Fire

Dr. Khalid Mahmood

Fire
 A process in which substances combine chemically with oxygen
from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke.
 Explosion:
A release of mechanical, chemical, or nuclear energy in a
sudden and often violent manner with the generation of high
temperature and usually with the release of gases.
 Fire in the process industries causes more serious accidents
than explosion or toxic release, although the accidents in
which the greatest loss of life and damage occur are generally
caused by explosion.
Fire Triangle
 The essential elements for combustion are fuel, oxidizer, and an
ignition source.
 These elements are illustrated by the fire triangle.
 If any one side of the fire triangle is removed, a fire will not
result.
 Fire, or burning, is the rapid, exothermic oxidation of an ignited
fuel. The fuel can be in solid, liquid or vapor form, but vapor and
liquid fuel are generally easier to ignite.
 Note that, even if the fuel is a solid (e.g. wood) or a liquid (e.g.
petrol) it is the vapors given off when the fuel is heated that burn.
This rapid oxidation produces heat and light.
 The fire triangle shows that a fire will result if fuel, oxidant, and an
ignition source are present. In reality, the fuel and oxidant must be
within certain concentration ranges, and the ignition source must be
robust enough to initiate the fire. The fire triangle applies to gases,
liquids, and solids. Liquids are volatized and solids decompose
prior to combustion in the vapor phase.
Oxygen Sources
 Planned Introduction of Air
• Air-based operations
• Air Purging
 Unplanned Introduction of Air
o Swabbing & other operations that create a vacuum

o Pockets of air created during the installation and servicing of

Equipment
o Oxidized (Weathered)

o Oxidizers

o Chemical Reactions
Heat/Ignition Sources
• Open Flames (i.e. Flare Stacks, Burners, Torches)
• Electric Arcs and Sparks (i.e. non-explosion proof equipment)
• Static Electricity
• Hot Surfaces
• Friction and Mechanical Sparks
• Chemical Reactions and Sparks (i.e. fuel - oxidizer reactions)
• Spontaneous Combustion
• Pressure / Compression Ignition (Dieseling)
Fuels
 Gases
 Natural Gas
 LPG Gases (Including propane and butane)
 Other hazardous gases (i.e. hydrogen, acetylene, carbon
monoxide)
Liquids / Vapours

• Crude oil / Condensate

• NGL liquids
• Gasoline, Diesel & other fuels
• Methanol
Chemicals
• Solvents and cleaning agents
• Special compounded hydraulic fluids & lubricants

• Chemicals used for well servicing

 Solid Fuels:

• Wood

• Biomass

• Coal

• Waste etc
Classification of fire
 Fires are classified according to the type of fuel involved.
 Class A Fires involving carbonaceous solids, such as wood,
cloth, paper, rubber and plastics.
 Class B Fires involving flammable and combustible liquids.
 Class C Fires involving combustible gases.
 Class D Fires involving certain combustible metals, including
potassium, sodium, & magnesium.
 Class E Electrical Hazards
 Class F Fires involving cooking oils and fats.
 This classification has obvious relevance to the extinguishing
medium to be used.
Flash point (FP)

 The flash point of a liquid is the lowest temperature at which

it gives off enough vapor to form an ignitable mixture with air.
At the flash point, the vapor will burn but only briefly;
inadequate vapor is produced to maintain combustion. The
flash point generally increases with increasing pressure..
Auto ignition temperature
 This is a fixed temperature above which adequate energy is

available in the environment to provide an ignition source.

Fire point
 The fire point is the lowest temperature at which a vapor above

a liquid will continue to burn once ignited; the fire point

temperature is higher than the flash point.
Ignition
 Ignition of a flammable mixture may be caused by flammable
mixture coming in contact with a source of ignition with sufficient
energy or by the gas reaching a temperature high enough to cause
the gas to auto ignite.
Flammability limits  
 Vapor-air mixtures will ignite and burn only over a well-
specified range of compositions. The mixture will not burn when
the composition is lower than the lower flammable limit (LFL);
the mixture is too lean for combustion. The mixture is also not
combustible when the composition is too rich, i.e., that is, when
it is above the upper flammable limit (UFL). A mixture is
flammable only when the composition is between the LFL and
the UFL. commonly used units are volume percent of fuel
(percentage of fuel plus air).
How to prevent fire (checklist)
 Know where fire extinguishers are kept, what is each for and
how to use them.
 Maintain a neat, clean work area and prevent accumulation of
rubbish.
 Put oil-soaked and paint-soaked rags in covered metal
containers.
 Observe all “no smoking” signs.
How to prevent fire (checklist)
 Keep fire doors, exists, stairs. Aisles, fire lanes and fire fighting
equipment clear of obstruction.
 Keep all flammable materials away from furnaces and other
sources of ignition.
 Report any fire hazards that are beyond your control, especially
electrical hazards, which are the source of many fires.
 Obey “no smoking” signs, dispose of cigarettes and matches by
placing them in the proper receptacles, and make sure they are
extinguished.
How to prevent fire (checklist)
 Store combustibles in safe area.
 Remove combustible materials and fumes from solvents and
other flammables
 Fire alarm procedures may be reviewed
 Keep mechanical equipment properly lubricated to avoid
excessive friction.
 Ensure heater used in the workplace is away from flammable
materials and cannot be tipped over.
Leading Causes of Industrial Fires
 Electrical failure and misuse of electrical equipment
 Friction
 Open flames
 Smocking
 Matches
Reaction to Fire
 Set off the alarm
 Leave the area if the fire is too big to handle

 Deal with small fire

 Know your fire exists

 Do not use the elevator but the staircase

Fire Protection of Process Plant
In general, fire prevention and protection measures constitute
either
 Passive fire protection

 Active fire protection

Passive fire protection

 Passive prevention and protection comprises measures which

are taken in order to prevent a fire occurring and to limit its
spread.
 Passive fire protection is the primary measure integrated within
the constructional fabric of a building to provide inherent fire
safety and protection by responding against flame, heat and
smoke to maintain the fundamental requirements of building
compartment, structural stability, fire separation and safe means
of escape.
 Passive fire protection has the advantage that it is very much
less dependent on the intervention of protective devices or of
humans, both of which are liable to fail.
 The optimum solution to the fire protection problem s
normally a combination of passive and active measures. Often
passive fire protection can limit fire spread and an ‘buy time’
in which the firefighting resources can be mobilized.
Active fire protection.

 Measures of active protection comprise fixed and mobile fire

fighting systems and emergency arrangements.
 Active fire protection is the process of protecting a building or
structure from fire with methods that use the action of moving
parts. These systems can be automatic, or operated manually,
but they require some sort of action in order to work.
Elements of active fire protection
Elements of active fire protection are: 
 Fire warning systems;

 Fire detection systems;

 Firefighting agents;

 Fire water supply system;

 Fixed firefighting systems;

 Mobile firefighting systems.

Fire Detection and Alarm
 A fire alarm system is use to detect and alert people through
visual and audio appliances when smoke/fire is present. These
alarms may be activated from smoke detectors, heat detectors,
water flow sensors, which are automatic or from a manual fire
alarm pull station.
 The initiation of active fire protection measures, whether fixed
systems or mobile firefighting systems, depends on the fire
detection and alarm arrangements.
 When a fire occurs, two things which are of prime importance are
to ensure the safety of personnel and the prompt initiation of
action to deal with the fire. The most effective way of ensuring
rapid action is generally the use of an automatic system.
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
 Portable fire extinguishers are designed to attack a fire
in its initial stage. The selection of a suitable
extinguisher is primarily influenced by the following
factors:
 • the size and rate of fire spread
 • the Class of fire (i.e. type of materials involved)
Do Not Use (or continue to use) an extinguisher if:
 the fire is larger than a waste paper basket
 the fire is spreading quickly beyond the point of origin
 the extinguisher is not having any effect or is having

an adverse reaction on the fire

 you do not know what fuels are involved in the fire
Using Fire Extinguishers

When using fire extinguishers, employees should employ

the “PASS” system of early-stage firefighting.
 P—Pull the pin on the extinguisher
 A—Aim at the base of the fire
 S—Squeeze the handle
 S—-Sweep at the fire, moving from side to side
Mechanism of fire extinguishment

 Firefighting agents have several different mechanisms of

operation .These include: 
 Cooling of flame;
 Reduction of fuel
1. cooling of liquid,
2. dilution of liquid,
3. emulsification of liquid,
4. blanketing of liquid;
 Reduction of oxygen;
 Interference with combustion reaction.
Selection of agents
For fire extinguishment or control, the first considerations usually
given to water. Water is cheap and generally readily available. It is
non-toxic and does not give rise in fire to toxic products. It has a
large capacity to absorb heat, whether as sensible or latent heat. It
vaporizes to give some 1700 times its own volume of steam,
which acts as an inert vapor. water is therefore particularly useful
in fires where high cooling capacity is needed such as those
involving solid materials and high flashpoint liquids, and where it
is necessary to cool hot metal to prevent flashback.
Fire Protection Using Water:
Extinguishment and Control
 Water is used in several distinct ways to fight fire.
These are:
 Extinguishment of fire;
 Control of fire;
 Fire exposure protection;
Fire Protection Using Foam
 A prime alternative to water, particularly for large fires, is
foam. Types of Foams are water based and come in several
kinds. These include:
 Chemical foam
 Protein-based mechanical foam
 Special foams
1. Fluorochemical foam.
2. Fluoroprotein foam.
 Detergent foam.
Applications of foam
 Fire extinction by blanketing may be achieved using foam.
Low expansion foam is mainly used to prevent, extinguisher
control fires in storage tank tops and bunds and on spills.
 Foam should be used only if it is compatible with the
hazardous liquid. In particular, foam is essentially expanded
water and, apart from its density, has the general
characteristics of water. It is just as unsuitable as water for
fighting fires involving electrical equipment or substances
which have undesirable reactions with water.
 Dry Chemicals
 An alternative to water or water-based foam is dry chemicals, or

dry powders. 

Mechanisms of fire extinguishment 

 The principal mechanism by which dry chemicals act against fire
is to cause chain termination of the combustion reactions.
 The bicarbonate chemicals release carbon dioxide in an
endothermic reaction. To some extent the gas evolved blankets
the liquid and the gas evolution reaction has cooling effect, whilst
the particle cloud reduces the heat transfer between the flame and
the liquid surface.
Types of dry chemical
Some basic dry chemicals are
 sodium bicarbonate(standard dry chemical),
 potassium bicarbonate,
 potassium chloride,
 urea potassium bicarbonate
 Mono-ammonium phosphate.
 There are also the formulations
Applications of dry chemicals
 Dry chemicals are used to extinguish fire. They are
utilized on class A fires (combustible materials), Class
B fires (flammable liquids) and Class C fires (electrical
equipment).
 Dry chemicals are an extremely versatile type of agent.

They are low hazard and non-toxic.

Fire Protection Using Inert Gas

 The last of the principal firefighting agents is inert gas.

Here a distinction needs to be made between the use
equipment to prevent internal fire or explosion.
Extinguishing Agent Principle Use
Water (solid Red) wood and paper fires - not
electrical
Foam (Blue band) flammable liquid fires - not
electrical
Carbon Dioxide (Black band) electrical fires

Dry Chemical (White band) flammable liquids and electrical

fires
Wet chemical (Oatmeal band) fat fires - not electrical
Special Purpose (Yellow band) various (eg. metal fires)