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Unit1Essay.docx1
Chemical Elements That Contributed to The Fire, Recognize Measurements to Understand the Behavior of The Fire
Felicia St. Luce
Columbia Southern University
Fire Behavior and Combustion
Professor James Golden
Introduction
Fire is a process or a state of combustion where fuel or other materials are ignited and combined with oxygen giving flame, light and heat( Fire Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.Com, n.d.). This paper will discuss the chemical elements that contribute to fire. We will learn if there are measurements of fire and how the measurements are taken there are any measurements. There is an overview of enthalpy and how it contributes to fire and lastly will get to know the new concepts in this unit.
Combustion is the fire that results from a chemical reaction. Normal combustion reaction carbon which is in fuel burns by mixing with oxygen. Chemical elements involved in the fire are oxygen, heat and fuel( What Is Fire Made Of? Chemical Composition, n.d.). Ignition is where flames are produced in a chemical reaction. In point to ponder scenario cooking oil is the fuel and oxidizes to cause a fire.
(Gann & Friedman, 2015) argues that for one to understand the behaviour and combustion of fire you will note that measurement is key in understanding the fire phenomena. Firefighters need to know when the fire started and how fast it spread, its hotness and the severity to the population. They also suggest the basic measurements for fire phenomena to occur are time, length, area, volume, mass, density, force, pressure, enthalpy and energy, power, and temperature. The SI unit is used for measurements this is to have a standard measure. One of the main constituents in fire growth is learning the rate at which fire will spread to the surrounding combustible materials is affected by mass, energy, heat, and enthalpy. It is important to quantify the fire this is because the one experience may be different when explaining the severity of the fire. What one can say is the fire is big or it was spreading fast may not be fast or big to another.
Enthalpy is absorbing or releasing energy under pressure. Enthalpy is considered a contributing factor in fire growth as in the enthalpy process releasing the heat will feed back to the solids that are around the fire. This continues under pressure being either negative or positive. Some factors influence heat transfer in enthalpy such as the nature of the material. A material with a higher bond enthalpy would require more energy to break the bond. This means that as heat increases the growth of fire increases as the bonds will be broken fast. The distance between the exposed material and the heat source is also a factor that influences heat transfer in enthalpy. In the scenario, the cooking oil in the saucepan reached autoignition, creating a fire that continued until the room was involved. This show how the material in the room absorbed and released energy.
Tetrahedron or the fire triangle is a new concept learnt. These are the elements in combustion which are four namely heat, oxygen, fuel and chemical reaction. It brings out the concept of extinguishing fire by taking out one element in the fire triangle. Fire extinguishers use that concept thus depending on the fire they chose which element to take out. This helps us to learn about fire safety that brings the principle of keeping fuel sources and ignition separate( The Fire Triangle, n.d.).
Conclusion
It is important to understand the concept of fire and it builds on one safety. We have understood the chemical elements that cause fire and how the material can affect the spread of fire. This information will help one in ensuring safety as fire is described as a serial killer (Gorbett & Pharr, 2011)
Reference
Gann, R., & Friedman, R. (2015). Principles of fire behavior and combustion. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Gorbett, G., & Pharr, J. (2011). Fire dynamics. Pearson.
The Fire Triangle. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://www.sc.edu/ehs/training/Fire/01_triangle.htm
What Is Fire Made Of? Chemical Composition. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-fire-made-of-607313
