Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood, or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics.
Saponification is a process of converting esters into soaps and alcohols by the action of aqueous alkali. Soaps are salts of fatty acids, which in turn are carboxylic acids with long carbon chains. Sodium stearate is a typical soap.
The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for understanding the necessary ingredients for most fires.
Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread and impact of a fire.
Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat. Fire prevention and control is the prevention, detection, and extinguishment of fires, including such secondary activities as research into the causes of fire, education of the public about fire hazards, and the maintenance and improvement of fire-fighting equipment.
A fire blanket is a safety device designed to extinguish incipient (starting) fires. It consists of a sheet of a fire retardant material that is placed over a fire in order to smother it.
Phos-Chek is a brand of long-term fire retardants, class A foams, and gels manufactured by Perimeter Solutions, headquartered in Clayton, Missouri.
A fire retardant is a substance that is used to slow down or stop the spread of fire or reduce its intensity. This is commonly accomplished by chemical reactions that reduce the flammability of fuels or delay their combustion. Fire retardants may also cool the fuel through physical action or endothermic chemical reactions. Fire retardants are available as powder, to be mixed with water, as fire-fighting foams and fire-retardant gels. Fire retardants are also available as coatings or sprays to be applied to an object.
Purple-K, also known as PKP, is a dry-chemical fire suppression agent used in some dry chemical fire extinguishers. It is the second most effective dry chemical in fighting class B fires after Monnex, and can be used against some energized electrical equipment fires. It has about 4–5 times more effectiveness against class B fires than carbon dioxide, and more than twice that of sodium bicarbonate. Some fire extinguishers are capable of operation in temperatures down to −54 °C or up to +49 °C. Dry chemical works by directly inhibiting the chemical chain reaction which forms one of the four sides of the fire tetrahedron. To a much smaller degree it also has a smothering effect by excluding oxygen from the fire. "Dry chemical" extinguishers, such as Purple-K, are different from "dry powder" extinguishers that are used to fight Class D flammable metal fires.
Active fire protection (AFP) is an integral part of fire protection. AFP is characterized by items and/or systems, which require a certain amount of motion and response in order to work, contrary to passive fire protection.
A fire class is a system of categorizing fire with regard to the type of material and fuel for combustion. Class letters are often assigned to the different types of fire, but these differ between territories; there are separate standards for the United States, Europe, and Australia. The fire class is used to determine the types of extinguishing agents that can be used for that category.
Fire-retardant fabrics are textiles that are more resistant to fire than others through chemical treatment of flame-retardant or manufactured fireproof fibers.
A flammable material is something that can burn in air under certain conditions. A material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable material catches fire immediately on exposure to flame.
Commonly referred to as "Fast Flow" or "High Performance" extinguishers. Available in 6 kg (13 lb), 9 kg (20 lb), and 14 kg (30 lb). capacities and contain ABC Dry Chemical, Purple-K, or sodium bicarbonate. They are currently manufactured by Ansul in cartridge-operated form, along with Amerex, Badger and Buckeye stored pressure design.
A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user, or otherwise requires the equipment, personnel, resources, and/or expertise of a fire brigade. Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent that can be discharged to extinguish a fire. Fire extinguishers manufactured with non-cylindrical pressure vessels also exist but are less common.
Automatic fire suppression systems control and extinguish fires without human intervention. Examples of automatic systems include fire sprinkler system, gaseous fire suppression, and condensed aerosol fire suppression. When fires are extinguished in the early stages loss of life is minimal since 93% of all fire-related deaths occur once the fire has progressed beyond the early stages.
Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP), also known as monoammonium phosphate (MAP) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (NH4)(H2PO4). ADP is a major ingredient of agricultural fertilizers and some fire extinguishers. It also has significant uses in optics and electronics.
Home safety is the awareness of risks and potential dangers in and around a home which may cause bodily harm, injury, or even death to those living there.
Condensed aerosol fire suppression is a particle-based method of fire extinction. It is similar to but not identical to dry chemical fire extinction methods, using an innovative pyrogenic, condensed aerosol fire suppressant. It is a highly effective fire suppression method for class A, B, C, E and F. Some aerosol-generating compounds produce a corrosive by-product that may damage electronic equipment, although later generations lower the effect.
In fire classes, a Class B fire is a fire in flammable liquids or flammable gases, petroleum greases, tars, oils, oil-based paints, solvents, lacquers, or alcohols. For example, propane, natural gas, gasoline and kerosene fires are types of Class B fires. The use of lighter fluid on a charcoal grill, for example, creates a Class B fire. Some plastics are also Class B fire materials.
