CHEMISTRY OF FIRE

Bureau of Fire Protection-Special

Rescue Unit
Training for Volunteer Fire Brigades

BASED ON NFPA 1001

WORLD TRADE CENTER 16 dies in Tugegarao Fire
11 September 2001 Dec 21, 2010

12 dies in Navotas Fire Guadalupe Laperal Compound

Fire
– January 30, 2011 APRIL 19 2011
 Fire, helpful and destructive to
mankind, is more than a necessary evil:
controlled - it provides warmth and
food, but uncontrolled - it produces
death and destruction.

Because of the power of fire, its

unintentional origin and behavior are
difficult to predict and determine.
 A fire will double every 30 Seconds under normal conditions.

 In as little as 3 minutes, a small fire can erupt into a

“FLASHOVER”.

 A small fire can produce enough smoke to fill a building in

minutes.

 Smoke results in:

 Teared eyes
 Choking sensation
 Impaired judgment due to Carbon Monoxide (CO)
 Loss of spacial recognition
 Sedation effect - Respiratory failure
 Within minutes, air temperature in a burning room can reach 300
degrees Celsius. This temperature is hot enough to melt clothes, skin and
scorch your lungs in one breathe.

 Temperatures can climb to between 650-760 degrees Celsius.


 Most people who die in fires, die from breathing smoke and toxic
gases.

 Carbon Oxide, Hydrogen Cyanide, Ammonia and hundreds of

other irritants attack your eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

 They numb your senses and leave you dazed.

Makes you disorientated and stops you from thinking and
breathing.

Makes you breathe faster, which puts to rest the option of

holding your breath.

Mixes with moisture in the eyes, nose and throat, which

causes coughing and hacking. Then turns into nitric acid,
which starts to burn the tissue.
 The diffusion flame process (fire)
is a rapid self-sustaining oxidation process
accompanied by the evolution of heat and light
of varying intensities.
FIRE consists of three
basic elements, as
represented by the fire
triangle: HEAT, FUEL
and OXYGEN.
These basic
components have been
recognized in the science
 Solid or liquid materials do not burn. For combustion
to take place, these materials must be heated
sufficiently to produce vapors. It is these vapors, which
actually burn. The lowest temperature at which a solid
or liquid material produces sufficient vapors to burn
under laboratory conditions is known as the flashpoint.
 Initially, the fuel may be in the form of a gas, liquid,
or solid at the ambient temperature. As discussed
previously, liquid and solid fuels must be heated
sufficiently to produce vapors.
 Normally, the primary source of oxygen is the
atmosphere, which contains approximately 20.8 percent
oxygen. A concentration of at least 15 to 16 percent is
needed for the continuation of flaming combustion, while
charring or smoldering (pyrolysis) can occur with as little
as 8 percent.
Oxygen is always present in the home.
  If, however, you can separate heat sources from
fuel sources (combustibles), you will have taken the first
step toward fire prevention.

 HEAT SOURCES - Anything that produces heat.

Stoves Fireplaces
Heating appliances Damaged electrical wiring
    FUEL SOURCES - Anything that will burn.
Clothing Curtains
Furniture Flammable liquids
 The combustion reaction can be
depicted more accurately by a four-sided
solid geometric form called a tetrahedron.
tetrahedron
The four sides represent HEAT,
HEAT FUEL,
FUEL
OXYGEN,
OXYGEN and UNINHIBITED CHAIN
REACTIONS.
REACTIONS TEMPERATURE
OXYGEN

FUEL
UNINHIBITED CHAIN REACTION
OF COMBUSTION PROCESS
Fire Spreads in Four Ways

DIRECT HEAT TRANSFER

This is the transfer of heat from one body to another

through direct flame contact.
 HEAT TRANSFER BY RADIATION

It is the act of radiating or the emission and propagation of radiant heat or

energy. It involves the stages of emission, absorption and transmission of
heat or energy. It involves the thermal process whereby atmospheric
circulation is maintained through the upward or downward transfer of air
masses of different temperature.
 M
Ordinary combustible materials
E
T
A
L

HEAT TRANSFER BY CONDUCTION

It is the transmission of heat from one body to

another. It is the transfer of heat from one
molecule to another molecule
 HEAT TRANSFER BY CONVECTION

It is the diffusion of heat in liquid or gas form

through the motion of its parts
Stages of Fire
Understanding How Fire Starts
(1) Incipient Stage

There is no visible smoke or flame.

(2) Smoldering Stage

There is smoke but no flame.

(3) Flame Stage

There is smoke and flame.

(4) Heat Stage

There is uncontrolled superheated air.

The period when the four elements of the fire tetrahedron come
together and combustion begins; the fire is small and confined to
the material first ignited

A fire plume begins to form above the fire which

draws or entrains air from the surrounding space
into the column; heat level rises and oxygen
level begins to decline
 Transition between the growth and fully developed
stage and is not a specific event such as ignition;
conditions in the area change very rapidly as the fire
changes from one that is dominated by the burning of
the materials first ignited to one that involves all the
exposed combustible surfaces within the area

Occurs when all combustible materials in the area are

involved in fire; maximum heat release based on available
oxygen
Occurs as available fuel is being consumed and the rate of heat
release begins to decline; heat level lower and oxygen level very
low
 Initially, the temperature of the fire gases decreases as
they move away from the centerline of the plume.
 As the fire grows, the overall temperature in the
compartment increases as does the temperature of the gas
layer at the ceiling level.
 The radiant heat (red arrows) from the hot gas layer
at the ceiling heats combustible materials which produces
vapors (green arrows)
A fully developed fire
 Under normal fire conditions in a closed structure,
the highest levels of heat will be found at ceiling level and
the lowest level of heat will be found at the floor level.
 Applying water to the upper level of the thermal layer
creates a thermal imbalance.
 Improper ventilation during fire fighting operations
may result in a backdraft.
 EXTINGUISHING METHODS

Reducing Temperature Removing

Fuel

Excluding Inhibiting Chain

Oxygen Reaction
COOLING

REDUCTION OF HEAT (water or any external agent to

reduce/remove the heat.

SMOTHERING

reduction, replacing or exclusion of oxygen on air

(blanketing/choking)

STARVING

removal of fuel
shut-off
 TEMPERATURE REDUCTION

One of the most common methods of

extinguishment is cooling with water. This
process depends on reducing the temperature of
a fuel to a point where it does not produce
sufficient vapor to burn.
 TEMPERATURE REDUCTION

Solid fuels and liquid fuels with high flash

points can be extinguished by cooling. However,
cooling with water cannot sufficiently reduce
vapor production to extinguish fires involving low
flash point liquids and flammable gases.
 TEMPERATURE REDUCTION

The use of water for cooling is also the most

effective method available for the extinguishment of
smoldering fires.
To extinguish afire by reducing its temperature,
enough water must be applied to the burning fuel to
absorb the heat being generated by combustion.
 FUEL REMOVAL

Removing the fuel source effectively

extinguishes some fires.

The fuel source may be removed by stopping the

flow of liquid or gaseous fuel or by removing solid fuel
in the path of a fire.
 FUEL REMOVAL

Another method of fuel removal is to allow a fire

to burn until all fuel is consumed.
 OXYGEN EXCLUSION

Reducing the oxygen available to the combustion

process reduces a fire's growth and may totally
extinguish it over time.

In its simplest form, this method is used to

extinguish cooking stove fires when a cover is placed
over a pan of burning food.
 OXYGEN EXCLUSION

The oxygen content can be reduced by flooding

an area with an inert gas such as carbon dioxide, which
displaces the oxygen and disrupts the combustion
process.
 OXYGEN EXCLUSION

Oxygen can also be separated from fuel by

blanketing the fuel with foam.

Of course, neither of these methods works on

those rare fuels that are self-oxidizing.
 CHEMICAL FLAME INHIBITION

Extinguishing agents such as some dry chemicals

and halogenated agents (halons) interrupt the
combustion reaction and stop flaming.

This method of extinguishment is effective on

gas and liquid fuels because they must flame to burn.
 CHEMICAL FLAME INHIBITION

Smoldering fires are not easily extinguished by

these agents.

The very high agent concentrations and extended

periods of time necessary to extinguish smoldering
fires make these agents impractical in these cases.
Classification of Fire

Fires are The 4 Types are:

classified by
the type FUEL  Class A
they burn.  Class B
 Class C
 Class D
Class A:
Ordinary Combustibles

• Wood
• Paper
• Plastic
• Rags
Class B: Surface Fire

•Gasoline
•Oil
•Grease
•Paint
Class C: Electrical Fire

Electrical Fires
• Office Equipment
• Motors
• Switchgear
• Heaters
Class D: Combustible Metals

Metals
• Potassium
• Sodium
• Aluminum
• Magnesium
 CLASS D FIRES

The burning material should be isolated and treated

as recommended in its Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).

It is essential to use caution in a Class D materials fire.

Information regarding a material and its characteristics
should be reviewed prior to attempting to extinguish a fire.

All personnel operating in the area of the material

should be in full protective equipment, and those exposed
should be limited to only the people necessary to contain or
extinguish the fire.

D
 THANKYou
Thank YOU!
!!!