“The most tangible of all visible mysteries- fire.” ~ Leigh Hunt
Fire is a visible mystery, as poet Leigh Hunt states. We all love staring at a crackling fire on a brisk summer night, watching as its smoke wisps into disappearance. Many are too entranced by a fire to delve deeper into its creation. How does a fire start? What is its chemical process? How does a small flame at the end of a match expand into a catastrophe so quickly?
The three vital things for a fire to be created are fuel, oxygen, and heat. Fuel can be anything that is combustible, and heat can come from rubbing from a match or any other kind of friction. Oxygen is all around us, and is needed for fire to start. In the process of fire, fire is heated up by fuel to a high temperature. Material of the wood starts burning around 300 degrees farenheight. Then, gas is made from the material; this gas is the same as smoke, and rises from the wood. The rest of the material forms “char”. Char is made from carbon and ash, and a lot of people use it to start their own fires, and commonly known as “charcoal”.
"As long as there is a fuel supply and oxygen to supply it, a fire can burn indefinitely." (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23051367) Finding flammable surfaces is fire’s way of creating a catastrophe, and the element can spread up to 15 miles per hour. This is why forest fires are so disastrous, and basically impossible to stop. In America, approximately five million acres catch fire each year. How do forest fires begin? Is it a careless person throwing their cigarette in a pile of leaves? Perhaps a campfire that was made too close to a tree? While campfires, wandering cigarettes, and even fireworks do cause many wildfires, arson plays a big role. Arson is the act of people setting fire upon forests and homes on purpose, which is illegal. The largest cause of fires is arson, and the second biggest cause for demise.
According to http://www.cdc.gov/, a person died in a fire every 169 minutes in 2010. Also, about 85% of U.S fires occur in homes. How do house fires start? Well, many house fires start in the kitchen. When a pans temperature gets too high, it causes hot grease to spray out, which leads to a horrible fire. Smoking also is a big cause for house fires.
Fires kill plants and trees leaving wildlife without homes and food. Large fires cause lots of smoke and air pollution.
Although fire is linked to human life, as it is essential for survival, not only its use for food, security and warmth, particularly in the extreme cold weather
The difference between a fire that is warm and friendly and one that is ferociously hot and destructive is size. A small fire in a campsite can take the edge off the cool night air, and a raging forest fire can destroy a thousand acres in a few hours. Fire has been one of our most important tools on our journey from the beginning of time to the present day. It also poses a severe threat to mankind if it is not controlled. Children often experiment with fire. Any time a child starts a fire he endangers himself and the people around him. Juvenile arson happens on a routine basis, and has very outreaching consequences. Fires statistics reported by fire departments in 2003, show that children started approximately forty-two thousand fires, causing an estimated one-hundred sixty-five civilian deaths, nineteen hundred civilian injuries and two-hundred seventy-two million dollars in direct property damage (United States Fire Administration, 2004). The price that society pays for juvenile-set fires is extremely high. Tragically, the lives of the very children setting the fires account for most of the lives that are lost.
First of all, how does a fire work? A fire is a chemical reaction known
Maury County officials say a propane space heater is to blame for fire that caused the deaths of three people in a house on Saturday.
"Overview: “To Build a Fire”." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 7. Detroit:Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Nov.2013
When the four components of the fire tetrahedron are brought together, ignition occurs. For a fire to grow beyond the first material ignited heat must be transmitted by conduction, convection, or radiation, to additional fuel packages. In the early stages of a fire, heat rises to form a plume of hot gas and products of combustion. Fires in compartments are more complex than those in the open (IFSTA, 2013). In a compartment the plume is affected by the walls and ceiling. As the hot gases rise , they begin to spread outward until they reach the walls. Once the gases reach the walls they are confined and the depth of the gas layer increases from the ceiling towards the floor. If enough fuel and oxygen is available the fire continues to grow, and the overall temperature of the compartment and gas layer increases. The temperatures increase to a point when all combustible materials in the room have reached their own ignition temperatures. Flashover occurs when these materials ignite almost spontaneously. Once ignited and all combustibles in the compartment are burning the fire is said to be fully developed. The fire begins to decay
The first reference of a fire appears on page 38 where Ralph says “We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.” This initial fire is the peak of their hope and desire to return to civilization, and after that moment they begin to lose their desire as first the fire goes out on top of the mountain on page 67 where it’s said “The fire was out, smoke-less and dead; the watchers were gone. A pile of unused fuel lay ready.” Then, after this instance, they decide to move the fire to the shore so it will be less of a chore and less work to keep it ignited, this shows their laziness along with their loss of hope and care for being rescued. Finally, the smoke dies off completely and the only existing fire is used for cooking the food from Jack’s hunts, until the forest fire at the end where they are hunting down Ralph from the jungle. This fire, turns out to be the boys’, and Ralph’s, timely rescue, while also being the peak of irony for Ralph; the fire he has been speaking of the entire novel turns out to be their key to success, but sadly comes only from their ultimate descent into madness, page 201 “The officer grinned cheerfully at
Users can create, shape and manipulate fire, the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products, flame being the visible portion of the fire. Depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the color of the flame and the fire's intensity will be different.
Human beings cause most wildfires, directly or indirectly. In the United States lightning, the only truly natural cause is responsible for less than 10% of all such fires. In the West, lightning is the primary cause, with smoking (cigarettes, matches, and such) the second most frequent. Combined they account for 50 to 75% of all wildfires. In the “13 southern states (Virginia to Texas) the primary cause is arson; this combined with smoking and debris burning makes up 75% of all wildfires” (Perry, 1994). The other causes of wildfires are machine use and campfires. Machine use includes railroads, logging, sawmills, and other operations using equip...
Combustion is a rapid, continuous reaction that usually takes place in the gas phase. Wood is an organic compound primarily comprised of cellulose. For wood, the phase change from a solid to gas is almost instantaneous as combustion occurs (Coleman, et al. 95). Ignition occurs when an outside source is no longer needed to sustain combustion (Coleman, et al. 87).
The potential for wildfires has increased in the Western United States over the last several years. Scientists and researchers tout climate change with increasing temperatures as well as drought as the main culprit of the increasing number of wildfires. It is projected that rising temperatures will continue and lead to even more frequent, large, and severe wildfires as well as even longer wildfire seasons (Cleetus & Mulik, 2014). It is crucial to find ways to prevent and reduce costs associated with wildfires in these western states. The effects of wildfires hit areas environmentally and economically. These effects are often felt several years after wildfires occur.
Fire at any level can be devastating, yet the effects that wildfires have on every worldwide country really has left its mark on the land. As written by world renowned wild fire spokesperson Smokey the Bear, “Every year, wildfires sweeps through parts of the United States setting wilderness and homes ablaze. On average these raging infernos destroy about four to five million acres of land a year. But in 2012, wildfire burned more than 9.3 million acres, an area about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined” (U.S. Wildfires). Destroying homes, crops, towns and of course forests. Yet the effects of these fires can be seen from a negative perspective as well as some positive. Plus there are natural causes as well as manmade that makes these destructive fires erupt and become almost unstoppable in seconds.
Where and how did the fire start? There are two components that cause a fire, a heat source, and the material ignited. According to Hess, Orthman, “The point of origin is established in finding the area with the deepest char, alligatoring and usually the greatest destr...
The Forest fire is occurring very frequently nowadays, reasons for it are a heavy increase in global warming and an increase in temperature.