FUNDAMENTALS OF FIRE

SUPPRESSION & CONTROL

Bureau of Fire Protection-
Special Rescue Unit

Fire Officers’ Examination (FOE)

Review
30 January 2013

BASED ON NFPA 1001 STANDARD

 Topic Outline

● Introduction
● Fire Behaviour
● Fire Suppression
 Introduction:
Introduction
FIRE

● NFPA 921: “A rapid oxidation process,

which is a chemical reaction resulting in
the evolution of light and heat in
varying intensities”.
● RA 9514: “ The active principle of
burning, characterized by the heat
and light of combustion”.
 Introduction:
Introduction
FIRE

● Webster’s Dictionary: “A fire is an

exothermic chemical reaction that
emits heat and light”
● Fire Tetrahedron: “ a geometric
representation of what is required for
fire to exist, namely fuel, an oxidizing
agent, heat and uninhibited chemical
reaction”.
 Basic Characteristics of Fire

● FAST
● DARK

● HOT

● DEADLY
FIRE BEHAVIOR
 Measuring
Introduction
Fire

1. Heat Energy – is a form of energy

characterized by vibration of molecules and
capable of initiating chemical changes and state
(NFPA 921). It is the energy needed to change
the temperature of an object.

●Joules (J)
●Calories ( 1 Calorie=4.184 Joules)
●BTUs (1 BTU = 1055J)
 Measuring
Introduction
Fire

2. Temperature– is a measure of the degree of

molecular activity of a material compared to a
reference point.
●Fahrenheit (melting point of ice =
32ºF, boiling point of water 212ºF)
●Celsius (melting point of ice = 0ºC, boiling
point of water 100ºC)
 Measuring Fire
Introduction

ºC ºF RESPONSE
37 98.6 Normal human oral/body temperature
44 111 Human skin begins to feel pain
48 118 Human skin receives a first degree burn injury
55 131 Human skin receives second degree burn injury
62 140 A phase were human tissue becomes numb
72 162 Human skin is instantly destroyed
100 212 Water boils and produces steam
 Measuring Fire
Introduction

ºC ºF RESPONSE
140 284 Glass transition of polycarbonate
230 446 Melting temperature of polycarbonate
250 482 Charring of natural cotton begins
>300 >572 Charring of modern protective clothing
fabrics begins
>600 >1112 Temperature inside a post-flashover room
fire
 Measuring
Introduction
Fire

3. Heat Release Rate– is the rate at which fire

releases energy-this is also known as power.

●Watts (W) (1 Joule/sec)

●Kilowatts (1,000 W)
●Megawatts (1,000,000 W)
 Measuring
Introduction
Fire

4. Heat Flux – is the rate of energy transferred

per surface unit area (kW/m2)

HEAT FLUX (kW/m2) EXAMPLE

1 Sunny Day
2.5 Typical Firefighter exposure
3-5 Pain to skin within seconds
20 Threshold flux to floor at flashover
84 Thermal Protective Performance Test
(NFPA 1971)
60-200 Flames over surface
 Measuring
Introduction
Fire

TEMPERATURE VS HEAT RELEASE RATE

HRR = 80 watts HRR = 800 Watts

FLAME TEMPARATURE= 500ºC - 1400ºC
 HEAT
Introduction
TRANSFER

1. CONDUCTION – is heat transfer within

solids or between contacting solids.
 HEAT
Introduction
TRANSFER

●The governing equation for heat transfer by

conduction is:
 Heat
Introduction
Transfer

Thermal Conductivity of Common Materials

MATERIAL THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
Copper 387
Steel 45.8
Glass 0.76
Brick 0.69
Water 0.58
Gypsum 0.48
Oak 0.17
Pine 0.14
 HEAT
Introduction
TRANSFER

2. CONVECTION – is heat transfer by the

movement of liquids or gases
 HEAT
Introduction
TRANSFER

2. RADIATION – is heat transfer by

electromagnetic waves
 Fire Development

Fire Development - is a function of many

factors including fuel properties, fuel
quantity, ventilation (natural or
mechanical), compartment geometry
(volume and ceiling height), location of
fire, and ambient conditions (temparature,
wind, etc)
Fire Development
(Compartment Fire)
Fire Development (Structure: Ventilatio
Spontaneous Combustion of certain ma

● POLYURETHANE IN UPHOLSTERY
= Isocyanates, Hydrogen Cyanide
● SILK IN CURTAINS = Hydrogen Cyanide
● ACRYLIC IN LIGHT DIFFUSERS = Acrolein
● WALLPAPER AND LACQUERED WALL
COVERINGS = Acetaldehyde,
Formaldehyde, Nitrogen Oxides, Acetic Acid
● POLYVINYL CHLORIDE IN RUBBERIZED
FLOOR AND VINYL WALLPAPER,
CABLE INSTALLATIONS = Hydrogen
Chloride, Phosgene
FIRE SUPPRESSION
 Fire Suppression

● Refers to all the tactics and

tasks that are performed on the
fire scene to achieve the final
goal of extinguishing the fire;
● It involves the removal of one
of the four components of the
FIRE TETRAHEDRON;
 Offensive Fire Fighting

● Fire fighters advance hose lines into

a building to attack a fire;
● However, exposes fire fighters to heat
and smoke of the fire inside;
● Leads to least amount of
property damage;
● Used in situations where fire is not
too large;
 Interior Fire Attack

● Direct Attack
●most effective means of fire suppression in most
situations;
●Uses a straight or solid hose stream;
● Indirect Attack
●Used in situations where the temperature is
increasing and it appears that the room or space
is ready to flashover.
●Remove heat as much as possible from the fire
atmosphere
Interior Fire
Attack
 Defensive Fire Fighting

● Directing water streams from a

safe distance;
● Used when the fire is too large to be
controlled by an offensive attack and in
situations where the level of risk to fire
fighters conducting interior attack
would be unacceptable;
● Goal is to prevent fire from spreading;
● Uses large hand-lines;
Defensive Fire Fighting
Fire Hose Streams

STRAIGHT
STREAM

FOG
STREAM
 Fire Hose Streams
FIRE STREAMS

SOLID STREAM
 Fire Hose Streams

● FOG STREAM – divides water into droplets,

which have a very large surface area and can
absorb heat efficiently, used combined with
ventilation when heat levels in a building need
to be lowered quickly;
● STRAIGHT STREAM – greater reach than
the fog stream so it can hit the fire farther
away, keeps water concentrated in a small
area;
 Master Stream Devices

● Are large caliber devices that are used

primarily during defensive operations.
● In order to be effective, these appliances
require water flows from 350 to 2,000 gpm;
● Master stream devices are used when
handheld hose lines are ineffective; they are
used in fire attack, cover exposure, and for
back up lines.
Types of Master Stream Devices

1. Portable Master Stream Appliance –

often referred as deck guns or monitors;
Types of Master Stream Devices

1. Fixed Master Stream Appliance – can

also be permanently mounted or fixed to
pumpers. Water is supplied to fixed
appliances in one of two ways.

● In the first method, water is pre-piped to the

appliance from a separate discharge gate on the
pump;
● In the second method, the appliance is
supplied directly by hoselines with one or more
connections to the pumper’s discharge outlets.
Types of Master Stream Devices

2. Fixed Master
Stream Appliance
– permanently
mounted appliance
fixed to pumpers;
Types of Master Stream Devices

3. Elevated Master
Stream Appliance
– are found on aerial
ladders, elevating
platforms, and water
towers.
Fire TRIVIA: Silent Hill Movie

50 years of fire
(1962 to present)
 Centralia, Pennsylvania

●Centralia is a borough and

ghost town in Columbia County,
Pennsylvania, United States. Its population
has dwindled from over 1,000 residents
in 1981 to 12 in 2005,9 in 2007, and 10 in
2010, as a result of a mine fire burning
beneath the borough since 1962. Centralia
is one of the least-populated municipalities
in Pennsylvania.
FIRE PHENOMENON
 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
10 PHASES OF FIRE FIGHTING OPERA
1stPhase: Pre FIRE PLANNING

First Phase . Pre-Fire

Planning:
the preparations of plan of
actions prior to the existence
of fire within my Area of
Responsibility.
 1stPhase: Pre FIRE PLANNING

● locations of fire prone areas,

● places of public assemblies, educational,
institutional, residential, business occupancies,
● storage areas and other miscellaneous structures.,
● locations of fire hydrants,
● road and traffic conditions on every specific time,
● the locations and contact numbers or frequencies
of friendly forces
● individual functions, duties and responsibilities of
every responder
● alternative actions whenever untoward incidents
or problems transpire
2nd Phase: Size Up

Rapid assessment
of the situation through
observation and data
gathering
 3rd Phase: Rescue
Operation
Rescue is removal of injured
or person at risk from the danger
zone to a place of safety

As a minimum requirement, rescue

personnel must be trained in first aid,
CPR and the proper use of self-contained
breathing apparatus
4th Phase: Cover Exposure Operation

Prevention of fire
from extending to
other uninvolved
structures
5th Phase: Confinement Operation

Confinement includes
those operations required
to prevent a fire from
intensifying or spreading.
6th Phase: Ventilation Operation

to displace smoke, hot,

poisonous and toxic gases
from contaminated areas and
replacing them with fresh air
from outside.
 7thPhase: Extinguishment Operation

Putting off fire through

extinguishment of its main
body or source
 8th Phase: Salvage Operation
preventing further damage due
to water, smoke, heat or other
elements.
Salvage operation involves :
•Covering exposed properties
•Removing exposed properties from line of stream
•Removing excess water from endangered floors
 9thPhase: Overhauling
Operation

complete extinguishment
of remaining fire, prevent
rekindling and placing the
burned structure in a safe
condition. .
 10th Phase: Post Fire Analysis

an evaluation or critique of
what have transpired
during the fire operations.
 Hazards during
Operation
●Building Collapse
●Fire (Below, Behind, and
Above Firefighting team)
●Spillage of Flammable Materials
●Hidden Holes, Stairway Shafts,
any opening or elevated surface
●Electrical Hazards
●Disorientation
Thank You !!!
THANK