Toxic Gases and Smoke Evolution from Foam Plastic Building Materials Burning in Fire Environments

Abstract. Fire disasters are common occurrences in the urban settlements of the Philippines. Concerned agencies like the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (DRRMO) are constantly planning ways to prevent and mitigate fire disasters. The key to an effective plan against fire disaster is understanding how a potential fire can spread in a community. By combining both GIS and Probabilistic Cellular Automata (PCA), this paper solves the task of fire spread modeling and simulation. PCA is a model that consists of a regular grid of cells, whose cells are updated according to rules that take into account both the cell’s current state and the cell’s neighbors’ states. The model we developed factors in wind, building materials, and building density. The model was designed after several fires in major cities of Cebu, Philippines. An accuracy of 83.54% and a Cohen’s Kappa coefficient of 0.67 was achieved. Further, a web-based tool was developed to aid in fire disaster planning.

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Comparative study of toxicity for thermoplastic polyurethane and its flame-retardant composites

Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials ◽

10.1177/0892705718798409 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (10) ◽

pp. 1393-1407 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Chen Liu ◽

Ruowen Zong ◽

Haiyan Chen ◽

Junling Wang ◽

Chaopeng Wu

Keyword(s):

Thermal Stability ◽

Flame Retardant ◽

Thermoplastic Polyurethane ◽

The Other ◽

Tube Furnace ◽

Infrared Spectrometry ◽

Toxicity Effect ◽

Toxic Gases ◽

Toxic Product ◽

In Fire

Toxic product in fire disasters is the most important reason for fire casualties. With wide application of polymer material, the toxic products in fire effluents are getting more and more diversified and complicated. Polyurethane is one of the most widely used materials. In this article, the fire toxicant release has been evaluated for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and its flame-retardant composites. Ammonium polyphosphate (APP), aluminum hydroxide (ATH), and nano-montmorillonite (MMT) were combined into different flame-retardant combinations at certain ratios. Three kinds of flame-retardant combinations (APP-ATH, APP-MMT, and APP-ATH-MMT) were blended to reduce toxicity of TPU. The properties of thermal stability and decomposition were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA/infrared spectrometry, static tube furnace, and steady-state tube furnace were used to evaluate the toxic gases, including CO and HCN. Fractional effective dose (FED) was calculated based on the concentrations of CO, CO2, and HCN. The results showed that more than 50% toxicity effect in FED was accounted for HCN. The comprehensive toxicity of TPU was reduced in the samples with APP-ATH and APP-ATH-MMT. The yields of CO, CO2, and O2 consumption were indicated much lower in the samples with APP-ATH-MMT than the other two combinations.

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Nanotechnology in Fire Protection—Application and Requirements

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14247849 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (24) ◽

pp. 7849

Author(s):

Anna Rabajczyk ◽

Maria Zielecka ◽

Tomasz Popielarczyk ◽

Tomasz Sowa

Keyword(s):

Fire Protection ◽

Fire Safety ◽

Protective Clothing ◽

Building Materials ◽

Fire Risk ◽

Safety Equipment ◽

Degradation Processes ◽

In Fire

Nanotechnology is used, to an increasing extent, in practically every aspect of the economy and society. One area where nanotechnology is constantly advancing is fire protection. Nanostructures are found in elements used in direct protection, such as in protective clothing, filters, and helmets. Solutions in the field of nanotechnology are also used in elements reducing the fire risk and increasing the fire safety, such as building materials and structures, paints, coatings, or fire safety equipment (e.g., fire detectors). However, new solutions may also pose a threat to the safety of people and the environment. As a result of operation or combustion and degradation processes, the emission of nano-substances with toxic properties may occur. Therefore, knowledge in this field is necessary, as it allows for the appropriate targeting and use of nanotechnology.

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Smoke Contribution Factor in Fire Hazard Classification of Building Materials

Symposium on Fire Test Methods—Restraint & Smoke 1966 ◽

10.1520/stp41307s ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 93-93-13

Author(s):

J. H. Shern

Keyword(s):

Building Materials ◽

Fire Hazard ◽

Hazard Classification ◽

In Fire

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Generation and analysis of toxic gases in fire -- Calculation of species yields, equivalence ratios and combustion efficiency in experimental fires

10.3403/30342723 ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

Combustion Efficiency ◽

Toxic Gases ◽

In Fire

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Fire Deaths in the Glasgow Area: I General Considerations and Pathology

Medicine Science and the Law ◽

10.1177/002580248102100305 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 175-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

R.A. Anderson ◽

A. A. Watson ◽

W. A. Harland

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Respiratory Tract ◽

Burn Injuries ◽

Smoke Inhalation ◽

Pathological Features ◽

Male And Female ◽

Soot Deposition ◽

Toxic Gases ◽

In Fire

A study of fire deaths, in operation in the Glasgow area since 1976, has been aimed at elucidating the role of smoke and toxic gases in fire fatalities, especially where these occurred in buildings. During the first 3 years of the project, 199 cases were examined of which 182 were eligible for inclusion in the study. This paper reports the major pathological features of these cases and gives details of the epidemiological and demographic statistics. Most of the fatalities (79 per cent) occurred in dwellings. While the old and young members of the community were shown to be particularly vulnerable, male and female casualties were approximately equal in number. The peak periods for fire deaths were at weekends and in the winter months. Burn injuries were present in 83 per cent of cases included in the study, and in 66 per cent these would have been sufficient to cause death, although it was difficult to distinguish between premortem and postmortem burns. Fatal levels of carbon monoxide were present in 52 per cent of the fatalities, and in these cases death was attributed to the inhalation of fire gases. Soot deposition in the respiratory tract as a result of smoke inhalation was observed in 91 per cent of the cases and further injury to the respiratory tract was present in 84 per cent of the cases. Evidence of significant haemolysis was present in 48 per cent of the fatalities. Chronic disease processes were also observed in many fatalities, including lung disease (16 per cent), cardiovascular disease (29 per cent) and liver disease (32 per cent). These rates reflect the high levels of incidence of these diseases in the Glasgow area.

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Defensible Spaces and Home Ignition Zones of Wildland-Urban Interfaces in the Fire-prone Areas of the World

10.20944/preprints201901.0256.v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shahriar Rahman ◽

Sanzida Rahman

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

High Risk ◽

Fire Resistance ◽

Architectural Design ◽

Building Materials ◽

Ground Cover ◽

The United States ◽

The World ◽

In Fire ◽

Ignition Zone

Wildland-Urban Interfaces (W-UI) are at high risk of wildfires. Defensible spaces and home ignition zones are the two main aspects to protect lives and livelihoods of W-UI in the United States, Canada and Australia. The different part of the world has different rules and regulations for W-UI land management. We have discussed the defensible spaces in fire-prone areas, current ignition zone distances from structures, building materials, architectural design, the fire resistance trees, ground cover, landscaping and some other precautions to save lives and assets in the prominent fire-prone zones for three different countries (United States, Canada and Australia) of the world.

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