling or air gouging are good examples of hot surfaces with the ability to cause ignition. Another source worth considering is the sparks from electricity or static electricity. From preliminary, static electricity is the electrical charging of a substance conducted through physical contact and the negative and positive electrical charges obtained through the process. Therefore is this process happens in buildings or structures which are not properly grounded then the charge will be discharged with static arc thus acting as ignition source. This case has been included as common causes of fire in most buildings. Additionally, another common source of fire or source of ignition is the lightning strikes on structures such as buildings or projects. Lightning has been identified as critical sources of fire and ignition especially for turbines operating in a critical and challenging weather conditions. Still on turbines, multi-megawatt onshore turbines have been vastly affected by lightning which in turn caused serious fires to them. According to Walton (2008) adds that these fires are further propelled by malfunctioned electrical components in these gadgets. While malfunctioned electrical components are themselves sources of fires and ignition, wrong fixation between cables in buildings or electrical materials that have not been properly tested before commission have been found to be critical causes of fires and sources of ignition. On a different industrial scenario, there are situations where some machines are working with aerodynamic brakes. Then there comes situations where these brakes fail to stop these machines at a speed close or above the working of these machines’ cut-out speed. In such cases, operators may apply mechanical braking which in turn causes fire or act as a source of ignition. Section B - 1. Convert the following temperatures into Kelvin: a) 0°C Since 0°C is equivalent to (0° + 273)K then 0°C 0°C = 0+273 =273K b) -150°C -150°C = (-150+273) =123K c) 640°C 640°C = (640 + 273) =913K d) -20°C -20°C = (-20 + 273) =253 2. How many moles of carbon are in 150.0 g? Since 12g is equivalent to 1 mole (12g 1mole) Then 150g = 1mole x 150g/12 =12.5Moles. 3. Balance the following equations: a) H3PO4 + NH4OH → H2O + (NH4)3PO4 Answer H3PO4 + 3NH4OH → 3H2O + (NH4)3PO4 b) V2O5 + Ca → CaO + V Answer V2O5 + 5Ca → 5CaO + 2V c) BN + F2 → BF3 + N2 Answer 2BN + 3F2 → 2BF3 + N2 d) C15H26 + O2→ CO2 + H2O Answer C15H26 + 43/2O2→ 15CO2 + 13H2O e) Ca + N2 → Ca3N2 Answer 3Ca + N2 → Ca3N2 4. Ammonia and oxygen react to form nitrogen and water: 4NH3 + 3O2 → 2N2 + 6H2O a) How many grams of O2 are needed to react with 8.0 moles of NH3? 4 moles of NH3 8moles Therefore 3 moles of O2 3 x 8/4 = 6 moles Thus 1 mole 32g 6 moles = 6 x 32/1 = 192g b) How many grams of N2 can be produced when 6.50 grams of O2 reacts? The grams of N2 produced = (3x32g) of oxygen produced Therefore 6.5 6.5 x 56/3 x 32 = 3.792g c) How many grams of water can be formed from the reaction of 34 g of NH3? Number of grams of water to be formed from the reaction = 4 x 17g (NH3) 6 x 18 (H2O) Therefore 34g ? 34 x 6 x 18/4 x17 = 54g 5. Using the Ideal Gas Law solve the following problems: (use 0.08206 L atm mol¯1 K¯1 for the gas constant). a) Determine the volume of occupied by 3.34 grams of carbon dioxide gas at STP. PV= nRT. Therefore making V the subject of the formular; V = nrt/P Equating = n 3.3/44 = 0.075909 Thus 0.075909 x 0.08206 x 273 1.70054dm3/litre b) A sample of argon gas at STP occupies 46.2 litres. Determine the number of moles of argon and the mass in the sample. PV= nRT Making n the subject of the formular n = PV/RT Equating this = 1x46.2/0.08206 x 273 =46.2/22.40238 =2.0623moles c) At what temperature will 0.654 moles of neon gas occupy 12.30 litres at 1.95 atmospheres? PV = nRT Making T the subject of the formular T= PV/nR Equating this; 1.95 x 12.30/0.654x0.08206 =23.985/0.053667 =446.923K d) A 30.6 g sample of gas occupies 22.414 L at STP. What is the molecular weight of this gas? PV = nRT Thus n = PV/RT = 1x22.414/0.08206 x 273 =22.414/22.40238=1.0005moles Therefore since n = mass/RFM RFM = 30.6/1.0005 =30.60. Molecular weight of this gas is =30.60 6. How many joules of heat are needed to raise the temperature of 10.0g of aluminium from 22°C to 55°C, if the specific heat of aluminium is 0.90J/g°C? The joules of heat required = (C=MCΔθ) Thus 10x0.9x33 273joules (2 Marks) 7. A pan 200mm diameter pan is placed on a stove to boil some water. The thickness of the bottom of the pan is 7.5mm and the inner surface temperature of the bottom of the pan is 150°C. Determine the outer surface temperature of the pan if the pan was a) aluminium and b) copper. Assume one-dimensional, steady state conduction through the bottom of the pan. (10 Marks) Figure 1: Pan set up References Approved Document B (Fire Safety) – Volume 2: Buildings other than dwelling houses, 2006. Blomqvist, P., Emissions from Fires: Consequences for Human Safety and the Environment, PhD Thesis, Department of Fire Safety Engineering, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Lund 2005. BR 187: External fire spread: Building separation and boundary distances, BRE, 1991. British Standards Institution. Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings. Code of practice. British Standard BS 7974:Part 2 2001. BS 9999: Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings, October2008. Fingas, M.F., “The Newfoundland Offshore Burn Experiment- NOBE,” Proceedings of the 1995 International Oil Spill Conference, pages 123-132, Publication 4620, American Petroleum Institute, 1995. Moussa N. A., Zhang X.J., Groszmann D.E., Beach A.B., and Noland R.B. “Reacting Puff Rise,” JANNAF Safety and Environmental Protection Subcommittee Joint Meeting, Tampa, Florida, 1995. Petersen, K. E., and Markert, F., Assessment of fires in chemical warehouses. An overview of the TOXFIRE project, Risø National Laboratory, Roskilde, Denmark Risø-R-932(EN). 2004 Tuovinen, H., Blomqvist, P., and Saric, F., "Modelling of hydrogen cyanide formation in room fires," Fire Safety Journal 39.8: 737-755, 2004. Walton, W.D., “Smoke measurements using a helicopter transported sampling package,” Technical Seminar, pages 735-764. Environment Canada, Emergencies Science Division, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2008. Read More

Fire prevention and protection is another role played by the professionals. Through their designated roles, the professionals are supposed to make partnership arrangement with different organisations so as to make a safer society. Participation in the prevention and protection of fire plays a significant role in the creation of a strong links with communities thus minimising risk of fire spread and its effect on the community. On the other hand, it is the role of fire professionals to ensure that there is provisions that necessitate response to cases of road traffic accidents, fires and emergencies emanating from their areas of operations as well as areas that may fall within their line or aid agreements.

According to Walton (2008), this role can be performed effectively if these professionals enter into aid agreements with local or national fire and rescue bodies or authorities that ensure mutual coordination and assistance as may be required by the code of practice. Conclusively, this particular role stretches to situations where these professionals team up with different departments during emergencies to co-ordinate the process of deploying arrangement for specialist rescue of fire. In some cases, fire professional should have the needed capability in place to ensure the management of the majority of risks that may their areas of operations, either as an individual or as a group.

This can be done through collaboration with other departments or organisations. Going by suggestions by BS 9999, management of majority of risks means that these professional engage in resilient activities. To understand that meaning of being resilient within the context of fire rescuing, the professionals should ensure that they have the capability and capacity of working together so as to deliver effective and sustained response to major fire related risks that should be planned for on a strategic and national basis since their consequences and impacts would be of wider complexity that their input alone may be insufficient.

Blomqvist (2005) cites that gap analysis is another critical role that should be played by fire professionals. This study has already reviewed risk assessment and thus linking it to gap analysis as one of the roles of fire professionals; individuals trained to mitigate fire related hazards should assess the possibility of fire occurrence and as a result use this information to inform contingency planning. To ensure that this is happening, the fire professionals will be expected to make assessment of the existing capability and make the identification of gaps as part of the integrated risk management planning process.

This is what Blomqvist (2005) terms as analysis of gaps in the execution of fire related duties. Just like it has been the case with roles of fire professionals, their importance to fire safety is interrelated and connected to the roles they play. One of the significance of fire professionals to fire safety is that the emergency response can be made easier especially in cases where there are fire professionals knowing their respective roles and responsibilities. According to Fingas (1995), the importance of fire professionals to fire safety is that they are able to establish detailed and comprehensive emergency evacuation plans which also dictate ways in which to respond and identify a path of egress.

This is important in fire safety especially in cases where residents or workers in a building need special attention in cases of fire. In addition, the behaviour of victims where there is fire should be connected to the importance of fire professionals. That is, when people realise fire break up, they suddenly react and the decision they make may not be well informed and instead, does so for safety. In most cases, such decision will either make people to fight to flee. Therefore in cases where there are fire professionals then the time delay to start evacuation will ultimately be reduced thus saving situations where people might be torn with the decisions to make in the event of fire.

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