FIRE

Four facts about fire?

What is fire?
Fire triangle
General types of fire
General causes of fire
Fire prevention goals
How to protect fire
Fire fighting equipment
General factors kept in mind before designing a
chemical
plant
Choice of fire fighting media
Fire protection systems
Maintenance requirements
 Checkpoint…
What is the three elements of fire burning?

• Heat

• Fuel

• Oxygen
In ordinary fires, combustion requires three
critical elements: fuel, oxygen and heat. Remove
an element and the fire goes out. The fire triangle
represents the three crucial components of a
blaze: oxygen, fuel, and heat that is substantial
enough to sustain the fire and possibly spread it.
Fire Is Fast:
There is little time, in less than 30 seconds
a small flame can get completely out of
control and turn into a major fire.

Fire is Dark:
Fire isn’t bright, it’s pitch black. Fire starts
bright, but quickly produces black smoke
and finally complete darkness.
Fire is Hot:
Heat is more threatening than flames.
Room temperatures in a fire can be 100
degrees centigrade at floor level and rise
to 600 degrees centigrade at eye level.

Fire is Deadly:
Smoke and toxic gases kill more people
than flames do. Fire uses up the oxygen
you need and produces smoke and
poisonous gases that kill. Breathing even
small amounts of smoke and toxic gases
can make you drowsy, disoriented and
short of breath.
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a
combustible material releasing heat, light,
and various reaction products such as
carbon dioxide and water.
Class A
Ordinary combustibles:
wood, paper, cloth, trash and
other ordinary materials.
Class B
Flammable liquids & gases:
gasoline, oils, paint lacquer and tar.
Class C
Fires involving live electrical
equipment:
Class D
Combustible metals or combustible
metal alloys:
Class K
Fires in cooking appliances that
involve combustible cooking media:
vegetable or animal oils and fats.
Common causes of fire include
1.Matches, lighters, candles and oil burners
2.Faulty wiring
3.Electrical appliances (Old)
4.Electric blankets
5.Smoking in bed
6.Clothes dryers
7.Home heating
8.Chimneys
Life safety:
The primary goal of fire safety
efforts is to prevent loss of life.
Property protection:
The secondary goal of fire
safety is to prevent property
damage.
Protection of operations:
By preventing fires and limiting
damage we can assure that work
operations will continue.
Automatic fire sprinklers Fire hose nozzles

Fire alarm systems Fire protection systems

Fire containment systems Fire resistant curtains

Fire escapes Fire suppression systems

Fire extinguisher cabinets Fire tenders

Fire extinguisher cylinders Firewalls

Fire extinguishing blankets Flame retardants

Fire extinguishing compounds Industrial equipment

Fire fighting flood barriers extinguishing systems
Fire fighting foam Standpipes
 Four main types:
Water-type

Foam

Carbon dioxide

BCF and BTM

 1. Water-type
The spray of water cools
the fire.

For fires caused by solid

combustibles (e.g. wood,
paper)

Not suitable for fires

involving flammable liquid
or electricity. Why?
 Answer:
Water can conduct electricity and may
cause electrical shocks.

The flammable liquid may float on water

and spread the fire further.
 2. Foam
The foam cuts off the air
supply and provides some
cooling.

For fires caused by liquid

combustibles.

Not suitable for fires

involving electricity. Why?
 Answer:

Foam can conduct electricity and may

cause electrical shock.
 3. Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide cuts off
the air supply of the fire.
How ?

For most types of fires.

Suitable for fires caused

by electricity and liquid
combustibles. Why?
 Answer:
Carbon dioxide has a higher density. It
surrounds the fire and cut off the air supply.

Carbon dioxide does not conduct electricity.

It covers the flammable liquid and cut off the

air supply.
 4. BTM and BCF
BTM = Bromotrifluromethane

BCF = Bromochlorodifluromethane

Caution!!!
 BTM and BCF are TOXIC!!!
 4. BTM and BCF
The fire extinguisher contains
a liquid which is pressurized
with carbon dioxide.

For most types of fires.

Suitable for fires caused by

electricity and liquid
combustibles.
Automatic fire sprinklers

Fire alarm systems

Fire escapes
(A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually
mounted to the outside of a building or occasionally inside but
separate from the main areas of the building.)
 Fire extinguisher cabinets

Fire extinguisher cylinders

Fire extinguishing blankets

Fire extinguishing compounds

Fire fighting flood barriers

Fire fighting foam

Fire hose nozzles

Fire resistant curtains

Fire suppression systems
(Fire suppression systems are used in
conjunction with smoke detectors & fire alarm
systems.)

Fire tenders
Fire protection systems

Standpipes
Flame retardants
Asbestos, aluminium hydroxide,
magnesium hydroxide, boron
compounds, red phosphorus, various
hydrates.
Fire hazards to existing substances
Toxicity of the smoke produced
Inventory size
Frequency of hazardous operations
Distance to other hazardous
installations
Available access to fire fighting
equipment
Fire fighting capability of on site
emergency team
Response time resources available to
nearest fire brigade
The selection of media will depend on the required duty.
This may be to extinguish the fire, control the fire, or
provide exposure protection.
Types of fire fighting media are:
Water (not recommended for low flash point liquids)
Foams (used for low flash point substances and
liquid fires i.e. type B. Foams are of different types
like protein foam & alcohol resistant foam etc.)
Inert gases
Chemical powders
Halons(Bromine-containing compounds)
Active fire protection
systems such as water
sprinkler and spray systems
are widely used in the
process industries for
protection of storage vessels,
process plant, loading
installations and warehouses.
The duty of the fire protection
system may be to extinguish
the fire, control the fire, or
provide exposure protection
to prevent other similar
effects.
Passive fire protection systems
can provide an alternative to
active systems for protecting fire.
This is only effective for short
duration exposure, generally
consists of a coating of fire
resistant insulating media applied
to a vessel or steel surface.
It is often used where water or
other active protection media
supplies are inadequate, such as in
remote locations, or where there
are difficulties with handling fire
water run-off.
Plant operational and maintenance activities may damage or remove
the fire protection.
Fire protection systems require to be well maintained to ensure
reliability.
In particular systems using water and water based foam are
adversely
effected rust deposits which can block sprinkler heads and spray
nozzles.
Procedures should be in place to ensure regular maintenance and
testing of systems.
Maintenance contracts are often placed with the supplier of the fire
protection system, records of these activities should be kept by site
operators.