Part One

Understanding the Nature of Fire

I. WHAT IS FIRE?
In the World Book Encyclopedia (1994), fire is defined as the heat and light that comes
from the burning substances. In 1777, Antoine Lavoisier, a French Chemist, proved that burning
is the result of the rapid union of oxygen with other substance.
Fire is a chemical reaction that involves the evolution of light and energy in sufficient
amount to be perceptible (Quintiere, 1998).
Will there always be light in a flame (fire)?
No. For instance, the burning of hydrogen with the air or oxygen produces only water
vapor from its chemical reaction. Although sufficient energy is produced, we would not
see flame.
 Fire could also be linked or is likewise the same as flame, combustion, and oxidation.
Here is how possible could it be (Grolier International Encyclopedia, 1998).
 A flame is the region in which a gaseous medium takes place, accompanied with the
evolution of heat and, usually light.
 Combustion, the burning of any substance, is a process that evolves light and heat.
Oxygen is generally required for combustion, although oxygen itself does not burn, it
reacts chemically with the fuel to liberate chemical energy stored in the molecular bond.
 Oxidation on the other hand, is a chemical process that involves the loss of electrons by
the reactant and the corresponding gain. Both process must occur simultaneously and
equivalent amount.
 Rapid and Slow Oxidation

BRIEF HISTORY OF FIRE

The earliest use person made of fire was to keep warm. As civilization advanced, people
learned to use fire in many other ways. People learned to use fire to cook food, to shape
weapons and tools, to change clay into pottery, and to furnish light. But early people had
extremely slow and quite unsatisfactory ways of kindling fires (World Book Encyclopedia, 1994).
FIRE IN LEGEND AND RELIGION
Prehistoric people may have gained knowledge of fire from observing things in nature,
such as lighting, the fire of volcanoes, and the heat of the sun. (World Book Encyclopedia,
1994).
In Persian literature, there is a story of the discovery of fire in a fight with a dragon. One
of the stones that the hero used as a weapon missed the monster and struck a rock. Light
shone forth and human beings saw fire for the first time. The mythology of nearly all-early
people contains some account of accidental or supernatural happenings that first revealed fire
to human beings. Early people regarded fire as a true gift of the gods.
Fire was considered sacred because it was so essential to the welfare of people.
The Temple of Vesta in Rome was an outstanding example of the importance of fire to the
Romans. Vesta was originally the goddess of the hearth (fire place) and her shine was in every
home. But when religion became an affair of the state, a temple was erected in which the
sacred fire was kept burning at all times.
In Greek mythology, Prometheus bestowed godlike powers when he stole the gods’ fire to
give it to humanity. Humans have always worshiped fire for its awesome power in nature and
its beneficence when controlled. Fire has played a central role in religion. It has been
personified as a god (for example, the Indo-Iranian Agni) and recognized as a symbol of home
and family in many cultures. (Grolier International Encyclopedia, 1998).
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EARLY MEANS OF PRODUCING FIRE
Primitive methods of igniting wood chips enable Neolithic man to produce at will the
essential tool of fire (Grolier International Encyclopedia, 1998). The following are the early
means of producing fire: (Microsoft Encarta Reference Library, 2002)
1. Two Sticks. One of the oldest methods of starting fires consists of rubbing two sticks
together. The rubbing creates friction between the sticks, and the friction generates
heat. This heat eventually causes the wood to ignite. This method often times takes a
lot of time and energy.
2. Hand Drill. The hand drill is a more efficient method of rubbing two pieces of wood
together. Rapidly spinning a stick of wood against another piece of wood can generate
enough friction and heat to cause the wood to ignite.
3. Bow Drill. As people developed tools, they adapted some of these fire making.
Drawing the bow back and forth spins the stick rapidly against the piece of wood,
producing a large amount of friction. This friction between the stick and the piece of
wood can heat the wood until it ignites.
4. Weighted Bow Drill. The weighted bow drill generates more friction than the bow
drill by weighing down the wooden stick, making it push with more force against the
other piece of wood. Moving the bow back and forth creates frictional heat between
the stick and piece of wood, which can ignite the wood.
5. Magnifying Glass. People have used magnifying glasses and sunlight to light fires
since the invention of lenses several thousand years ago. The magnifying glass
focuses the sunlight on tinder, and the energy of the sunlight heats the tinder until it
ignites.
II. COMPONENTS OF FIRE
Fire is, in some ways, like living things. Both fire and animals require the same elements
to exist, and each ceases to exist if any one of these elements is withdrawn.
As the animal needs food, the fire needs fuel; and the animal requires oxygen, the fire
also requires oxygen; and as the animal requires warmth, the fire also requires heat. Therefore,
to create fire we must have fuel, oxygen, and heat (Gayon, 1993).

Fuel Oxygen
FIRE
Heat
Figure 1.1 Fire Triangle
(Redsicker and O’connor, 1997)
Traditionally, fire has been described as having three components: heat, oxygen, and fuel.
This triad was illustrated by the fire triangle, which symbolized, in the most basic terms, a
chemical relationship that would have required hours to explain. We now realized, however,
that the fire triangle falls short of integrating all the components involved in producing flaming
combustion. Today, the fire triangle is used to technically explain glowing combustion, which
occurs when a fuel mass glows (burns) without flaming. This is called solid-to-gas reaction (fuel
being solid, and the oxidizing agent a gas.
The additional component that is needed to explain flaming combustion is a chemical
chain reaction. Such a reaction yields energy or products that cause further reactions of the
same kind, and this process is self-sustaining.

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Fuel Oxygen
FIRE

Chemical Chain
Reaction
Heat Figure 1.2. Fire Tetrahedron
(Redsicker and O’connor, 1997)
In flaming combustion, fuel and the oxidizing agent are both in the gaseous state; hence
this is referred to as gas-to gas-reaction.
Two kinds of Combustion
1. Glowing combustion – represented by the Fire Triangle
2. Flaming Combustion – represented by the Fire Tetrahedron
IV. FUEL AND ITS PHYSICAL STATES
Fuel. Any materials or substances capable of burning can be considered as Fuel. Fuels are
characterized as: (P.S.B.R.C.)
a. Solid Fuels. The principal component is carbon.
b. Liquid Fuels. The principal component is hydrocarbon.
c.Gaseous Fuels. The principal component is hydrocarbon.
A. Solid Fuels. The most obvious solids fuels are woods, fibers and plastics (Abis, 1986).
(1) Wood and wood-based products.
Pyrolysis of Wood
 Before solid fuel will burn, it must be changed to the vapor state. In a fire situation,
this change usually results from the initial application of heat.
 Pyrolysis is generally defined as “chemical decomposition of matter by the action of
heat”. (Aguado, 2000). It involves the following process:
1. Heat is absorbed by the fuel
2. Molecules are driven off
3. Molecules are broken into pieces
4. They give off combustible vapors.
FACTORS AFFECTING IGNITION AND BURNING OF WOOD

Abis (1986) enumerates the following factors:

1. Physical Form – size
2. Moisture Content
3. Heat of Conductivity – poor or good conductor
4. Rate and Period of Heating. Combustible solids are usually considered less
hazardous compared to flammable liquids or gases because they do not vaporize
readily nor do they give off flammable vapors at ordinary temperature and
atmospheric pressure.
5. Rate of Combustion. It is influenced by physical form of combustible, the air supply
present, the moisture content and other factors.
6. Ignition Temperature. Specific ignition temperatures of wood are difficult to
determine because of the variables concerned.

Ignition temperature of wood varies widely depending on a number of variables:

a. The specific gravity of a sample.
b. The physical characteristics of sample, i.e. size, form, moisture content.
c.The rate and period of heating.

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d. The nature of heat source. Luminous or non-luminous
e. The air (oxygen) supply. – air-tight or open area

(2) Fibers and Textiles. Almost all textiles fibers are

combustible. Since textiles are an intimate part of daily living – clothes we wear, carpets,
curtains, beddings etc. – there is a high involvement of textiles in fire.
Factors that influence the burning of textiles
1. Chemical composition
Natural Fibers
a. Synthetic or Artificial fibers
2. Fiber finish. If sufficient combustible coating or decorative materials are placed on
fabric, this will support continued flaming.
3. Fabric weight. The heavier the fabric of the same composition, the more
considerable resistance to ignition.
4. Tightness of weave. The closer the fibers are in the weaving of fabrics the more it
will minimize the air spaces between them and thus delay the rate of burning.
5. Flame retardant treatment. The effect of chemical treatments in reducing the
flammability of combustible fabrics is varied and complex.
(3) Plastics.
B. Liquid Fuels. The most common liquid fuels are kerosene, gasoline, oil based products,
and other volatile substances (though they may be compressed slightly).
Classification of Liquid fuels
Solid fuels are classified into flammable and combustible solids (Abis, 1986).
1. Flammable liquids. It refers to any liquid having a flashpoint below 37.8 *C.
2. Combustible liquids. It refers to any liquid having a flashpoint at or above 37.8 *C.
Flammable and combustible liquids, strictly speaking, will not cause fire. It is then the
vapors from the evaporation of these liquids when exposed to air and under the influence of
heat, which will burn or explode. (Redsicker and O’connor, 1997).
C. Gaseous Fuels. Gaseous fuels are either natural or manufactured flammable gases. They
have no definite shape or volume, and assume the shape and volume of their container.
(Abis, 1986).
Classification of Gases According to Physical Properties
1. Compressed gas. Is one which at all normal atmospheric temperature inside its
container, exist solely in the gaseous state under pressure .
2. Liquefied gas. Is one in which, at normal atmospheric temperature inside its
container, exist partly in the liquid state and partly in the gaseous state .
3. Cryogenic gases. Is a liquefied gas which exist in its container at temperature far
below normal atmospheric temperature .
Classification of Gases According to Usage
1. Fuel Gases. These are customary used for burning with air to produce heat, which in
turn is utilized as power, light and process .
2. Industrial Gases. These are used for industrial processes as those used in welding
and cutting.
3. Medical Gases. These are used for treatment and respiratory therapy .
Hazards of Gases
1. Hazards of confinement
a. Gases expand when heated, and when confined, the heating results in an
increase in pressure, which can result in gas release and/or cause container
failure.
b. Heat container can fail due to contact with flames from an exposing fire, thus
loss in strength of the material of which the container is made.
2. Hazard of Gas when released from their container. It may vary with the physical
and chemical properties of the gas and the nature of the environment into which they
were released.

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V. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MATTER RELATED TO FIRE

1. Specific gravity. It is the weight of a substance compared with an equal volume of
water
 (thus, water = 1.0). Most flammable liquids have a specific gravity of less than
that of water. Gasoline’s specific gravity is 0.70, so it will float on water. That of
carbon disulfide is 1.3, so it will sink in water (Redsicker and O’Connor, 1997) .

2. Boiling point. The constant temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is
equal or above to the atmospheric pressure .
3. Ignition temperature. The temperature at which a flammable material will ignite,
whether it be gas, liquid, or solid; for example :
4. Flash point. The temperature at which the vapors given off (gas) is not sufficient in
quantity to burn. For example, the fire point of gasoline, this is –50 *F, for kerosene,
110 *F.
5. Fire Point. The temperature at which the material will give off vapors in sufficient
quantity to sustain combustion (burning).
VI. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF FIRE
Abis (1986) enumerates the following chemical properties of fire.
1. Endothermic Reactions. These are changes whereby energy (heat) is absorbed or
is added before the reaction takes place.
2. Exothermic Reactions. Are those that release or give off energy (heat) thus they
produced substances with less energy than the reactants .
3. Oxidation. It is a chemical change that is exothermic. It is actually the deterioration
or aging of materials.
4. Flames. It refers to incandescent gases. In order to be sustained, it should maintain a
high temperature and a concentration of short-lived intermediate chemical reactions
between fuel and oxidizer. There are different types of flames, categorized as :
a. Based on color and completeness of combustibility of fuel:
(1) Luminous flame is orange-red, will deposit soot at the bottom of a vessel
being heated due to incomplete combustion of fuel and has a lower
temperature.
(2) Non-luminous flame is blue, will not deposit soot due to almost complete
combustion of the fuel and has relatively high temperature.
b. Based on fuel and air mixture:
(1) Premixed flame is exemplified by the Bunsen-type laboratory burner
where the hydrocarbon is thoroughly mixed with air before reaching the
flame zone.
(2) Diffusion flame is observed when gas (fuel) alone is forced through the
nozzle into the atmosphere, which diffuses, in the surrounding atmosphere in
order to form a flammable mixture. The rate at which the fuel and oxidizer
are brought together determines the characteristics of a diffusion flame.
c. Based on smoothness:
(1) Laminar flames are flames that follow a smooth path through a gaseous
flame.
(2) Turbulent flames are those having unsteady, irregular swirls and eddy. As
physical size, gas density or velocity is increased, all laminar gas flows tend
to become turbulent.
VII. WHAT IS HEAT?

Heat is described as a condition of “matter in motion” caused by the movement of

molecules. All mater contains some heat, regardless of how low the temperature, because
molecules are constantly moving. When a body of matters is heated, the speed of molecules
increases and thus the temperature increases.

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Heat is an essential element in converting fuel to its gaseous state.

Sources of Heat Energy

The following are the five (5) general categories of heat energy: (Redsicker and O’connor,
1997)
1. Chemical heat energy. Chemically produced heat is the result of rapid oxidation.

This source of heat is generated as the result of some type of chemical reactions.
The four types of chemical reactions that result in heat production are heat of
combustion, spontaneous heating, heat of decomposition and heat of solution (Abis,
1986).
a. Heat of combustion. It is the amount of heat released during the complete
oxidation where the organic fuel is converted to water and carbon dioxide.
b. Spontaneous heating. It is the process of increase in temperature of a
material as a result of slow oxidation, that is, without drawing heat from its
surrounding, until the ignition temperature results into combustion .
c. Heat of decomposition. It is the heat produced by the decomposition of
compounds requiring the addition of heat for their formation.
d. Heat of solution. It is the heat released by the solution of matter in a liquid.
Some acids, when dissolved in water, can produce violent reactions, spewing
(emitting) hot water and acid with explosive force.
2. Mechanical heat energy. Mechanical heat is the product of friction. Our ancestors
rubbed sticks together to generate heat to start a fire. Internal metal components of
machinery can overheat, due to lubricant breakdown or ball-bearing failures, and
cause ignition of available combustibles.
The following the examples of mechanical heat energy: (Abis, 1986)
a. Frictional heat. It results when mechanical energy is used in overcoming the
resistance to motion when two solids are rubbed together.
b. Overheating of machinery. It may cause fire from the heat accumulated from
the rolling, sliding or friction in machinery or between two hard surfaces, at least
one of which is usually a metal. Ignition sources in this category are heated
bearings or rotating machinery and belts, which becomes over heated due to the
pulley slippage.
c. Heat of compression. The heat that is released when gas is compressed.
3. Electrical heat energy. Electrical heat is the product of arcing, shorting or other
electrical malfunction. Poor wire connections, too much resistance, a loose ground,
and too much current flowing through an improperly sized wire are other sources of
electrical heat.
The following the examples of electrical heat energy:
a. Resistant heating. Refers to the heat generated by passing an electrical current
through a conductor such as wire or an appliance. Resistant heating is increased if
the wire is not large enough in diameter for the amount of current. Fires are
caused when a simple extension cord is overloaded with too many appliances
plugged into it.
b. Leakage current heating. It occurs when a wire is not property insulated well
enough to contain all the current. Some current leaks out into the surrounding
material such as inside the wall of a structure. This current causes heat and can
cause a fire.
c. Heat from arcing. A type of electrical heating that occurs when the current flows is
interrupted. Interruption may be from an open switch or a loose connection. Arc
temperatures are extremely high and may even melt the conductor.
d. Inductive heating. Whenever atoms are subjected to electric potential gradients
from external sources, the arrangement of the atoms (or molecules of several
atoms) is distorted with a tendency for electrons to move in the direction of
opposite direction.

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4. Nuclear heat energy. Nuclear energy is the product of the splitting or fusing of
atomic particles (fission or fusion, respectively). The tremendous heat energy in a
nuclear power plant produces steam to turn steam turbines. When more heat is
produced than is lost (transferred), there is a positive heat balance. When more
heat is lost than is produced, there is a negative heat balance.
a. Nuclear fission. It occurs when a subatomic particle called neutron bombards
an appropriate type of nucleus. The nucleus then splits into two lighter nuclei
and at the same time releases tremendous amount of energy in the form of
kinetic energy of the fission fragments (Abis, 1986).
b. Nuclear Fusion. It includes all nuclear reactions in which two lighter nuclei
combined to form heavier nucleus with the emission of other particles or
gamma rays.
5. Solar heat energy. The energy transmitted from the sun in the form of
electromagnetic radiation is called solar heat energy.
Heat Transfer
Law of Heat Flow – specifies that heat tends to flow from a hot substance to a cold
substance. The colder of two bodies in contact will absorb heat until both objects are at
the same temperature. Heat can travel throughout a building by one or more of the
three methods, conduction, convection and radiation.
1. Conduction. It is the transfer of heat from a region of higher temperature to a
region of lower temperature by increased kinetic energy. This increased kinetic energy
is passed from molecule to molecule. Conductors are materials that heat can pass
through. Not all materials are good conductors .
 Poor conductors are called insulators, since heat flows through them slowly.
 Joseph Fourier formulated the theory of heat conduction in the early 1800s,
(Quintiere, 1998).
2. Radiation. In the early 1900s, German physicist Max Planck formulated this form of
heat transfer.
 He wrote that all substances emit radiant energy simply because they have a
positive absolute temperature.
 Radiation is the process of heat transfer by means of infrared radiation, a form
of electromagnetic wave.
 Electromagnetic waves do not need any material medium for their propagation.
Space is almost completely empty, so the sun’s heat cannot reach us by
conduction or convection. Because electromagnetic waves don’t need a medium
they are able to travel through space.
 Anything above the temperature of absolute zero is absorbed by darker surfaces
and reflected by lighter surfaces. This is why people wearing darker clothing in
the summer are hotter than those people wearing white or light clothing. Those
wearing black will absorb the radiations; therefore their temperature will rise.
(Stay Cool, Wear White)
3. Convection. It is the transfer of heat through a circulating medium, usually air or
liquid (see Ideal Gas Law).

 Heat transfer in convection is cheaply responsible for the spread of fire in the
structure.
 The super-heated gases evolved from a fire are lighter than air and consequently
rise; they can and do initiate additional damage.

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Warm Air

Cold air drops and

Replaces the warmer
Air.

Heater

Heat Measurement
Heat of a given material is measured by its temperature. A material is made up of minute
particles called molecules that are in constant motion. The temperature of the material is the
condition that determines whether it will transfer heat to or from another materials (Abis,
1986).
Temperature Units
Celsius degree (also called Centigrade)
Fahrenheit
Kelvin or Absolute
What is the international symbol of Temperature?
VIII. CLASSIFICATION OF FIRE
The class of fire determines the type of fire extinguishers to be used. The action of the
fire extinguisher is either to cool the burning substance to below its ignition temperature, or to
exclude air supply or a combination of both. These are quenching, cooling and blanketing
effects. Fires are generally classified as: (Abaygar, 2000)
1. Class A fires. These are fires involving ordinary combustible materials such as, wood,
cloth, paper, rubber, and many plastics. Water is used in cooling or quenching effect
to reduce the temperature of the burning material below its ignition temperature.
2. Class B fires. It involves flammable and combustible liquids, greases and gases such
as gasoline, oil, lacquers, paints, mineral spirits, and alcohols.
3. Class C fires. These are fires involving energized electrical equipment. A non-
conducting extinguishing agent such as halon, dry chemical, or carbon dioxide can
sometimes control these fires.
4. Class D fires. It involves combustible metals such as aluminum, magnesium,
titanium, zirconium, sodium, lithium, calcium, zirconium, zinc and potassium. These
materials are particularly hazardous in their powdered formed and require careful fire
attack with special extinguishing agents.
5. Class E fires. These are fires involving liquefied petroleum gases.
6. Class F fires. These are fires involving the burning of spontaneously combustible
materials.
Phases of Fire and Its Behavior
As a fire progresses, it normally passes through three phases: incipient, free burning and
smoldering. No two fires are exactly the same. They vary in many ways from incident to
accident (P.S.B.R.C).

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1. The Incipient Phase. It is the earliest phase of fire with the actual ignition.
 The fire is limited to the original materials of ignition. In the
incipient phase, the oxygen content in the air has not been significantly reduced,
and the fire is producing water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), a small
quantity of sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and other gases.
 The behavior of fire during the incipient phase is “rollover”,
sometimes referred to as “flameover”. It takes place when unburned combustible
gases released during the incipient phase accumulate at the ceiling level. These
superheated gases are pushed, under pressure, away from the fire area and into
uninvolved areas where they mix with oxygen.
2. Steady – state Burning Phase or Free Burning Phase. It is the phase of fire
where sufficient oxygen and fuel are available for fire growth and open burning to a
point where total involvement is possible.
 During this phase of fire, the rate and intensity of open burning increases
geometrically.
 Heat, rapidly evolving from the original point of the fire, is convected and collects
in the uppermost areas of the structure or room.
 The additional heat is transferred through conduction and radiation.
 The convected (super-heated) gases themselves become a source of radiated
heat, radiating heat energy downward onto all the surface areas directly below
them.
 This heat is absorbed by conduction into the mass of those items whose surfaces
are struck, causing surface pyrolysis.
 When the temperature reaches the ignition temperature of these items, a
flashover occurs: flames instantly “flashover” the entire area.
 Flashover is defined as “a stage in the development of a continued fire in which
all exposed surfaces reach ignition temperature, more or less simultaneously,
and fire spreads rapidly.
3. Hot Smoldering Phase. After the steady-state burning phase, flames may cease to
exist if the area of confinement is airtight.
 In this state, burning is reduced to glowing embers.
 As the flames die down, the room becomes completely filled with dense smoke and
gases.
 The resulting superheated mixture of gases needs only a fresh supply of oxygen to
resume free burning at an explosive rate.
 This type of explosive is referred to as a backdraft or smoke explosion.
 Backdraft is an explosion resulting from the sudden introduction of air (oxygen)
into a confined space containing oxygen-deficient superheated products of
incomplete combustion.
 A backdraft may result if someone opens a ‘hot door”. This is why firefighters are
trained to touch a door with their bare hands and feel its temperature before
opening it.
 This situation can be made less dangerous by proper ventilation. If the room or
building is opened at the highest point involved, the heated gases and smoke will
be released, reducing the possibility of an explosion.
The other behaviors of fire are flash fire and bite back. Bite back occurs when the fire
resists extinguishments operation and become stronger and bigger instead. It occurs when
firefighters used the wrong fire fighting tools in extinguishing fires.
Products of Combustion
When a fire occurs, certain by-products of fire dangerous to human being will appear
(P.S.B.R.C.).
1. Heat. It is a form of energy that is measured in degrees of temperature to signify its
intensity. The following are the dangers of heat:
 Heat is the product of combustion that is responsible for the spread of fire.
 It is also the direct cause of burns, dehydration, heat exhaustion and injury to
the respiratory tract and destruction of property.

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2. Flame. It is the visible, luminous body of a burning gas. When the burning gas is
mixed with the proper amount of oxygen, the flame becomes hotter and less
luminous.
3. Smoke. It is encountered at most fires, consists of a mixture of oxygen, nitrogen,
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, finely divided that have been released from the
material involved.
4. Fire Gases. Refers to those gases that remain when the product of combustion are
cooled below normal temperature. Gases formed by a fire depends on many variables
among which are: (Abis, 1986)
 The chemical composition of the burning materials.
 The amount of oxygen available for combustion.
 The temperature.
a. Carbon Dioxide. All wood products contain carbon, thus they produced
carbon dioxide when burned even in small fires. It’s colorless and tasteless.
b. Carbon monoxide. One of the most dangerous by-products of fire is due to
unburned particles of fuel.
 Colorless, odorless and highly toxic.
 0.2% by volume can cause death in 30 to 40
minutes.
 0.5% by volume can cause serious illness if breathe for a long time.
 Highly explosive range from 12.5% - 14 % sudden ignition of air and highly
concentrated areas can easily cause explosion.
c. Ashes and embers. It is a by-product of some classes of fire;
 class A always leaves ashes and embers,
 whereas Class C may only leave small amount,
 Class B never leaves.
d. Hydrogen Sulfide. When materials like rubber, skin, hides, wool, hair, silk
and meat are burned one of the products formed is hydrogen sulfide. This
colorless, highly toxic gas smell like rotten eggs.
e. Sulfur Dioxide. This colorless gas with irritating, suffocating odor is formed
when sulfur and sulfur containing organic substance like wood, rubber, wool and
silk are burned. Sulfur dioxide causes the eyes to be watery and is irritating to the
respiratory tract.
f. Hydrogen Chloride. Chloride containing plastic materials will produce
hydrogen chloride when burned.
g. Hydrogen Cyanide.
h. Nitrogen Dioxide. The reddish-brown gas nitrogen dioxide is produced
during the decomposition and combustion of cellulose nitrate, ammonium
nitrate and other inorganic nitrates. It is also formed when nitric acid comes
in contact with metals or combustible materials.

Notes on Fire Technology:: Marcel0 Montanio