Columbia Southern University Fire Behavior and Combustion Essay

For the final project, you will complete the following instructions.

The questions below may help you to focus your essay on the one or two concepts chosen.

The Final Project (entire scenario-based case study incorporating professor feedback from previous units) should include the following elements:title page;body with each unit’s essay using level one, level two, and level three headings as needed to separate and organize your paper into sections (See this tutorial for help with level headings);a one- or two-paragraph conclusion that recaps and summarizes all the essays; anda separate references page, listing all references used during the assignment.  Running head: FIRE BEHAVIOR AND COMBUSTION
Fire Behavior and Combustion
Dameion Dawson
Columbia Southern University
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FIRE BEHAVIOR AND COMBUSTION
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Fire Behavior and Combustion
For a fire to burn, these main elements must be present including oxygen, fuel, and heat.
In general, fire is a chemical reaction that happens when a substance mixes with oxygen rapidly
leading to the production of a flame. Besides these main elements, various chemical elements
can contribute to a fire. Also, this essay will cover several measurements to understand the
behavior of the fire. Additionally, enthalpy will be discussed to understand if the factor to fire
growth. As a result, the paper will focus on various arguments that support the views of the
authors.
Chemical Elements that Contributed to the Fire
Fire occurs as a result of combustion. The main products involved in combustion include
water and carbon dioxide. When a fire reaches the ignition point flames are produced due to a
chemical reaction. The chemical elements that contributed to the fire include carbon dioxide,
oxygen, water vapor, and nitrogen (Gann & Friedman, 2013). A chemical reaction of these
elements leads to the emission of fire and light. The process is exothermic since the reaction
releases energy required to ignite or sustain the combustion process. Once the energy starts the
chemical reaction of these elements, the fire continues to burn as long as oxygen and fuel are
present. Therefore, by removing oxygen from the reaction, the other elements become inactive,
reducing the combustion rate which eventually extinguishes the fire.
Measurements to Understand Fire Behavior
The ability to quantify or measure various aspects is vital when it comes to understanding
the behavior of fire. Some of the common measurements used in fire calculations include time,
length, area, mass, volume, density, enthalpy, power, and temperature among others (Heinsch,
FIRE BEHAVIOR AND COMBUSTION
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Andrews & Tirmenstein, 2017). Each of these units has got their respective units both in metric
and English. The SI metric units are widely used across the globe while the English units are still
used in the U.S. Hence, by acquainting with these units and understanding their interconversion
can help lessen the chances of making serious errors during fire incidences. More importantly, by
recognizing these measurements and other fire principles, individuals can improve their ability to
prevent fires.
Enthalpy and Fire Growth
Enthalpy was a contributing factor in the growth of the fire. According to Ezekoye et al.
(2013), fire combustion produces energy. An increase in the energy results in heat transfer to the
system which in turn raises the pressure in that space. The pressure increase also results in an
increase in temperature within the surroundings. As a result, the fire spread and growth outside
the room increases. The increase in energy is referred to as enthalpy. To this end, it is evident
that enthalpy was a contributing factor in fire growth.
Definition of Concepts
Enthalpy entails inducing a change in a system at constant pressure (Gann & Friedman,
2013). Most fires occur at constant pressure. Hence, a fire will only grow as a result of changes
in enthalpy which can result in pressure and temperature increases. The other key concept is
energy. Energy is the ability to induce change at constant volume. By understanding enthalpy
and energy, individuals can understand the factors that contribute to fire growth and in turn, learn
how to control fire incidences.
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Conclusion
Various elements contribute to a fire. The basic elements include oxygen, fuel, and heat.
Without one of these elements, a fire cannot occur. Consequently, people need to recognize
various fire measurements to understand fire phenomena. In doing so, they can prevent fire
incidences. Lastly, enthalpy and energy contribute to fire growth.
FIRE BEHAVIOR AND COMBUSTION
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References
Ezekoye, O. A., Hurley, M. J., Torero, J. L., & McGrattan, K. B. (2013). Applications of Heat
Transfer Fundamentals to Fire Modeling. Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering
Applications, 5(2).
Gann, R., & Friedman, R. (2013). Principles of fire behavior and combustion. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.
Heinsch, F. A., Andrews, P. L., & Tirmenstein, D. (2017). How to generate and interpret fire
characteristics charts for the US fire danger rating system. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR363. Fort Collins, CO: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain
Research Station. 62 p., 363.
UNIT III ESSAY
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UNIT III Essay
Dameion Dawson
Fire Behavior and Combustion
4/1/2022
UNIT III ESSAY
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UNIT III Essay
Apartment fires are common occurrences today due to the advanced cooking methods
that can be fatal, electrical faults, among other causes, if mishandled. Firefighters often arrive at
the scene when the fire has spread all through a structure. Fire occurs during combustion and
growth stages that firefighters must understand because the earlier the fire is suppressed, the
better. This essay discusses the stages of fire as experienced in the case scenario.
Fire spreads out quickly due to the availability of materials to facilitate the burning the
oxygen, heat, fuel etc. Oxidizers refer to solids, liquids or gases that react with organic material.
Oxidizers intensify combustion (Gann & Friedman, 2013). The household had several oxidizers
such as bleach, gas, disinfectants, detergents, cooking oil and explosives. The presence of heated
gases within the apartment, when mixed with oxygen, led to the fire’s growth.
According to Gann & Friedman (2013), fire occurs in four stages: incipient, growth, fully
developed, and decays. In the scenario, the fire is at the fully-developed fire stage. The first
stage, incipient, is the developing stage after ignition. At this point, the fire affects only items
within the vicinity; people can still breathe since the smoke is yet to overflow, the heat is low,
and the smoke alarm sounds. The incipient stage is easiest to suppress but can spread out quickly
in the presence of oxidizers. During the growth stage, the fire is developing, and the presence of
ventilators makes it spread out very fast and thus difficult to control. Flashover takes place, and
humans can hardly survive under this stage. Every exposed surface to thermal radiation ignites,
and the temperatures rise to above 1000 degrees Fahrenheit causing combustion in the whole
enclosed apartment. In the scenario, the temperatures were reported to be at 1,832 °F during the
UNIT III ESSAY
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scenario. At the fully developed stage, the fire is burning almost everything and spreading out to
nearby apartments or buildings; the heat and temperature are extremely high, thus causing
damage. When the firefighters arrived, the fire had developed fully, smoke was venting out from
apartment 2B, where it had started in the kitchen, and smoke had spread out to other sides. The
operations were limited due to the huge smoke that limited visibility and extreme heat that
endangered the lives of firefighters. Side B had a smoke but with visibility. B-1 has extreme heat
and smoke, D1 encountered extreme heat, but no smoke and side C reported heavy smoke from
the ventilation. The voids within the building led to the flashover, thus releasing heat and
collapsing the building. The first flashover occurred 26 minutes after ignition from Apartment 2
B’s kitchen.
A flashover occurs when a high temperature is created in two rooms where combustible
materials and oxygen are present and restricted in one apartment (Gann & Friedman, 2013).
Considering that ignition has already begun in one room, the presence of high temperature and
combustible materials will cause the fire to spread across the other rooms in the apartments. The
heat is transferred through radiation or conduction, raising temperatures and causing the fire to
break out in the other rooms.
Fire spread depends on high temperatures within the room from the heat and fuel, and
oxygen within the area. The burning material dripped and caused the fire spread across the
building (Fleischmann & Chen, 2013). The fire in the scenario spread out from the ignition point
in apartment 2B kitchen to other sides of the building, apartments 2-B, 2-C, and 2-H. The fire
began in the enclosed room but spread out to other rooms due to combustibles and high
UNIT III ESSAY
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temperatures that facilitated ignition and spread out across the other apartments. The heat caused
the building structures to collapse, thus allowing oxygen to circulate and spread the fire to other
areas 2-C and 2- H. As the heat increased, the gypsum boards began to fail. Thus, gases and fire
travelled through the apartment to the second and third floors.
Flammability refers to how vigorous something burns, while combustibility is used to
describe certain building materials’ flammability and how easily a material bursts into flames
(Harris et al., 2021). In the scenario, the building materials used increased the combustibility.
The building utilizes gypsum boards and wood, which were highly combustible and flammable
and contributed to the spread and growth of the fire. The unattended pan with oil left on the stove
was highly flammable and caused the fire. The materials used in the construction of the building
and those in the apartment sustained the fire.
Flashover involves a rapid increase in the growth of the fire. Back draft is an explosion of
gas products in incomplete combustion when mixed with air. A flashover is thermally driven,
while a back draft is caused by air, thus requiring ventilation. On the other hand, a smoke
explosion occurs when the fire starts from a ventilated place and spreads through the boundaries
and utilizes minimal available spaces (Fleischmann & Chen, 2013). Back draft occurs over a
sudden introduction of oxygen in the room. In the scenario, the first flashover occurred 26
minutes after the ignition of the fire in apartment 2B. The collapse of the structures, windows
and doors caused a back draft. It can be said there was a smoke explosion in the kitchen of
apartment 2 B.
UNIT III ESSAY
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References
Fleischmann, C. M., & Chen, Z. (2013). Defining the difference between backdraft and smoke
explosions. Procedia Engineering, 62, 324-330.
Gann, R., & Friedman, R. (2013). Principles of fire behavior and combustion. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.
Harris, D., Davis, A., Ryan, P. B., Cohen, J., Gandhi, P., Dubiel, D., & Black, M. (2021).
Chemical exposure and flammability risks of upholstered furniture. Fire and
materials, 45(1), 167-180.