This document provides an overview of an air track management program being conducted by Martinsville Fire & EMS. The program will cover topics like basic fire behavior, reading smoke, practical burns demonstrating fire development and flashover, and practical skills like gas cooling and pressure control techniques. The goal is to enhance firefighters' size-up abilities, understanding of fire behavior, and use of tactics that minimize smoke exposure. Questions from attendees are also discussed.
4. ….become this in two minutes?
Two firefighters
killed on June 2, 2011
in San Francisco
California
5. Do We Really Understand Fire
Behavior?
• Two Connecticut Firefighters Burned in Flashover - February 10, 2012
• Report: Flashover Not Procedures Cited in San Francisco - February 13,
2012
• Two Maryland Firefighters Remain Hospitalized News - February 27, 2012
• N.J. Chief, Lt. Burned in Flashover During Rescue – February 8, 2012
• Close Calls: Firefighter Seriously Burned While Attempting - February
15th, 2012
• Flashover Injures 4 New Orleans - May 22nd, 2011
• Md. Firefighters Bail From Blaze After Flashover - Nine firefighters were
injured, two seriously - March 20th, 2011
• Burned Wis. Firefighters Discuss Bail Out - June 7th, 2011
11. Course Overview – Part #1
April – June 2012
• Basic Fire Behavior
– Lean Flashover
– Vent Induced Flashover
– Backdraft
– Hot “Rich” Flashover
– Delayed Flashover
– Fire Gas Explosion
– Progressive Flashover
• MITCH
– Reading Smoke
• Practical Burns
– Fire Development
– Lean Flashover Burn
– Over Pressure –Under
Pressure Burn
– Attack Burn
• Practical Skills
– Gas cooling
– Over pressure – Under
pressure
12. Part #1 – Where we hope to be
• Enhanced size-up abilities
• Ability to read the smoke
• Greater respect for the fire gases
• Increased understanding of fire behavior
• Use the air track to your advantage
• Understand the importance of interrupting the fire
growth “timer”
• Gas cooling
• Under pressure extinguishing technique
• Over pressure – Under pressure flashover control
technique
13. • Tactical Ventilation
• Positive Pressure
• Hot Smoke Tactics
– Door open to fire compartment
– Door closed to fire compartment
• Cold Smoke Tactics
• Scenario Burns
Course Overview – Part #2
September – October 2012
14. Bill Clark – (USA) 25 March 1995
“Fire-fighting Principles & Practices”
“Temper what you read with your own
judgement. If what you see conflicts with what
you read, believe what you see”,
20. Flammable Range
• LEL = Lower Explosive Limit
– % Below this is too lean to burn
• UEL = Upper Explosive Limit
– % Above this is too rich to burn
• Ideal Mixture
– When a gas is mixed to this %, the combustion is the most
powerful
• Auto Ignition Temperature
– Temperature at which a gas can ignite without an ignition source
– As a gas is heated to its auto ignition temperature, the flammable
range expands.
– When a gas reaches its auto ignition temperature, the LEL will
approach 0%
• Propane 2.1% - 10.1%
• Gasoline 1.4% - 7.6%
21. Carbon Monoxide
• Auto-Ignition Temperature
– 1128 degree Fahrenheit
• Flammable Range
– LEL – 12.5%
– UEL - 74%
• Used to be used in home heating and cooking
and was called Coal Gas.
32. What is smoking?
Normal Gases
(Legacy)
• Wood, Paper, etc…
• Flammable range 50-95%
• Energy: 27 BTU’s/ft3
• 14.5 PSI
High Energy Gases
(Modern)
• Plastics, Rubber, PU Foam,
etc…
• Flammable range 20-60%
• Energy: 403 BTU’s/ft3
• 116 PSI
33. What are the practical implications?
• Smoke burns.
• We must respect the gases!
• We should select tactics that will allow us to
get the job done and minimize our exposure to
smoke.
40. Practical Implications
• The air track tells us where the fire is getting
air and where it is going.
• If we control the air track we control the fire.
• Size-up should now include determining the
air track and how we can use it to our
advantage.
41. The Mechanism of Fire
• Fuel Controlled Fire
• Ventilation Controlled Fire
“Fire Is Predictable”
42. Fuel Controlled Fire
• Fire limited by the available fuel
• Fuel phase burning – “Square Foot” fire
• Direct attack is the answer
43. Ventilation Controlled Fire
• Fire limited by the available oxygen
• Fire transitions to this state at lean flashover .
• Heavy accumulation of fire gases that can lead to rapid fire progress.
• These fires present a three dimensional threat or volumetric threat.
• “Cubic foot” fire
• The burning and heated gases must be dealt with first. Then the
remaining fuel phase burning.
45. Mechanism of Fire
The ‘Mechanism of Fire’
Level of the smoke can be used to predict flammability
46. Practical Implications
• Select tactics based on the burning regime.
• Use the level of the smoke layer to predict its
flammability.
47. Practical Implications - Review
• We should select tactics that will allow us to
get the job done and minimize our exposure to
smoke.
• Size-up should now include determining the
air track and how we can use it to our
advantage.
• Select tactics based on the burning regime.
• Use the level of the smoke layer to predict its
flammability.