Chapter 06: Fire Behavior

Front 1

The process of transferring heat through matter by movement of the kinetic energy from one particle to another

Back 1

Conduction

Front 2

The column of hot gases, flames, and smoke rising above a fire; also called convection column, thermal draft or thermal column

Back 2

Plume

Front 3

Three phases of matter

Back 3

Solid, liquid and gas

Front 4

Transfer of heat through the emission of energy in the form of invisible waves

Back 4

Radiation

Front 5

The process in which oxygen combines chemically with another substance to create a new compound

Back 5

Oxidation

Front 6

The phase of fire where the fire is running out of fuel

Back 6

Decay

Front 7

Reactions that absorb heat or require heat to be added

Back 7

Endothermic

Front 8

Heat transfer by circulation within a medium such as a gas or liquid

Back 8

Convection

Front 9

A state of inadequate oxygenation of the blood and tissue

Back 9

Hypoxia

Front 10

Created by splitting the nucleus of an atom

Back 10

Nuclear fission

Front 11

Why does a thin piece of wood burns quickly?

Back 11

Large surface area

Front 12

Which class of fires involves ordinary combustibles such as wood?

Back 12

Class A fires

Front 13

What are the basic units of measure for fire behavior used in the United States?

Back 13

British system of units

Front 14

A very rapid chemical process that combines oxygen with another substance and results in the release of heat and light

Back 14

Combustion

Front 15

Which class fires involves flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline?

Back 15

Class B fires

Front 16

What is the primary factor in upward fire spread?

Back 16

Convection

Front 17

The movement of heat through a fluid medium such as air or liquid

Back 17

Convection

Front 18

When hot gases flow across a ceiling and cooler air stays closer to the floor

Back 18

Thermal layering

Front 19

The lowest temperature at which a liquid produces a flammable vapor

Back 19

Flash point

Front 20

In which phase of fire does additional fuel become involved in the fire?

Back 20

Growth phase

Front 21

Which class of fires involves burning metals?

Back 21

Class D fires

Front 22

What are the basic units of measure in Canada?

Back 22

International system of units

Front 23

The decomposition of a material brought about by heat in the absence of oxygen

Back 23

Pyrolysis

Front 24

What does incomplete combustion produce?

Back 24

Smoke

Front 25

The weight of a gaseous fuel

Back 25

Vapor density

Front 26

What type of energy occurs when two materials rub together and produce friction?

Back 26

Mechanical energy

Front 27

The transfer of heat energy in the form of invisible waves

Back 27

Radiation

Front 28

What is represented by the four conditions that must be present for fire to take place?

Back 28

Fire tetrahedron

Front 29

What are the three major components of smoke?

Back 29

1. Particles

2. Vapors

3. Gases

Front 30

What is the key to preventing a BLEVE?

Back 30

Cool the top of the tank

Front 31

What is the actual material that is consumed by a fire?

Back 31

Fuel

Front 32

How does flammable limits vary?

Back 32

Vary from one fuel to another one

Front 33

Minimum amount of gaseous fuel that must be present in gas/air mixture for mixture to be flammable

Back 33

Lower flammable limit

Front 34

Minimum temperature that a substance should attain to ignite under specific test conditions

Back 34

Ignition temperature

Front 35

Minimum temperature of a liquid at which sufficient vapor is given off to form an ignitable mixture with air

Back 35

Flash point

Front 36

Explosion that occurs when tank containing volatile liquid at bottom of tank and a flammable gas at top of tank is heated to point where tank ruptures

Back 36

BLEVE

Front 37

Stratification (heat layers) occurs in a room as result of a fire

Back 37

Thermal layering

Front 38

Geometric shape used to depict three components of fire (fuel, oxygen, heat)

Back 38

Fire triangle

Front 39

Transition phase in fire surfaces exposed to thermal radiation

Back 39

Flashover

Front 40

List two methods in which a fire involving a liquid fuel can be extinguished

Back 40

1. Shutting off the supply of fuel

2. Using foam to exclude oxygen from fuel

Front 41

What is deadly in small quantities?

Back 41

Carbon monoxide

Front 42

Why is carpet readily ignitable?

Back 42

By radiant heat, even when it is some distance away from the fire

Front 43

Temperature at which the fuel-air mixture produced by liquid will spontaneously ignite

Back 43

Ignition temperature

Front 44

Reactions that produce heat

Back 44

Exothermic

Front 45

Ability of a substance to produce combustible vapors

Back 45

Volatility

Front 46

Speed of the smoke leaving a burning building

Back 46

Smoke velocity

Front 47

Hot, high volume, high intensity, turbulent, ultra-dense black smoke that indicates in impending flashover or autoignition

Back 47

Black fire

Front 48

When does flashover occur?

Back 48

Temperature in room becomes high enough to ignite the room's contents

Front 49

What are three conditions that must be present for a vapor-air mixture to ignite?

Back 49

1. Fuel & air present at certain concentration

2. Ignition source with energy

3. Ignition source and fuel mixture to make contact

Front 50

What are three signs of a backdraft?

Back 50

1. Confined fire with a large heat build up

2. Little visible flame from exterior

3. "Living" fire smoke puffing from building

Front 51

List four basic methods of extinguishing fires

Back 51

1. Cooling burning materials

2. Excluding oxygen from fire

3. Remove fuel from fire

4. Interrupt chemical reaction with flame

Front 52

Energy that is created or released by the combination or decomposition of chemical compounds

Back 52

Chemical energy

Front 53

Phase of fire development in which the fire is spreading beyond point of origin and beginning to involve other fuels in the immediate area

Back 53

Growth phase

Front 54

Material will maintain combustion under specified environmental conditions (NFPA 53)

Back 54

Fuel

Front 55

A substance made up of atoms and molecules

Back 55

Matter

Front 56

Reactions that result in the release of energy in the form of heat

Back 56

Exothermic

Front 57

The smallest particle of an element, which can exist alone or in combination

Back 57

Atom

Front 58

Any material that (1) has a fluidity greater than that of 300 penetration asphalt (2) is a viscous substance from which a specific melting point cannot be determined

Back 58

Liquid

Front 59

One of the three phases of matter; a material that has three dimensions and is firm in substance

Back 59

Solid

Front 60

A state of inadequate oxygenation of the blood and tissue sufficient to cause impairment of function

Back 60

Hypoxia

Front 61

A burning structure

Back 61

Box

Front 62

Material that has a vapor pressure greater than 300 kPa absolute at 50 degrees C or is completely gaseous at 20 degrees C at a standard pressure

Back 62

Gas

Front 63

The quantity of smoke, which indicates how much fuel is being heated

Back 63

Smoke volume

Front 64

The emission and propagation of energy through matter or space by means of electromagnetic disturbances that display both wave like and particle like behavior

Back 64

Radiation

Front 65

A rapid, persistent chemical reaction that releases both heat and light

Back 65

Fire

Front 66

The phase of fire development in which the fire has consumed either the available fuel or oxygen and is starting to die down

Back 66

Decay phase

Front 67

The airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases evolved when a material undergoes pyrolysis or combustion, together with quantity of air mixed into the mass

Back 67

Smoke

Front 68

An explosion that occurs when a tank containing a volatile liquid at the bottom of a tank and flammable gas at the top of the tank is heated to the point where tank eruptes

Back 68

BLEVE

Front 69

The column of hot gases, flames and smoke rising above a fire; also called convection column, thermal updraft or thermal column

Back 69

Plume

Front 70

The destructive distillation of organic compounds in an oxygen free environment that converts the organic matter into gases, liquids and char

Back 70

Pyrolysis

Front 71

Mixtures below this limit are said to be "too lean"

Back 71

Lower Flammable Limit (LFL)

Front 72

Concentration of a combustible material in air below which ignition will not occur

Back 72

Lower Flammable Limit (LFL)

Front 73

Highest concentration of a combustible substance in a gaseous oxidizer that will propagate a flame

Back 73

Upper flammable limit (UFL)

Front 74

What does smoke mainly consist of?

Back 74

Unburned forms of hydrocarbons fuels

Front 75

Completely burned particles

Back 75

Ash

Front 76

What is the mixture of air consist of?

Back 76

21 percent oxygen

78 percent nitrogen

1 percent other (carbon dioxide)

Front 77

Is combustion process considered exothermic or endothermic?

Back 77

Combustion = exothermic (releases heat energy)