Running head: FIRE MEASUREMENTS AND CHEMICAL CHANGE
Fire Measurements and Chemical Change in Garden Apartment Fire
Victor J Rella
Columbia Southern University
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FIRE MEASUREMENTS AND CHEMICAL CHANGE
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Fire Measurements and Chemical Change in Garden Apartment Fire
Understanding the science behind fires and how they spread can be important as knowing
how to extinguish them. Being able to conceptualize how the fire may spread can assist in fire
suppression and save lives, including those of firefighters. Not understanding how a fire can
grow and spread can lead to firefighter injuries, or in the worst case, a firefighter’s death. We are
all taught in recruit school about the basics such as the fire triangle and the fire tetrahedron,
along with learning the phases of a fire. Because this information is essential we must understand
the following: if any chemicals may have contributed to the fire, the behavior of fire and the
related measurements, enthalpy and how it contributes to fire growth, and important concepts
and terms.
Chemical Elements that Contributed to the Fire
The fire investigators report on the fire in question describes the fire as starting as a
grease fire on the stove (Columbia Southern University [CSU], n.d.). The cooking grease is an
obvious contributor to the fire, the grease fire then spread to the adjoining cabinets. While the
construction of the cabinets is not mentioned, most garden apartments tend to be built as
inexpensive as possible, probably with the use of particle board cabinets. According to Kerber
(2012), modern structures are being built as inexpensively as possible using materials that have
changed the fire environment, including the increase of fire spread. Once the fire spread past the
cabinets, it easily would have spread to the interior finishing and furniture within the kitchen.
These materials if synthetic in nature, would significantly increase the spread of the fire as
synthetics burn hotter and are extremely common in today’s residences (Madrzykowski, 2016).
While these chemical elements contributed to the growth and spread of the fire, the behavior of
the fire itself along with related scientific measurements must also be taken into consideration.
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Fire Behavior and Important Measurements
While we have been taught the basics of fire behavior over the years, it is crucial to
understand the scientific measurements and how they relate to the fire's behavior. We always
think about such measurements as square footage, but other units of measurement are equally as
important. The heat generated during a fire is measured in kilowatts (kW) or large fires
megawatts (MW) (Gann & Friedman, 2015). An example of this can be related to the example of
how much heat is generated by a legacy cotton-padded chair compared to one padded with
synthetic fabric. The cotton fabric chair would produce a peak heat release rate of 370kW at 910
seconds(s) while the synthetic covered chair would produce 1,990kW at 260 s after ignition
(Kerber, 2012). This can be further related to the contents of a structure reaching flashover
sooner. Materials within a structure only need heat exposure above 1100-2000°F demonstrating
that such a large amount of heat produced so quickly will lead to quicker flashovers
(Madrzykowski, 2016). Understanding measurements will help a firefighter understand enthalpy
and its relation to fire growth.
Enthalpy and Fire Growth
Gann and Friedman (2015) describe enthalpy and more specifically, an important type of
enthalpy, the heat of combustion which is the maximum heat generated when a material burns.
As the firefighters entered the building, they described encountering thick, black smoke, which
would be a good indication of incomplete combustion of synthetic materials (CSU, n.d.). This
smoke, as described, was under pressure from the intense heat from the fire. This would lead to a
high heat of combustion and a positive enthalpy leading to an increase in the growth of the fire,
along with an increase in fire spread. Enthalpy and the heat of combustion have been
FIRE MEASUREMENTS AND CHEMICAL CHANGE
demonstrated as being essential to understand, but also are not in the ordinary material taught to
firefighters.
New Concepts and Terms
While many of the concept and terms described by Gann and Friedman (2015) are
commonly known by most firefighters, many may be utterly foreign to them. One of the more
different concepts is the metric or SI units of measurement. Terms such as pounds per square
inch (psi) would be commonly known, but pascals and joules would be relatively unknown.
Other concepts that would be new to most firefighters would be the concept of enthalpy as
outlined in the paragraph above. While these concepts and terms may be new to most, they are
not any less important.
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References
Columbia Southern University. (n.d). Unit I: Background information: The City of Columbia
Southern garden apartment fire, South Florida [Scenario Background Information].
Retrieved from https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-103281314_1
Gann, R.G., & Friedman, R. (2015). Principles of fire behavior and combustion (4th ed.).
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
Kerber, S. (2012). Analysis of changing residential fire dynamics and its implications on
firefighter operational timeframes. Fire Technology, 48(4), 865–891. Retrieved from
https://doi-org.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/10.1007/s10694-011-0249-2
Madrzykowski, D. (2016). Fire dynamics: The science of fire fighting. International Fire Service
Journal of Leadership & Management, 10, 27–35. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login.aspx?direct=tru
e&db=asn&AN=119098127&site=eds-live&scope=site