Fire Protection - Research Paper Example

Fire Protection Fire is among the most important yet risky phenomenon in the entire universe. Fire primarily refers to the burning or combustion process in which elements combine chemically with oxygen to produce smoke, heat, and light. There are many other definitions of fire, including that it is one of the four elements in alchemist. Different disciplines have different definition of fire. It thus follows that there are numerous paradigms of fire, including the physical, cultural, and biological. To understand fire, there is need to analyze the paradigms, which revolve around the origin of fire in eth living world, and the significance of fire to the human race. It is important however to note that these different paradigms are different and coherent on their own, but significantly insufficient on their own self. Thus, fire may assume many definitions, which is only suitable for the specific discipline framed by the condition outside the phenomenon (Fire Research Report). Such broad definitions introduce questions relating to the real fundamentals of fire, and the characteristics that people should undertake to control and use it. This paper seeks to define and analyze the fire problem, explore some of the potential solutions to the problem, and review the first steps that will initiate the solution to the problem. Introduction Fire is among the fundamental basics in the world, both for personal and industrial use. The phenomenon is commonplace and among the elements that sustain humans in earth. Picture a world with no fire, which means there would be no cooking and other necessary processes that result from combustion or burning. Fire has numerous definitions depending on the discipline of concern. Essentially, fire is the process of burning or combustion in which chemical combination of components with oxygen takes place to produce light, smoke, and heat. However, it is common for most disciplines to have their own definition that conforms to their condition frame that lie outside the fire itself, and which seemingly poses no intrinsic intellectual identity. Such a wide and varying definition of eth phenomenon raises certain questions, which include the real fundamentals of fire and the characteristics that people should undertake to use and control it (Pyne 271). Such founding concerns seemed like illogical arguments in the initial studies on fire and its management. Then, fire was simply there, flaring and smoldering across the earth, and there was need to determine its direction, its fierce, and its speed, and subsequently devise means to stop its spread. With time, other questions emerged, especially concerning economical and ecological, though with reference to the conception that fire was embedded in physical sciences. Fire had similar impacts to the society and biota as windstorms and floods did, yet this did not provide an answer to the question of fire management. To understand fire and perhaps achieve a viable fire protection strategy, there is need to understand the three paradigms of fire: physical, cultural, and biological. Nevertheless, here is a discussion on the basics of fire (Coon 127). The Triangle of Fire Fire requires three elements to initiate. This essentially refers to the triangle of fire. If any of the elements is missing, then fire will not ignite, or if already burning, will quench the flames. These three elements are fuel, oxygen, and heat. Fire needs some consumable elements to ignite or to continue burning. This consumable material or element is the fuel, which may be a gas, a liquid, or a solid. Furthermore, fire requires oxygen to burn. Removing oxygen from the fire will put off the flames. In technical terms, this is what experts call ‘quenching’ a fire. In atmospheres with less than 16% of oxygen, fires will not burn or combust (Coon 164). Heat refers to the energy that the fire requires to burn, without which the flames dies. The fire triangle simply shows the elements that must be present before a fire starts. Fig 1: The fire triangle. Retrieved on April 27, 2012, from http://webfronter.com/northyorks/BilsdaleCarltonCEConfederation/ff_random/In_The_News/Special_Event_Reports_and_Photo_Galleries/Fire_Safety_Awareness.html A basic understanding of eth triangle of fire gives the necessary knowledge to analyze the three paradigms stated earlier. The first paradigm, physical, primarily suggests that fire is a chemical reaction defined by the physical characteristic of its environment. These physical characteristics determine the zone of combustion across the landscape, how that occurs, and the consequences are the fundamentals of fire. All other processes, models, and effects of fire on planet Earth result from this primary flow of processes. Fire ecology refers to the study of how fire, as a problematic phenomenon, interacts with the world. Fire sociology and fire policy are studies of how people apply and withdraw the physical properties of fire to protect themselves from its potential threats. On the other hand, fire management involves the analysis and examination of the physical behavior of fire to determine how it spreads with control measures, as well as to kindle its benefits by organizing fuel and ignition (Coon 211). Despite the credit for being the long-standing paradigm, the physical approach has several problems, which partly arise from limiting this perspective to the current problem, partly from relating all other paradigms to this approach, and partly from the imagination of the physical approach. The most evident problem with this approach is the claim to possibly of determining the outcome of all ignitions provided the flammability and position of each particle in known. Such a perception is an archaic and long abandoned in the fields of higher physics (OSHA). Nonetheless, controlling the behavior of fire is a mere fraction of fire management and protection. Currently, the physical paradigm is so dominant such that it appears a less intellectual convention maxim. This paradigm encompasses the discourse of fire, with genuine, profound, ubiquitous, undeniable, and accomplishments. It still produces intellectual excitement and practical prescriptions. An alternative perspective is to consider fire in biological terms, or rather as a reaction sustained and created by biological processes. In essence, the biological paradigm describes the fundamental conditions of the behavior of fire are determined by the living world. In other words, fire exists because of life, thus the living world shapes the expression of fire. The physical parameters are only significant as far as their retraction through a biota is concerned (Burke 62). In this regard therefore, we may state that the real fundamentals of fire reside with the setting of the biotic properties. This proposition has a simple base: life creates combustible elements, life creates oxygen, and through human agents, life creates the ignition sparks. The chemistry of combustion is essentially a biochemistry in that fire literary destroys what photosynthesis creates. In a cell, this process is respiration, but in the world context, fire. This paradigm suggests that the arrangement of combustibles follows ecological and evolutional concepts, which respond to biological processes rather than the derivatives of the physical environment (Pyne 273). Climate and terrain may shape the fire patterns similar to their effect on ecosystems and evolution, but their expression is in form of the arrangement of organic matter, or what enthusiasts call to bio-combustibles. In general, this paradigm holds that integration of fire occurs within the biosphere. This concept argues that fire ecology is not merely the disturbance measure by mechanical forces on the biological medium, but the propagation though the biotic medium. Floods, wind, flow, ice, debris may all occur without a single life particle present, but fire cannot. It feeds upon biomass, more like the outbreak of beetles or an airborne disease (Coon 94). This is the basis of the popular expression of ‘things’ spreading rapidly like wild fire. Thus, life not only adapts to fire, but also shapes, nurtures, and breeds it. Therefore, fire becomes a less mechanical force impinging on ecosystems to the extent that it becomes an organic process manifesting itself in physical expressions such as light and heat. This conception has consequences. The ecology of fire ultimately differs to the physical perspective. The question is not whether fire is natural, but the way of its nature (Fire Research Report). Can we consider it a physical process that must be defined by physical sciences, or as an organic process inseparable from the biological setting? Interestingly, it is both in some ways. The cultural paradigm is the least developed and most obvious. It emphasizes on humanity, for whom manipulation of fire is a defining trait. Furthermore, the present dominance depends on the continuous control over burning. The discourse on fire in the world majorly revolves on what people, indirectly or directly, do or do not do, as far as fire setting is concerned. The cultural paradigm seeks to explain and record this interaction. The primary assumption is that the fundamentals of fire reside with humans. Potential Solutions There is no definite solution to the problem of fire. However, numerous measures and solutions may contain instances of fire problems. This essentially refers to fire protection and fire safety measures. In this context, fire protection solutions refer to the measures taken to prevent harm form fire problems, as well as those that mitigate fire losses and severity. At this point, it is important to define fire protection. Generally, fire protection refers to the organized approach of preventing fires. In the occurrence of a fire, a fire protection program will minimize or prevent harm, losses, or injury to the surrounding environment. Fire protection involves other important elements, which include rescue and emergency medical services. The key element for fire protection is people. These complex services, people must be part of the process. Over the past two decades, the population in the world has tremendously grown. The increase in population growth significantly increases the potential for more fire hazards. During this growth period, majority of the fire protection agencies relied, and continue to rely on education, code enforcement, and engineering to moderate the severity and frequency of fires and associated losses, and other services related to fire services (Burke 62). Engineering plays an important role in fire protection primarily because its enables the review on development plans on fire and safety issues. Traditionally, all towns have a fire department whose purpose is to combat fire problems. In addition, these fire departments engage in policy design and implementation that focus on avoiding or reducing the likelihood of occurrence. In the United States for instance, the main fire protection agency is the National Fire Protection Association. Among these policies, include regulations on fire safety provisions in building and at workplaces, such as incorporating numerous fire exits in the building and workshops, and accommodating a fire assembly area in the building and environment design. Evidently, the fire departments have significantly reduced the occurrence and severity of fires, but the department cannot oversee all the amendment of development plans. The department thus must coordinate with the fire code on planning, building, environmental, and transportation codes (OSHA). It is also imperative that the fire department address certain specific legal issues, which revolve around plan review and subsequent decision making. However, no single construction model or regulations that may suit all the types of occupancy. For instance, constructing a building for public assembly requires more exits than a warehouse building. This difference largely results from the people per square foot requirements, thus a building for public assembly has to include more exists to enable people to exit fast in case of fire. Emergency exit is a very important aspect of fire protection, but there thousands of other issues that need address in formulating potential solutions to fire hazards (Fire Research Report). For the purposes of this assignment, the paper focuses on potential fire protection solutions in the workplace and at homes. Building Site and Design The faster and easier the fire service responds, enters, locates the fire occurrence, and initiate safe operation in a building, the faster and higher probability of mitigating the incident in a safe manner for themselves and the occupants. This sub-section contains guidance for interior design and site layout. The focus on buildings and structure is because of the fact that majority fire hazards result from buildings and structures, especially in workplaces. Among the viable fire protection measures include properly positioning fire apparatus, which is critical to the scene of fire, especially the positioning of aerial apparatus for the placing of elevating platform. In addition, the correct positioning of pumper apparatus close to the building or structure is important as it facilitates the use of hose line. The position of other apparatus may be of particular concern when designing unusual facilities and structures (Pyne 274). For instance, a sports stadium may require a special design for entry of ambulance, not fire apparatus. Most structures reside in public streets, thus provides access to fire fighting efforts. However, others have back-street settings, thus must incorporate private fire apparatus access, or ‘fire lanes’ in short. These private access lanes enable the effective access and operation of fire apparatus in the area of incidents. There are numerous considerations for fire lanes and public roads, including clear height, clear width, arrangement, paving materials, turn radius, and distance from building. The extent of access refers to the ability of fire apparatus to access to all portions of a building, including floor exterior walls. According to the policies of IFC and NFP 1, this limit is 150 feet for all buildings that lack complete sprinkler systems. However, there is a provision to low this distance to exceed up to 450 feet. Fire protection experts refer to this distance from of the building to a fire lane or road as the “setback distance”. There are other guidelines regulating access location, with differences in height, size, and sprinkler protection (Corte 127). To effectively combat fire hazards and prevent loss, harm or injury, it is important for the structure or area of the incident to be accessible. This aspect is included in NFPA and IBC as the ‘frontage increase’. Buildings and structures should ideally be accessible, but a certain limit percentage exists that all building and structure design layout must attain. Dead-end and long fire lanes and roads need to provide means for fire apparatus to turn around. There are various forms of turnarounds, which include round cul-de-sac, Y-turn, and T-turn arrangement styles. It is also important to reserve some clear width of about 20 feet to allow for extension of aerial apparatus that support elevating platforms. Wide lanes that allow passage of apparatus essentially facilitates expansion and development of loss and injury. However, some aerial apparatus require a clear width of 24 feet for outrigger extension. Rounded or rolled curbs adjacent to carefully designed sidewalks increases the effective access width required by fire services to negotiate and combat fire hazards (OSHA). Another aspect of similar consideration is height of structures and buildings. Premises Identification One of the important aspects to fire services in locating and identifying fire hazards is premise identification. It is important for buildings and structures to have address numbers facing the road or the street, and if possible, street name and number possible. In addition, these numbers should be large enough, such that a person can read them from the road or fire lane. In case this is not possible, signs may enhance fire combat efforts and protection. To protect from extensive loss and injury resulting from fire hazards, buildings should have fire hydrants in optimally located, spaced, positioned, and marked areas. Hydrants are very important to fire services in their effort to contain fire hazards. Most towns and cities in the world have public fire hydrants, which are the responsibility of the local water authority. However, some buildings, due to their location and nature of occupancy, need to incorporate the private water supply and hydrant systems. It is also important to consider the specifications of the hydrant and match them with the size or functionality of the hose. Another important protection measure is ensuring that a building has firefighter access. The identification and arrival of the fire services at the site of incident is only part of the solution: firefighters need to access the specific area that the fire hazards (Burke 66). Factors that may significantly affect the effectiveness of the rescue and combat operation include terrain and distance between the access point of apparatus and the building of incidence, the ease of accessing the building, the vertical access and interior layout of the building, and the fast location of fire protection features. Thus, designers may enhance fire protection by considering these factors during design (Corte 68). Sprinkler Systems The sprinkler is a very efficient and effective fire protection measure that may contain or extinguish fire hazards, thus reduce the effects of the problem. The inclusion of sprinkler systems is among the requirements stipulated by building codes, life safety codes, and fire codes of local authorities. However, there are different types of sprinkler system standards, but the NFPA 13 is the widely accepted commercial model. Other models and standards are practically important in combating fire, but this flexibility may affect the fire services. The design of sprinkler systems depends on the level of the ceiling, as the sprinkler heads and piping are often at the roof decks or ceilings. However, the report of alarm signals is in terms of floor level to enable fire services to identify correctly the floor during emergencies (Burke 62). Buildings with standpipes require a sprinkler system that combines and feed it with a single water supply. Often, sprinkler systems receive feed from vertical standpipe risers or bulk feed. According to the NFPA 13 standard, the sprinkler system should have an independent water supply feed from the standpipe system. In normal situations, sprinklers are located downstream from a control point that will not shut off hose connections. This facilitates the fire services to shut off the sprinkler system in case it fails, or when it fails to control the fire. This way, the fire services may still access hose connections to suppress manually the fire without possibly pressure from the sprinkler system or broken sprinkler pipes. If possible, it is also important to have fire pumps, which will boost the pressure of water in standpipes and sprinkler systems to deliver the adequate amount of water. Such as a system is particularly important for systems that have non-pressurized water tank and in instances when the water supply has low pressure (Pyne 271). The optimal location for fire pumps is another building or structure with ease access. Fire Communication and Alarm Systems The importance of fire communication and alarm systems goes without mentioning. A fire alarm system essentially consists of interconnected controls and devices that alert the occupants of a building of dangerous or fire conditions, as well as provide the responders with information on the condition. Such a system is very important as concise and clear information of the fire condition enables responders to identify safe and efficient operation and strategy. Fire alarm systems work on the principles of physics, with monitor alarm-initiating devices, which include water flow indicators, automatic detectors, and manual pull stations. When the system receives a signal, the control components work on it via relays or programs. Consequently, the system activates devices that produce visual and audio evacuation notifications, as well as send a remote signal to the local fire services. Some alarm systems are complex and may incorporate other functions such as displaying the location of incident, recall the elevator system and control the ventilation system of eth building (OSHA). Fire alarm and communication system vary in complexity and functionality. A fundamental system comprises of initiating devices, notification devices, and a control panel. However, complex alarm systems may incorporate voice evacuation systems with integration to the telephone communication system. These detection systems often incorporate devices that sense fire and its by-products such as smoke automatically. Most fire authorities require buildings to have fire alarm systems, with the common applied standards being NFPA 101 and IBC (OSHA). The other form of communication in fire protection is the use of signs to show fire exits and assembly points in the occurrence of fire. These signs include graphical display in large and visible writings. Steps before implementing potential solutions Before initiating any particular measure against fire hazards, it is imperative to carry out an assessment of the building, structure, or location of concern. The subsequent evaluation of the result of such an assessment will enable the concerned parties to initiate optimal solutions that may potentially avoid or reduce the loss, injury, and harm associated with fire hazards. The assessment should include evaluating possible fire hazards, emergency preparedness, and effectiveness of controls. Following a walk-through assessment emphasizing on the three aspects of the environment (Fire Research Report). The results of eth evaluation will greatly assist in determining the fire protection needs of the area, the emergency plan, and control procedures. It is also important for re-assessment of the already instituted measures. Conclusion This paper sought to offer a comprehensive discussion of fire protection, initiating the discussion with the definition of fire, the triangle of fire, and the physical, biological, and cultural paradigms of fire. The paper then outlines the problem of fire hazards, with emphasis on its nature (Pyne 274). No definite set of measures that potentially solves the problem of fire hazards, but rather numerous measures and procedures that may reduce or avoid the consequences of fire. This is because fire has no exact nature. The paper focuses on building site and design measures, sprinkler systems, and fire alarms and communication systems. Among the three possible solutions, the latter is the most viable. There is no limit to the extent of measures a person can implement to protect themselves from consequences of fire. However, it is important to carry out an assessment prior to implementation of such measures. The evaluation of the assessment will provide very important information on the most viable fire protection procedures and plan. Bibliography Burke, Robert,. Fire Protection: Systems and Response. London: CRC Press, 2008. Coon, Walter. Fire Protection: Design Criteria, Options, Selection. Norwell, MA: R.S. Means Co. Cote, Arthur. Fundamentals of Fire Protection. Quincy, Massachusetts: National Fire Protection Association, 2004. Fire Research Report 01/2008, “Fire Service Emergency Cover Toolkit: Executive Summary”, Department for Communities and Local Government, May 2008. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Fire Service Features of Building and Fire Protection Systems. Web, April 28, 2012. (http://www.osha.gov/Publications/fire_features3256.pdf) Pyne, Stephen. Problems, Paradoxes, Paradigms: Triangulating Fire Research. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 2007, 16, 271-276. Read More