CSU FIR3301 Unit v case study

Unit IV Case Study

For this assignment, you are to watch the video below. The video illustrates a
flashover in the mid-80s. Although it is an older video, it shows a narrow
wood-frame structure where a salamander kerosene heater in the hallway started a
fire that developed from ignition to a fully-developed fire after a flashover.
Please do not critique the tactics or the protective clothing worn in that era.
However, focus on the combustion as an exothermic chemical reaction between a fuel
(wood frame structure with wood bead board interior and kerosene) and an oxidizer,
resulting in the generation of substantive heat that lead to a flashover.

Background

It was a cold winter night with temperatures dropping in the low 30s. The homeowner
was using a salamander kerosene heater, which was common for that time, to stay
warm. During the morning he turned off the heat and filled the heater with more
kerosene. As he filled the heater, some kerosene spilled on the wood floor. The heat
from the heater burning all night cause the fuel to vaporize more than usual on a
cold day, and when he lit the heater it flashed, igniting the spilled kerosene.
Within three minutes from time of dispatch, the Orlando Fire Department was on the
scene with an engine company and a truck company. The truck company split into two
crews (inside and outside) to perform truck functions. The engine crews were just
making entry into the structure (about 2 feet inside the front door) when the
flashover occurred.

Click here to access the video clip.

Apply what you learned from the video using concepts from Chapters 7, 8, and 12 to
describe the fire. Discuss what led to the flashover. For example, was there enough
heat generated by the combustion (oxidation) process to ignite other materials. If
so, at what point? Was there fire plume under the ceiling? Was there filling of the
fire compartment by smoke? What was the smoke flow from the compartment regarding
any opening? What was the smoke movement?

Summarize your responses in a minimum of two pages in length.

To supplement your discussion and support your conclusions, you may use information
from reputable, reliable journal articles, case studies, scholarly papers, and other
sources that you feel are pertinent. All sources used, including the textbook, must
be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations in
proper APA style.

The purpose of this assignment is for you to apply the concepts and knowledge you
learned in this unit on the surveillance of the stages of fire in the video. Also,
this provides you with the opportunity to use your skills, expertise, and experience
to enrich your response.