FIRE PROTECTION AND

ARSON INVESTIGATION
Rezaldy Jose R. Sambo, RCrim., CSP
 FIRE
O Fire is the manifestation of rapid chemical
reaction occurring between fuel and an oxidizer,
typically the oxygen in the air. Such rapid
chemical reaction releases energy in the form of
heat and light and, Fire is heat and light
resulting from the rapid combination of oxygen,
or in some cases gaseous chlorine, with other
materials.
 FIRE
O The light is in the form of a flame, which is
composed of glowing particles of the
burning material and certain gaseous
products that are luminous at the
temperature of the burning material.
 FIRE
O Is a rapid, self-sustaining oxidation process
accompanied by the release of heat and
light of different intensities
Triangle of Fire/Fire Triangle
O FUEL
O HEAT
O OXYGEN
Triangle of Fire/Fire Triangle
 Theories of Combustion
1. Fire Triangle Theory – Three elements
necessary to create/produced fire in equal
proportion.
2. Fire Tetrahedron Theory – The fourth
element of fire known as the “Chemical
chain reaction
 Theories of Combustion
3. Life Cycle of Fire Theory –
Stages/steps wherein fire is created.
 Fire Triangle
The geographical representation of the
three elements of fire, namely: OXYGEN,
HEAT and FUEL. These elements are
necessary to create/produced fire in equal
proportion.
 Heat
A form of energy measured in degree of
temperature, the product of combustion that
caused the spread of fire. For a fire to start
there must be a source of ignition, usually heat
or a spark.
HEAT SOURCES: Open flame, hot surfaces,
sparks and arcs, friction-chemical action,
electrical energy and compression of gas.
 Common Sources of Heat
O Chemical Energy
O Electrical Energy
O Nuclear Energy
O Mechanical Energy
O Compressed gas
O Heat
O Light
 Common Sources of Heat
Chemical Energy
O The most common source of heat in
combustion reactions. An energy released
as a result of a chemical reaction such as
combustion.
 Common Sources of Heat
Chemical Energy
O chemically produced heat is the result of
rapid oxidation.
 Common Sources of Heat
Electrical Energy
O An energy developed when electrons flow
through a conductor. Electrical Energy can
generate temperatures high enough to
ignite any combustible materials near the
heated gases.
 Common Sources of Heat
Electrical Energy
O electrical heat is the product of arcing,
shorting or other electrical malfunction. Poor
wire connections, too much resistance, a
loose ground, and too much current flowing
through an improperly sized wire are other
sources of electrical heat.
 Common Sources of Heat
Factors involving Electrical Heating
O Current flow through a resistance
O Arcing
O Sparking
O Static
O Lightning
 Common Sources of Heat
Nuclear Energy
O An energy generated when atoms either
split apart (Fission) or combine (fusion).
 Common Sources of Heat
Mechanical Energy
O mechanical heat is the product of friction. The
rubbing of two sticks together to generate enough
heat is an example.
O Heat Friction - movement of two surfaces
against each other.
O Heat Compression – heat is generated when a a
gas is compressed in a container or cylinder.
Energy Exists in two types:
Potential Energy
O an energy possessed by an object that
can be released in the future.
Kinetic Energy
O an energy possessed by moving a object.
 Common Sources of Heat
Compressed gas
O when a gas is compressed, its molecular
activity is greatly increased producing heat.
 Common Sources of Heat
Heat
O An energy that is transferred between two
objects of differing temperature such as sun
and the earth.
 Common Sources of Heat
Light
O A visible radiation created at the atomic
level such as flame produced during
combustion.
There are three ways to transfer heat:

O Conduction
O Convection
O Radiation
There are three ways to transfer heat:

Conduction
O It is the transfer of heats by molecular
activity with in a material or medium, usually
a solid. Direct contact is the underlying
factor in conduction.
There are three ways to transfer heat:
Convection
O It is the transfer of heat through a circulating
medium, usually air or liquid. Heat transfer by
convection is chiefly responsible for the spread of fire
in structures. The supper-heated gases evolved from
a fire are lighter than air, and consequently rise, they
can and do initiate additional damage. In large fires,
the high fireball that accompanies the incident is
referred to as a firestorm and is an example of
convected heat.
O Conduction requires physical contact
between bodies or portions of bodies
exchanging heat, but radiation does not
require contact or the presence of any
matter between the bodies.
O Convection occurs when a liquid or gas is in
contact with a solid body at a different
temperature and is always accompanied by
the motion of the liquid or gas.
O The science dealing with the transfer of heat
between bodies is called heat transfer.
There are three ways to transfer heat:

Radiation
O Radiated heat moves in wave and rays much
like sunlight. Radiated heat travels the
speed, as does visible light: 186,000 miles
per second. It is primarily responsible for the
exposure hazards that develop and exist
during a fire.
There are three ways to transfer heat:

Radiation
O Heat waves travel in a direct or straight line
from their source until they strike an object.
The heat that collects on the surface of the
object or building in the path of the heat
waves is subsequently absorbed into its
mass through conduction.
 OXYGEN

O A colorless and odorless gas and one of the

composition of air that supports fire which is
approximately 21% by volume.
Approximately 16% is required. Normal air
contains 21% oxygen. Some fuels contain
enough oxygen within their make-up to
support burning
 OXYGEN

Oxygen Sources:
O 21% of normal oxygen
O 78 of nitrogen
O 1% of other gases
 OXYGEN

Oxygen Requirements:
O 12% - no fire
O 14% - flash point
O 21% - fire point
POINT FLASH

O The minimum temperature at which a liquid

gives off vapor within a test vessel in
sufficient concentration to form an ignitable
mixture with air near the surface of the
liquid. The flash point is normally an
indication of susceptibility to ignition.
AUTO-IGNITION TEMPERATURE

O The lowest temperature to which a solid,

liquid, or gas requires to be raised to cause
self-sustained combustion without initiation
by a spark or flame.
FIRE POINT

O The fire point of a flammable liquid is the

lowest temperature at which the liquid will
give off sufficient vapor to continue to burn
when once ignited. The fire point is usually a
few degrees above the open cup flash point.
DENSITY

O It is a measure of the compactness of a

substance expressed as its mass per unit
volume. Lighter than air vapors tend to rise
from the point of escape; whereas heavier
gases tend to sink to the ground level and
spread out over a large area.
SOURCES OF IGNITION
The followings are considered to be source of ignition:
O Flames, direct heat, and hot surfaces (cigarettes, hot process
equipment, etc.)
O Welding and Cutting
O Mechanical sparks
O Chemical Energy
O Vehicles
O Arson
O Self-Heating
O Static Electricity
O Electrical Equipment
 Classification of Fires:
There are several classifications of fires.
CLASS A.
O Solid Fuel Fires. Ordinary fires; they are the
types of fire resulting from the burning
wood, paper, textiles, rubber and other
carbonaceous materials. In short, this is the
type of fire caused by ordinary combustible
materials.
 Classification of Fires:
There are several classifications of fires.
CLASS B
O Liquid and Gaseous Fuel Fires. They are
caused by flammable and or combustible
liquids such as kerosene, gasoline, benzene,
oil products, alcohol and other hydrocarbon
deviations
 Classification of Fires:
There are several classifications of fires.
CLASS C
O Electrical Fires. they are fires that starts in
live electrical wires, equipment, motors,
electrical appliances and telephone
switchboards.
 Classification of Fires:
There are several classifications of fires.
CLASS D
O Metal Fires.; fires that result from the
combustion of certain metals in finely
divided forms. These combustible metals
include magnesium, potassium, powdered
calcium, zinc, sodium, and titanium.
 Classification of Fires:
There are several classifications of fires.
CLASS E/K
O Fires in cooking appliances that involve
combustible cooking media (vegetable
or animal oils and fats)
 Stages of Fire

O 1. Incipient
O 2. Growth
O 3. Fully developed
O 4. Decay
 Stages of Fire
1. Incipient
O Incipient is known as the first stage of fire. As
the fire triangle elements like oxygen, fuel and
spark/heat combine with each other and
continuous chemical reaction resulting is
breaking out of fire. This incipient stage of fire is
also known as ignition. This is the initial stage in
which fire is in smallest phase which provides
the golden opportunity to take action and
suppress the fire.
 Stages of Fire
1. Incipient
O This is the stage in which the fire is at initial level
and one can take measures and stop the fire to
get into other stage and one can avoid the fire
accident. The thing that requires in this stage to
suppress the fire is detection of fire and quick
action. Majority of time, fire can be suppressed
easily but the broke out of fire is not detected in
incipient stage and hence the quick and
immediate action has not been taken.
 Stages of Fire

1. Incipient
O The other reason why fire get into other
stage and result in fire accident stage is
delay in action. Delay in firefighting action
can boost fire to get bigger stage and make
the situation worst. There are number of
reasons which are responsible for delay in
action and those are listed below
1. Not availability of firefighting equipment
2. Not availability of fire man
3. Lack of trained personnel /worker/employee

This incipient/ ignition stage is the golden chance

to stop fire and avoid the conversion of small fire to
dangerous fire incident.
 Stages of Fire

2. Growth
O Fire if not controlled at the ignition / incipient
stage then it converts to second stage that is
Growth stage. in this growth stage of fire. During
this stage, fire keep on consuming combustible
material as a fuel and presence of oxygen to
multiply its growth and this result in conversion
of fire stage from incipient to growth.
 Stages of Fire

2. Growth
O This is the shortest and most dangerous
stage as sometimes within fraction of
seconds fire from just ignition turns into a
huge fire. This stage is mostly responsible of
trapping of persons and firefighter.
 Stages of Fire

3. Fully Developed
O After Growth stage of fire, when all the
combustible material caught fire and the
growth stage has reached its maximum
potential that stage of fire is is considered
as fully developed.
 Stages of Fire

3. Fully Developed
O The temperature at this stage is maximum
among all stages of fire and it is the
dangerous stage for firefighter or personnel
trapped in the affected site as leaving
affected site during this stage of fire is very
difficult.
 Stages of Fire

4. Decay
O Last stage and longest stage of a fire is decay
stage. In this stage all the fuel present at site get
burned or the presence of oxygen got decrease
which result in fire to be put in final point.
Special observation and care to be taken in this
fire stage also as fire is stopped or getting slow
down by reduction of fuel or insufficient oxygen.
 Stages of Fire

4. Decay
O There is always a chance that the oxygen
gets rushed to the affected site and fire get
reinitiated. Other possibility is presence of
flammable presence of combustible
material left as these left combustible
materials has a potential to initiate fire.
Combustion and its principles

O The fire tetrahedron is useful in illustrating

and remembering the combustion process
because it has room for the chain reaction
and because each face touches the other
three faces.
Combustion and its principles

O The basic difference between the fire

triangle and the fire tetrahedron is that: The
tetrahedron illustrates how flaming
combustion is supported and sustained
through the chain reaction. In this sense,
the chain reaction face keeps the other
three faces from falling apart.
Combustion and its principles

O The fire tetrahedron also explains the

flaming mode of combustion. The modes of
combustion are either Flaming mode or
Surface mode and Glowing mode which is
represented by the fire triangle.
Combustion and its principles

O A condensed phased combustion is called

glowing combustion
O A gas-phased combustion is known as flame
O If the process is confined with pressure it is
called explosion
O If combustion propagates at supersonic
speed, it produced a detonation
 BURNING TEMPERATURE

O Though materials can be ignited by being

raised to their ignition temperatures, they
burn at much higher temperatures. The
temperature of a material given off after
ignition is called the "burning temperature".
For example, a pine two-by-four can be
ignited at 425 F. but burns at about 1 100 F.
 FLASHOVER

O Flashover is generally understood to be the

moment in the development of a room fire in
which all exposed surfaces pyrolyze and
reach ignition temperatures more or less
simultaneously, and it transitions from a fire
in a room to a room on fire. It is the tipping
point between the growth stage and the fire
becoming fully developed.
 FLASHOVER

O In other words, the fire now becomes a

blaze, transitioning from controllable to
uncontrollable. This typically occurs when a
fire in a room has enough energy to reach a
temperature of approx. 500- 600°C, which
can happen within a few minutes depending
on the rate of fire growth.
 FLASHOVER
O When a fire reaches flashover, the blaze poses an
existential threat to building occupants, property
assets and stored contents. Taking steps to reduce
the chances of flashover through active fire
protection such as sprinkler systems, or ensuring
compartmentation to contain flashover through
passive fire protection measures such as using
building elements with high levels of fire resistance,
can significantly reduce the chances of injury and
minimize damage.
 FLASHOVER
O Flashover by definition is “the sudden
involvement of a room or an area in flames from
floor to ceiling caused by thermal radiation
feedback.”1
O Thermal radiation feedback is the energy of the
fire being radiated back to the contents of the
room from the walls, floor, and ceiling.
O This radiation of energy to the contents of the
room will raise ALL the contents to their ignition
temperature.
 FLASHOVER
O When the contents of the room suddenly and
simultaneously ignite, this is flashover.
O This simply means that flashover is a
temperature-driven event. It requires that the
fire’s energy be radiated back to the contents to
produce a rapid rise in temperature and
simultaneous ignition. Flashover indicates that
the fire has grown to the fully developed stage
(Figure 1).
 BACKDRAFT
O A backdraft is a smoke explosion that can occur
when additional air is introduced into a
smoldering fire and heated gases enter their
flammable range and ignite with explosive
force.3 A backdraft is an “air-driven event,”
unlike a flashover, which is temperature driven.
The fact that most fires are air regulated and not
fuel regulated makes the understanding of
backdrafts so important.
 BACKDRAFT

O Backdrafts can occur anytime during the

decay stage of fire development, anytime
before the gases have cooled below their
ignition temperature. If the room was left
and the gases cooled before any oxygen was
introduced, no backdraft would occur, but
the room would have been consumed by
fire.
 BITEBACK

O A fatal condition that takes place when the

fire resists extinguishment operations and
become stronger and bigger instead
 FLASHFIRE

O Better known as dust explosion. This may

happen when the metal post that is
completely covered with dust is going to be
hit by lightning. The dust particles covering
the metal burn simultaneously thus creating
a violent chemical reaction that produces a
very bright flash followed by an explosion.
 FLASHFIRE

O A flash fire is a fire that ignites and spreads

quickly at a high temperature but that only
lasts for a short duration. These fires are
sudden and are caused by the ignition of a
combustible material (such as a solid dust,
liquid aerosol, or gas) that has been
dispersed into the air.
 FLASHFIRE
O Once ignited, a flash fire quickly consumes all of
the available fuel (i.e. oxygen) in its environment.
If the fuel is completely consumed before the
combustible material is, there is a risk of re-
ignition. Flash fires are a significant
occupational hazard in many industries such as
the oil and gas industry, as well as
manufacturing industries that generate
combustible dust particulates through their
ordinary course of work.
 FIRE EXTINGUISHMENT

EXTINGUISHING AGENT
O 1. Class A – water (all agents)
O 2. Class B – foam/carbon dioxide (all agents)
O 3. Class C – carbon dioxide/powder (never use
water, soda acid and foam)
O 4. Class D – special powder
O 5. Class E – all agents