Fire Blasts and Their Causes - Case Study Example

Case studies: Fire blasts and their Causes CASE 1: Man blames Dell laptop for house fire SOUTH VENICE –it’s a case of fire which destroyed house in South Venice. On Thursday there had been a spark caused by a Dell computer model which was then recalled by the company to have a battery which was listed as a fire hazard. Louis Minner, the owner of the house said that his Wife’s dell Laptop was placed on the papers on the family couch when it caught fire. Minnear said that he is now convinced that fire was started just because of computer battery. The investigation is being carried by The State Fire Marshal's Office.they didn’t yet finalized the cause of fire, and said "None of us know what the cause is," said Assistant Fire Chief Paul Dezzi. "That's why we called the fire marshal." The fire took 20 minutes, causing the damages. The firefighters came at 6:30 and took 10 minutes to overcome. There was a loss of almost all the possessions which also includes 843 DVDs. MInner had bought the PC about 2 years ago, with the knowledge that this model is said to have a list of potential battery problems. The fire came three days after Dell recalled 4.1 million notebook computer batteries. The company warned consumers the batteries could erupt in flames. Minnear said that at 5 am he could smell something like electrical fire, but after getting a round of a house he found everything safe, he got back to bed, and after 45 minutes he woke up and found his couch on fire. He helped his wife; she was pregnant at that time, 9 month old son and two dogs to get out of the house. And else he could save were just wedding pictures, baby toys and his wife’s purse. "It moved fast; it burned hot," Minnear said. "But they got it out quickly." The Red Cross Officials of America gave Minnear and his family a stay in local hotel for 3 days. And insurance company gave them a year to come back in their home. CONCLUSION:- The Dell caused another six instances since December in which it only caused fire and not injuries or death. It’s really hard for Minnear to imagine that a pc could be a cause of burning of his house. "It isn't something you never think about," Minnear said. "I'm just still kind of in shock over the whole thing." The company had already warned, but the owner still couldn’t get an escape. This recall was the largest recall in its history of the consumer electronics industry. It was basically for the safety of the consumers. So we conclude, it was not a fault by the company alone but it was the fault of the consumers also that they didn’t take it seriously or worthy of importance to pay heed to the warnings of company against faulty batteries. So it’s not fair to blame the company alone for this loss. As the Dell is one of the largest PC makers of the world, so it may be bad for their image but definitely they know how to maintain a quality. CASE 2: A top research centre destroyed by fire: Investigations are still going on that what is the cause of this fire which destroyed a computer science research department at the University of Southampton. A100ft plume of smoke was seen on Sunday morning, as the gas canisters exploded inside the building. As such there was no one hurt physically but all the research equipment got wasted, which is a big deal of worth £50m. Resources tell that some of the world's most advanced researches were carried out there. In school of electronics and comp Science, a laboratory was completely destroyed and to some extent a nearby office building was damaged. John Lawry, (secretary) said: "Some of the most advanced research work in the country, and indeed in the world was carried out in this facility." "We probably will have to start from scratch, and it will take a couple of years to rebuild the facility," he added. The residents of houses around were warned of harmful fumes and were ordered to stay inside with windows shut. There were 100 firefighters who took 10 hours to bring the fire under control. A resident, named Sarah, who lives near the building said, that a loud bang was heard while they were sleeping. "There was a huge explosion, and literally seconds later there were police sirens everywhere. "We looked outside and the sky was black. It seems to be lessening now, it's more of a grey color, but the smoke was unbelievable." Francis Chee, a student of the university, said: "There are a lot of liquid nitrogen tanks outside the building and they use liquid nitrogen heavily there. "I did hear several explosions sounding like gas canisters going off." Police officers and fire investigators have started to look for the cause of the fire, at this stage, which is not thought to be suspicious. CONCLUSION: In this case the causes are not yet known so we will discuss it later in the final conclusion that what could be the cause, its solutions and how the fire can be avoided. CASE 3: Fire in the building of Universal Studios There was seen a large fire in the building of Universal Studios. The timings at which the fire got started were around 5:15 am, and the fire kept on rising as its flames were very high. It was observed at that time, that there were over 40 other companies who were trying to help control the fire. Reports from ABC7 showed that there were no reported injuries .According to a CNN report cause of fire was unknown but the investigations continued to carry on. And it’s also reported that fire fighters took a while to overcome the fire. CONCLUSION: in this case the causes are not yet known so we will discuss it later in the final conclusion that what could be the cause, its solutions and how the fire can be avoided. CASE 4: In this case the mother and father died at the spot and their children which include 1 daughter and 2 sons: The mother was, aged 47, and 53-year-old father were pronounced dead following the blaze at Crimond, near Fraserburgh. Four persons including their sons aged 13 and 19, their 21-year-old daughter and a 52-year-old man - were taken to hospital for treatment following the blast. About 20 firefighters battled to bring the fire under control. It was reported that the daughter and the old man survived the fire and were detained for treatment at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. The two sons who were also taken to hospital in Peterhead and were soon discharged. Duncan Smith, of Grampian Fire and Rescue Service, told BBC Scotland: "Three appliances attended, when crews arrived they were faced with quite a serious fire and it was eventually brought under control. "Crews found a number of occupants had already made their escape, assisted we believe by a passer-by. "Unfortunately two persons have tragically lost their lives in this incident." Road closures have been set up on the A90. Grampian Police told that the cause of the fire was "under investigation". Det Insp Stewart Kidd, who was leading the investigation, said: "We are at an early stage in the investigations into this fatal fire. "This is a tragedy for the family involved and the thoughts of everyone involved in the inquiry team are with them." CONCLUSION: In this case the causes are not yet known so we will discuss it later in the final conclusion that what could be the cause, its solutions and how the fire can be avoided. Steps taken by builders and architects to aviod fires and minimise damages: Safety in old high-rise buildings is of great concern to the general public as a result of several big fires that occurred over the past 10 years. 1. Scoring System and FSE checklist: . A fire safety evaluation system is essential for building engineers to quantify the fire safety level, to identify the measures to be improved to schedule the corresponding improvements. A universal fire safety evaluation (FSE) checklist for fire safety level quantification and improvements prioritization in old high-rise buildings should also be formulated. In a survey, the fire safety levels of 122 old ,high-rise buildings in Hong Kong were quantified using the scoring system.. The survey results showed that only less than 5% of the inspected samples reached the standard required for life safety.10 buildings having the lowest scores were then selected and FSE checklist was applied to them to prioritize the improvements. 2.Fire-Proof Buildings: It has been the objective of architects and builders to make a building fire proof without the enormous expense of iron beams and girders ,which also sometimes fail to provide total protection. In the building of the National State Bank, the architect estimated that it would require an expense of about $6000 to make it completely fireproof. Mr Fowler also came to know through SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, that a well known architect Edwin May, of Indianapolis, had taken letters patent on a fire-proof lath for ceilings and inside partition walls, together with a concrete floor for the protection of the upper edge of the joist which by actual test had been demonstrated to be fire-proof. After a critical examination of the invention upon its merits, it was adopted, and the workmen are now engaged in putting it in. Our citizens engaged in, or contemplating building, will be interested in an examination of the work while in progress." To Do things (Pre/Post Fire) Pre-plan and practice it. This plan should include various fire drills. A fire drill can help practice leaving the building quickly and safely. There can be different ways of escaping the building. During a fire, the following can be done: Using a fire extinguisher for putting out small fires. Water can be used if the fire is not electrical or chemical. Fire that can’t be control should not be tried to control. If there’s a fire that is too big to put out, the building should be left immediately. You might not have much time before the fire spreads, so don’t even stop for calling 911. Once you’re outside and safe, you can use a cell phone or ask a neighbour for a phone call. If your clothes catch fire, you should NOT run at all. This can make the fire spread more speedily. Instead, stop, drop, and roll… In other words, stop, drop to the ground, your face should be covered with your hands, and roll back and forth until the fire is put out. If there is smoke in your house, cover your nose and mouth with a small cloth and you should stay low to the ground as you’re leaving. Smoke is very injurious to breathe and hard to see through. Since smoke naturally rises, you should move slowly on your hands and knees to exit the building. If you are in a room with the door closed when a fire breaks out, following are more tips: You should NOT open the door if the door is hot, there is smoke coming through the cracks around or under the door, or the doorknob is hot. This means that the fire is pretty close. If you are trapped in the room, use duct tape, wet towels, or clothing to close any cracks or vents around the door. Immediately call 911 and let them know where you are. You can even put a light-colored cloth (like a white t-shirt) outside the window to let firefighters know your position. If the doorknob feels cool and smoke is not coming in the room, open the door slowly and very carefully. Quickly exit the building. If a fire starts in your kitchen because of oil or grease, try spreading baking soda or salt on it. Or put a lid over the flame if the fire is in a pot or in a pan. Through the centuries there has been a close connection of fire with the cultural growth of Humanity. There was ofcourse a time when man had no fire, but very early he must have made himself familiar with fire resulting from natural sources, and got benefited from it. Much later in the scheme of things he invented processes for making fire unnaturally. The stories relating to the origin of fire are mostly very dramatic and mostly throughout the world these fire-origin stories are similar. The transportation of fire was solved, it was occasionally borrowed, and while the meaning is lost, the expression is still used when one says: "May I borrow a light?"' With the acquisition of fire came the difficulty of preserving it. First, it was buried; preserved in the ashes of the fire. Next, a type of slow-match or fire-stick was developed, and later, when man worked with metals "fire-cover" was invented. The early fires also formed a center for peoples grouping, and became tribal or communal fires, from which the individual family fires derived. History has failed to have documentation on the inventor, or to tell the place where chimneys were first used, but they were quite common in Venice before the middle of the 14th Century. In England, the oldest actual remains of chimneys are those of Winwall House, Not-folk, and of Kenilworth and Conway Castles, built in the 12th Century.The very first fire in the town of Boston occurred on the 16th of March, 1631 from the defective claying of one of the chimneys, and two buildings were destroyed. Later this episode, officers known as "firewards" were appointed by the justices of peace, distinguished by a staff five feet in length, colored in red, and headed by a brass spire six inches long. Coming into the modern era, science has made remarkable achievements. Today we not only know the preventions and remedies of fire but also its types by looking into its chemical properties. There are four different classes of fire: Class A fires involve solid materials of an organic nature such as wood, paper, cloth, rubber and plastics that don’t melt. Class B fires involve liquids. They include petrol, diesel, thinners, oils, paints, wax, cooking fat and plastics oils etc. Class C fires involve electricity. Class D fires involve flammable metals such as magnesium, aluminium, titanium, sodium and potassium. The life safety risk issues connected with flaming fires of mattress and upholstered furniture were explored. It was shown that full-scale heat discharge rate was the dominant variable which needs to be restricted. This can be determined directly by full-scale measurement. Such procedures have been developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology for upholstered furniture during numerous preceding studies. In the present work, differences between the behavior of mattresses and of upholstered furniture are explored. Mattresses and upholstered chairs are soft goods which are made in a somewhat similar way: both use padding foams or battings, covered by upholstery fabric. A lot of concerns need to be handled before the making of both these items. Fire is one of the four classical elements of science today. It is commonly associated with the qualities of energy and passion. It represents the creativity that all intellectual and emotional beings have. But this current necessity of man’s life can become a hazard for his life. Positive points are of utmost importance but if care not taken, fire can simply finish everything…and everything means everything including life! Read More