Chemistry of Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of

combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative
processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition.

A rapid oxidation process, which is a chemical reaction resulting in the

evolution of light and heat in varying intensities" - NFPA 921

A fire is an exothermic chemical reaction that emits heat and light -

Dictionary

Fire happens due to chemical reactions between the source of heat, oxygen and
combustible material. It can easily be defined with the simple graphical
representation of "fire reaction" as below;

Several source of heat can be noticed in our everyday life. Among the source of heat
are electric, static electric, sparks, mechanical heat and lightning. Meanwhile the
combustible material is the material that usually we have in our place. Materials such
as combustible liquids (e.g. petrol, diesel), combustible solids (e.g. furniture, paper)
and also combustible gases (e.g. methane, butane).

Fire usually happens when there is a chain reaction between these elements. It
undergo the process of pyrolysis which produce heat, light and smoke.

Fire Triangle
For many years, it has been widely accepted that the combinations of the following
three (3) factors contribute to the initiation of a fire:

- fuel
- a source of ignition/energy/heat
- oxygen

The combination of all these three (3) factors has therefore led to the widely known
Triangle of Combustion. Consequently, when trying to put out a fire, we strive to
remove at least one of these three components

Picture 1 - Fire triangle

Fire Tetrahedron

Further research over the years revealed a fourth necessary component of fire, the
chemical chain reaction. The Fire Triangle was consequently transformed to the Fire
Tetrahedron. Put it simply, a Tetrahedron is a solid pyramid with four plane faces
(from the Greek words ''tesseris edres''), each one representative of the four
necessary elements.

In short, a fire begins by an external ingition source which is usually in the form of a
flame or spark. With its turn, the external ignition source heats the fuel under the
presence of oxygen. As both fuel and oxygen are heated, molecular activity increases.
If properly heated, a self-sustaining chemical reaction is developed . The consequent
chemical reaction will then escalate at a point where the external ignition source is no
longer necessary for the propagation of the fire.

Once ignition has occurred, it will continue until:

- all the available fuel has been consumed or
- the fuel and/or oxygen is removed or
- the temperature is reduced by cooling or
- the number of excited molecules is reduced and the chain reaction is broken

Picture 2 - Fire tetrahedron

Although simplistic in nature, presented diagrams are in fact a good example of how
to actually extinguish a fire in the real world. For example, we can create a barrier
using foam in order to reduce/eliminate the ''fueling'' of fire and therefore deprive the
fire from one of its necessary elements (oxygen). By applying water, we can also
reduce the temperature below the ignition temperature. Finally, by using a Halon
extinguisher, we can create an inert gas barrier which will interfere with the chemical
chain reaction.