Fire prevention and control, 

the prevention, detection, and extinguishment

of fires, including such secondary activities as research into the causes of fire,
education of the public about fire hazards, and the maintenance and
improvement of fire-fighting equipment.


Fireboats responding to the conflagration aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico on
…
U.S. Coast Guard—Reuters/Landov

Until after World War I little official attention was given to fire prevention,
because most fire departments were concerned only with extinguishing fires.
Since then most urban areas have established some form of a fire-prevention
unit, the staff of which concentrates on such measures as heightening public
awareness; incorporating fire-prevention measures in building design and in
the design of machinery and the execution of industrial activity; reducing the
potential sources of fire; and outfitting structures with such equipment as
extinguishers and sprinkler systems to minimize the effects of fire.
The importance of increasing public understanding of the causes of fire and of
learning effective reactions in the event of fire is essential to a successful fire-
prevention program. To reduce the impact and possibility of fire, the building
codes of most cities include fire safety regulations. Buildings are designed to
separate and enclose areas, so that a fire will not spread; to incorporate fire-
prevention devices, alarms, and exit signs; to isolate equipment and materials
 that could cause a fire or explode if exposed to fire; and to install fire-
extinguishing equipment at regular intervals throughout a structure. Fire-
retardant building materials have also been developed, such as the paints and
chemicals used to coat and impregnate combustible materials, such as wood
and fabric.
In the United States a study conducted over a 10-year period found that the
most frequent type of fire was electrical (23 percent of all fires); other causes
of fire included tobacco smoking (18 percent), heat caused by friction in
industrial machinery (10 percent), overheated materials (8 percent), hot
surfaces in such devices as boilers, stoves, and furnaces (7 percent), burner
flames (7 percent), and combustion sparks (5 percent).
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To reduce the hazardous effects of fire the most basic mechanism is an alarm
system, which warns people to leave a building at once, alerts the fire
department, and identifies the location of a fire within a structure. Besides the
fire alarms that are triggered by people, there are many automatic devices
that can detect the presence of fire. These include heat-sensitive devices,
which are activated if a specific temperature is reached; a rate-of-rise
detector, which is triggered either by a quick or a gradual escalation of
temperature; and smoke detectors, which sense changes caused by the
presence of smoke, in the intensity of light, in the refraction of light, or in the
ionization of air.
Many public buildings are equipped with automatic sprinkler systems, which
release a spray of water on an affected area if a fire is detected. The
effectiveness of these systems has been proved in data accumulated from
throughout the world: in buildings protected by sprinkler systems that had
fires, the system extinguished fires in 65 percent of the cases and contained
fires until other fire-fighting measures could be taken in 32 percent of the
cases. A major problem with sprinkler systems is the potential for water
damage, but it has been found that in most cases this threat is minimal
compared with the damage that a fire could cause.
There exists a considerable variety of fire-fighting equipment, ranging in
sophistication from buckets and extinguishers to the elaborate yet portable
apparatus used by fire departments. The most common of these is the fire
engine, equipped with hoses, ladders, water tanks, and tools. Ladder and
rescue trucks work in conjunction with trucks equipped with platforms that can
be elevated by hydraulic lifts to carry out rescue efforts. Fireboats are
employed in combating fires on ships and on waterfront property.
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Fire-extinguishing agents other than water are used to fight various types of
fire. Foaming agents are employed to handle oil fires. “Wet” water, formed by
the addition of a chemical that reduces surface tension, can be used in a
clinging foam to protect the exterior of a structure near the source of a fire.
Ablative water, made by mixing water with additives, forms a dense, heat-
absorbing blanket. Carbon dioxide is employed when water cannot be used
and a fire must be fought by suffocation. Dry chemicals are used to extinguish
electrical fires or burning liquids, while dry powder is utilized to put out such
burning metals as magnesium and phosphorus. Halogenated hydrocarbons,
commonly called halons, take the form of liquefied gas or vaporizing liquids at
room temperature; they inhibit the flame chain reaction. Steam is used to
control fire in confined areas, while inert gas is employed to extinguish gas,
dust, and vapour fires.
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Fire fighting is a battle against time. The initial priority is rescuing any
occupants that may be in a burning building. Precedence is then given to any
location from which the fire may spread to a neighbouring structure. A typical
method of fire fighting is the over-and-under system. Working from inside the
building, if possible, the bulk of the fire fighting takes place from below, while
further attack is carried out from above in an effort to prevent the fire from
spreading upward.
In rural areas water-tank trucks are usually needed, thus the time factor
becomes even more critical. Bush, grass, and forest fires are frequently fought
using the same equipment that is used on structural fires. Aircraft are
sometimes employed to dump fire-retardant slurries or water mixtures on
these blazes.

It has also become necessary to combat fires in pressurized chambers,

including spacecraft. The combustion rate in these environments is much
higher than it is under normal atmospheric pressure. Strict construction
guidelines are followed to keep fire hazards to a minimum, and highly
pressurized sprinklers are installed that act immediately upon any combustion.

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MORE ABOUT fire prevention and control
7 REFERENCES FOUND IN BRITANNICA ARTICLES
Assorted References
 brickwork (in brick and tile: History of brickmaking)
 buildings (in building construction: Timber frames) (in building construction: Life-safety
systems)
 forestry (in forestry: Fire prevention and control)
 security and protection systems (in security and protection system)
 smoke detectors (in smoke detector)
 sprinkler systems (in sprinkler system (fire control))
EXTERNAL LINKS
 Drexel University - Fire Prevention and Control

BRITANNICA WEB SITES

Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Fire prevention - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

term for a variety of measures intended to prevent fires or minimize damage from them; includes
attention to building design and construction materials; enforcement of building safety codes;
installation of alarms, automatic sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, heat-sensitive devices,
extinguishers, and exit signs; safety inspections to examine wiring, presence of chemicals and
other potential flammable materials.

ARTICLE HISTORY
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