Various Kinds of Fire under Various Circumstances - Term Paper Example

Research project assessment Introduction The proposed research focuses on understanding various fire behaviours and how it spreads under different circumstances. It would also discuss in detail the fire extinguishing strategies adopted by fire fighters in such situations. Fire is one of the most destructive and unpredictable forces and therefore, it is essential to gather as much information about the characteristics of fire under various conditions so that fire fighting strategies can be drawn accordingly. This proposed report is therefore very essential to conduct as it would provide information about how fire behaves in different conditions, which would be of great help for the fire fighters as well as the general public, who are often unaware about the characteristics of various kinds of fire and how to fight them. The first few moments of fire ignition are very crucial and if the fire is tackled in that time, it could be brought under control easily. Therefore, every household should be aware of different kinds of fire and how to handle them at the onset till the fire fighters arrive at the site. Further, awareness about the kinds of fire would also help in understanding the dangers associated with various fire types and therefore, lesser human casualty. With regards to the fire fighters, they would be able to understand the technical aspects of fire fighting, which would provide them with the knowledge to tackle unexpected fire situations as well. The proposed research would also conduct experiments to understand the various technical aspects of fire fighting. 1. Scope The proposed research would focus on various kinds of fire and how fire behaves under various circumstances. It would attempt to understand the fire behavior and size, how fire spreads, flow rate required to tackle fires, various inflammable materials as well as an effective method to extinguish fire. 2. Literature review 2.1. Fire behavior Fire behavior is used to describe the magnitude, direction and strength of the spread of the fire. These are measured in different parameters. For instance, magnitude is measured in m/s as it measures the velocity of the flame, while direction is measured in degrees and the strength in terms of J/m2. Every fire has different behavior pattern with some burn evenly and very slowly, while others burn quickly and fiercely. Fires also have differentiation in the colour of their flames. Some fires are seen to start very easily, while some takes time to ignite. There are some fires which give out poisonous gases that may kill a person if not taken out of the place. There are various forms of fire and every fire behaves in a different manner. The behavior of a fire is dependent on various factors such as the fuel, the climate, level of oxygen, terrain and outside fires (Pigot 2001). 2.1.1. Fuel Research has found that each fuel has different characteristic about catching fire at varying temperature level. It requires considerable amount of heat for changing certain material to gas and triggering oxygen reaction. The molecules found in the fuel determine the production of heat. It has been found that hydrocarbons are the most flammable fuel and when combined with oxygen it produces water, carbon dioxide and other such gases (Chuvieco et al 2000). Further, the fuel size or the surface area also determines the speed at which a fire is set. For instance, a twig may catch fire easily as it is easier to heat it up, while a large wooden piece might take longer time to catch fire as it would require more heat energy to ignite. Together with the fuel size, the surface area the fuel covers is also a major determinate for the catching of a fire. If the surface area is large than the oxygen molecule will be able to collide with the surface in a faster manner and therefore resulting in faster combustion (Chuvieco et al. 200) Further, the heat released during such reactions would also depend on the speed at which the fuel would burn and the kind of fuel. Every compound has different reaction characteristics when combined with oxygen, with some of the compounds releasing more amount of heat energy than the others. Another important factor in determining fire behavior is the amount of fuel present in the fire site, which is also known as fuel load. It has been found that in case of larger fuel load, the intensity of fire would also become higher. Further, the moisture content in the fuel would also determine the fire behavior, with lesser moisture the fuel would take less time to ignite and burn (Andrews & Queen 2001). 2.1.2. Oxygen availability The availability of oxygen in the air is also a major determinant about the speed of combustion. In case of lower level of oxygen concentration, the fire would burn very slowly. However, a dangerous fire situation called backdraught may also occur in case of low oxygen concentration in an area. In this kind of situation, the fire may have used considerable amount of oxygen from the fire site and is reduced to smouldering but with sudden injection of oxygen due to opening of window or door, the fire may explode and throw flames. This is a very dangerous situation and may cause casualties. Therefore, it is essential to douse a flame completely before entering into the premises (Goldfeder 2008). 2.1.3. Weather The moisture level in the air also influences the fire behavior. In case of low humidity level in the air, it will make the fuel dry and therefore higher flame and ignition rate. However, in case the humidity is high, the fuel would also have higher moisture content and therefore, would take time to ignite. Together with moisture content, the wind is major contributor towards the spreading of the fire. Wind influences the spreading of oxygen over the fire area and therefore the spread of the fire. Further, wind may dry the fuel as well, contributing towards the spreading of the fire at dangerous levels (Bundy et al 2007). Rainfall is another phenomenon that affects the burning of the fuel. It wets the fuel and thereby increasing the moisture content in the fuel. However, the moisture absorption would also depend on the kind of fuel with coarse fuels absorbing less moisture than fine fuels. Increase in temperature may also dry the fuel and result in heightened fire situation (Nelson 2002). 2.1.4. Terrain The terrain is very influential, especially in case of wildfires. If the slope is steep, the speed of fire may also increase as the vegetation gets preheated even before the fire reaches it and due to high temperature, the fire spreads very easily. Similarly, rugged terrain that has irregular slopes, sharp ridges and narrow valleys also determine the speed and direction of the fire. For instance, in case of narrow valleys, the wind rate would be higher which would mean greater fire speed. Further, the slope’s direction towards the sun would also determine the fire speed as maximum exposure to sun would mean dry fuel and therefore greater fire speed (Nelson 2002). 2.2. Fire development In order to understand the fire behavior in a better manner, it is also important to analyse the various stages of fire development as well as the methods of burning. Further, there are various materials that aid in burning which needs to be understood as well. Discussed below is some of the common fire burning stages and materials: 2.2.1. Thermal inertia The first and the foremost characteristic that generally impact fire behavior in the initial stages is known as thermal inertia. In most constructions, warm materials are used so that human beings feel comfortable when they come in contact with these materials. The temperature from our skin gets transferred to the building, which helps in increasing the temperature of the surface as well. This generally takes place if the materials are of low heat capacity, low density and low thermal conductivity. On the other hand, materials that are of high heat capacity, high density and high thermal conductivity seems to become cold as the temperature from the body does not have much impact on the surface temperature. At the time of fire, the materials used in the construction therefore play a very important role (Bundy et al 2007). 2.2.2. Ignition Fire growth becomes vigorous and rapid if the ignition temperature increases as well. In case of a material that is cold the ignition temperature would also be lower, however, for materials that are warm, the ignition temperature would be higher and therefore, the fire would also spread easily. However, it is required to have inertia materials that can provide warmth to human beings and are used as heat insulation. These materials at the time of fire become very dangerous and if not controlled in a proper manner can result in a large fire (Bundy et al 2007). 2.2.3. Polymers and fire Many manufacturers use synthetic polymers to formulate and mould them into various shapes and figures. The materials are mostly thermoplastic and can be given any desired shape. Such materials are being used in large quantities in the construction industry as well as for home decoration purposes. However, polymers are also fast to catch fire and can get deformed due to excessive heat. Further, the melting and deformation of the materials may increase the spreading of the fire as well. For instance, the molten and heated up polymer droplets would spread the fire in the floors below and even create burning liquid at the floor, thereby increasing the temperature inside the room (Bundy et al 2007). 2.2.4. Fire growth Most people have experienced fire only during bonfires and might encounter fires in an indoor situation during a life-threatening circumstance. However, there is a huge difference in the way the two fires react, with the first being in a controlled atmosphere while the later spreads in an unexpected manner. Further, most people are not prepared for handling such kind of fire situations as well. Therefore, it is essential to understand the difference between various fires as every situation has a different fire fighting strategy (Nelson 2002). 2.2.5. Flashover In the initial stages, the bonfire and the fire inside a building looks similar due to the manner of its ignition. However, as the fire progresses, the hot smoke that would be produced inside the building would not escape and would get trapped inside the rooms forming smoke layers. With the progress in fire, the layers of smoke would become much more intense and hot. The increase in temperature and layer would result into releasing of some of the heat downwards to the materials as well as people in the room. In case the smoke layer and the temperature become too high, the intensity of the heat release would also become greater and therefore the materials in the room would burn simultaneously (Nelson 2002). 2.3. Fire fighting In the UK, the fire brigades are governed under the Fire Services Act 1947, which stresses on the fact that provisions should be made for adequate water supply for fighting fires. Fire hydrants are one of the most important components of fire-fighting equipments. The importance of rationalizing fire hydrants received added momentum in 1991 in the UK under the influence of political pressure and various commercially-viable projects. During this time, policies were also drawn to control the flow and pressure of the water in the District Metered Areas (DMAs). This further helped in controlling the damages that may occur due to leakages and high water pressure (HM Fire Service Inspectorate 2001). In case of fire fighters, management of water helps in regulating the water flow through the hydrants and estimating the risks associated with a particular fire. However, fire fighters are still not able to calculate the right water-flow requirement to fight a particular fire. They rely on their logical deduction abilities to access the water-flow needed to control the fire. Further, the availability and flow of water is determined by the availability of water in the area through various public distribution systems. In fact in the UK, the fire fighters get only around 9 litres of water per minute, which might not be sufficient to receive the required jet flow (Standing 1999). Despite the fact that fire behaves in different manner under various circumstances, little research has been done to understand how fire reacts in certain conditions and what strategies should be adopted to fight such fires. Thus, in this proposed paper, various forms of fire and their behaviours would be analysed so that specific strategies can be drawn to fight such fires in case of emergencies. 3. Methodology The proposed research would require conducting a thorough study of past literature on the issue. Thus, past researches on fire behaviour would be studied in detail to understand what researchers in the past have stated about how fires behaved in certain situations. This would also help in understanding the gap areas in the past research as well as understanding the set notions about fire behaviour and fire fighting techniques. However, in order to study the behaviour of fire, it is important to conduct experiments to understand how fire reacts under certain situations. Thus, it is essential to use a practical approach towards analysing the fire conditions. For this proposed research, a trash container fire experiment would be conducted to understand how materials burn during such fire, at what rate and how fast the fire spreads. Although, being a simple experiment, it would help in identifying the fire spread rate of various materials as well as in understanding the force at which the fire spreads. The experiment would not only help in understanding the fire behaviour but would also enable in analysing the fire fighting strategies to be used for dousing such fires as well. During the experiment, fire fighting techniques such as using blankets, soil and water would be used (Donnelly et al 2006). The findings from the experiment would help in understanding the fire behaviour and how to control fire under a certain situation. It would further aid in testing the hypotheses related to the proposed research. 3.1. Trash container fire experiment In order to conduct a trash container fire experiment a waste container of around half a kilogram weight would be used, which would be filled with newspapers up to the edge of the container. The newspapers would be folded properly as well as some crumpled into balls and thrown in the container. An electric match would be created with the use of matches and a wire heated electrically. Thereafter, the waste container would be ignited to conduct the experiment to measure heat release rates. In order to measure the heat release, a Schmidt-Boelter would be used (Donnelly et al 2006). In order to validate the results, it is essential to undertake the experiments using two similar trash containers, which would be duly labelled as A and B. During the experiment, various photographs would be taken of the trash containers to record the entire procedure. Further, the visual representations would help in identifying the changes in the burning process and understanding the fire characteristics as well. The experiment is expected to help in understanding the time taken for the heat release rate and finding out the heat release measurement for the newspaper and the trash container, respectively. It would help in analysing whether the paper position and loading had any impact on the burning process or not. Further, the experiment will find out whether the use of the plastic container had any influence over the burning process. The impact of surface area, fuel and oxygen content would also be measured through this experiment. It would also measure the total energy that would be released during the experiment. 3.2. Timeline The research project is intensive in nature and therefore would take a longer period of time to complete. The following Gantt chart provides the timeline for the completion of the proposed project: GANTT CHART Project Milestones Duration Start date End date Initiation and Planning       Identifying the need for the project 2 days 27-Sep 28-Sep Creating a concept proposal 3 days 29-Sep 1-Oct Defining the scope of the research 2 days 4-Oct 5-Oct Researching       Literature Review 10 days 6-Oct 19-Oct Formulating research hypothesis 2 days 20-Oct 21-Oct Methodology       Identifying research methodologies 3 days 22-Oct 26-Oct Understanding data analysis tools 3 days 27-Oct 29-Oct Research proposal preparation       Preparing the research proposal 3 days 1-Oct 3-Oct Submitting for approval 1 day 4-Oct 4-Oct Defending the proposal 1 day     Conducting experiments       Trash container fire experiment 2 days 11-Oct 12-Oct Recording results 2 days 11-Oct 12-Oct Analaysing data 7 days 13-Oct 21-Oct Formulating findings and discussions 3 days 22-Oct 26-Oct Providing recommendations 2 days 27-Oct 28-Oct Preparing research project       Preparing draft proposal 7 days 29-Oct 8-Nov Discussing with supervisor 1 day 9-Nov 9-Nov Incorporating feedbacks 3 days 10-Nov 12-Nov Preparing final document 5 days 12-Nov 18-Nov Submission of the thesis 1 day 19-Nov 19-Nov 4. Limitation of the study The study is totally based on the past literature search and the present experiment. As the past literature has huge number of analysis and findings, it would be difficult to pin point on the crucial findings and therefore, the report would only focus on certain aspects of fire behaviour. This might result in giving only some outlook about the issue and would not give a consolidated viewpoint. Further, the research is based on only one experiment, as conducting various other experiments would mean more investment of time and resources. Thrash container fire experiment would require the minimum effort and that is why chosen for this research. However, being simple in nature, it would not be able to comment on more complex fires. It would only provide an overview about the nature of fires and how it behaves under certain controlled situation. The experiment would not be able to give further commentary on complex building or terrain fires. In order to understand such complex fires, it would be essential to conduct more such fire experiments on a larger scale. This however, would require more resources and time, which are constraints in this case. Thus, in order to get a consolidated overview about the nature or behaviour of fire, it is essential to conduct various thorough experiments in the future. References: Andrews, P. L., & Queen, L. P. 2001, Fire modeling and information system technology. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 10, 343– 352. Bundy, M., Hamins, A., Johnsson, E.L., Kim, S.C., Ko, G.H., and Lenhart, D. B. 2007, Measurements of Heat and Combustion Products in Reduced-Scale Ventilated-Limited Compartment Fires, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD., NIST TN 1483, July 2007. Chuvieco, E., Vaughan, P., Riano, D., & Cocero, D. 2000, Fire danger and fuel moisture content estimation from remotely sensed data, Proceedings crossing the millennium: Integrating spatial technologies and ecological principles for a new age in fire management ( pp. 1 –7). US: University of Idaho. Donnelly, M.K., Davis, W.D., Lawson, J.R., amd Selepak, M.J. 2006, Thermal Environment for Electronic Equipment Used by First Responders. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, NIST TN 1474. Goldfeder, W. 2008, Front Door Left Open by Occupants Advances Fire Onto Firefighters, Firehouse, Vol. 33, No. 3, Melville, NY. HM Fire Service Inspectorate 2001, Fire Service Manual Volume 1 – Fire Service Technology, Equipment and Media - Hydraulics, Pumps and Water Supplies, HMSO, London. Nelson Jr., R. M. 2002, An effective wind speed for models of fire spread, International Journal of Wildland Fire, 11, 153– 161. Pigot, G. 2001, Water Pressure, Fire Prevention / Fire Engineers Journal Combined Issue For FIRE. 176-210 Read More