Fire research abstracts and reviews: Volume 13, 1971 (1971)

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Volume 13 Number 3 Fire Research Abstracts and Reviews Committee on Fire Research Division of Engineering National Research Council N A T I O N A L A C A D E M Y O F S C I E N C E S "Washington, D. C . 1971

F I R E R E S E A R C H A B S T R A C T S A N D R E V I E W S is published three times a year by the Committee on Fire Research of the Division of Engmeermg— National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, Washington, D C . I t is supported by the Office of Civil Defense of the Department of the Army, the U. S. Department of Agnculture through the Forest Service, the National Science Foundation, and the National Bureau of Standards. The opimons expressed by contributors are theu- own and are not necessarily those of the Committee on Fae Research Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the Umted States Government. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 58-60075 rev Available without charge from the Office of the Committee on Fire Research National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council Washington, D. C. 20418 Back issues of F R A R beginning with Volume 13, No. 1 may be purchased from the National Techmcal Information Service (NTIS) , Operations Division, Spnngfield, Virginia 22151. At present Volume 13, No. 1 is available; A D 732481

FOREWORD I t is with regret that your editor must report the death of Mrs. Emma Jane Whipple, Staff Associate to the Committee on Fire Research. Mrs. Whipple has been with the Committee smce its mception. She has enthusiastically served the Committee and the entire fire research field through many tasks: the editmg of the Biannual Directory of Fire Research; editorial assistance on Fire Research Ab- stracts and Reviews and the multitude of details which arose m the arrangmg and editmg of the vanous symposia She was always helpful and above all, enthusiastic. Those of us who have worked with her will miss her pleasant, cheerful manner and sharp eye for detail which has made the pubhcations of the Committee a source of pnde to us. The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control has begun a series of pubhc hearmgs. They are scheduled m "Washmgton, D .C . , February 15-17; m Dallas, Texas, April 25-26; m Los Angeles, Cahfomia, June 27-28; m San Fran- cisco, Cahforma, June 29, and finally in Washmgton, D . C . , June 13, 1973. These hearmgs provide an excellent forum and as many of you as possible should plan to attend the hearings. If you feel that you have testimony of interest to the com- mission you should contact- Mr. Clayton Wilhs Director of Pubhc Affairs and Congressional Relations National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control 1730 K Street, N.W. Washmgton, D . C . 20006 This issue begins with a senes of papers from the Symposium held by the Com- mittee on the "Role of Chemistry m Fire Problems." This mterestmg series pro- vided an excellent summary of the contnbutions to the Fire Field from the area of chemistry. We also have a French article on Forest Fu:es translated by Dr. G . Ordway. In the next issue, we plan to begm a series of articles describmg multidisciplmary programs m the area of fire We soUcit short commumcations to acquamt our readers with the Fire Research Programs which exist m this and other countnes and the objectives and specialties which they have. R O B E R T M . F R I S T B O M , Editor

NOTICE The study reported herein was undertaken under the aegis of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council with the express approval of the Governing Board of the N R C . Such approval indicated that the Board considered that the problem is of national significance, that elucidation and solution of the problem required scientific or techmcal competence and that the resources of N R C were particularly smtable to the conduct of the project. The mstitutional responsi- bihties of the N R C were then discharged m the followmg manner' The members of the study committee were selected for their mdividual scholarly competence and judgment with due consideration for the balance and breadth of disciplmes. Responsibihty for all aspects of this report rests with the study com- mittee, to whom smcere appreciation is expressed. Although the reports of study committees are not submitted for approval to the Academy membership or to the Council, each report is reviewed by a second group of scientists accordmg to procedures estabhshed and monitored by the Academy's Report Review Committee. Such reviews are mtended to detennme, inter aha, whether the major questions and relevant points of view have been addressed and whether the reported findings, conclusions and recommendations arose from the available data and information. Distnbution of the report is per- mitted only after satisfactory completion of this review process.

CONTENTS Volume 13 Number 3 P A P E R S P R E S E N T E D A T F I R E R E S E A R C H C O M M I T T E E S Y M - POSIUM—Role of Chemistry in Fire Problems. Page An Introduction to Combustion Chemistry—^W. G. Berl 153 Chemical Thermodynamics and Fire Problems—D. R. Stull 161 The Role of Chemistry in Fire Problems—Gas Phase Combustion Kinetics—R. Friedman 187 Condensed Phase Combustion Chemistry—L. A. Wall 204 Contributions of Analytical Chemistry to Fire Problems—H. W. Carhart. 220 The Chemistry of Fire Resistant Materials and Suppression—I. N . Einhorn 236 Summary—H. W. Emmons 268 A Chemists Summary—R. M. Fristrom 273 Comment—C. W. Beckett 277 A B S T R A C T S A N D R E V I E W S A. Prevention of Fires and Fire Safety Measures A Relationship Between Fire Grading and Building Design and Con- tents—M. Law 278 B. Ignition of Fires The Ignition of Plastic Materials in Dwellings—S. E . Chandler 279 C. Detection of Fires Detection of Fires in Cable Tunnels—^M. J . O'Dogherty, R. A. Young and A. Lange 279 D. Propagation of Fires The Fire Propagation Test as a Measure of Fire Spread Correlation with Full Scale Fires in Corridors—H. L . Malhotra, W. A. Morris and J . S. Hopkinson 280

vi CONTENTS E. Suppression of Fires Some Experimental Studies of the Control of Developing Fires in High Racked Storages by a Sprinkler System—P. Nash, N. W. Bridge and R. A. Young 280 Extinction of Laboratory Hydrocarbon Fires with a Synthetic Foam— J . G. Corrie and D. J . Griffiths 281 The Application of High Expansion Foam to Wood Crib Fires—P. F . Thome and R. A. Young 282 Evaluation of a Novel, Slurry Type Fire Extinguishing Agent—^J. L . Buckley 282 The Vibrations to Which Dry Powder Extinguishers May be Subjected During Storage—P. F . Thorne 283 The Number of Sprinkler Heads Opening in Fires—R. Baldwin and M. A. North 284 Extinction of Industrial Fires by Foams—P. Nash and D. W. F i t t e s . . . 285 F. Fire Damage and Salvage G. Combustion Engineering H. Chemical Aspects of Fires Coupled Gas Chromatography—Mass Spectrometry and Its Application to the Thermal Decomposition Products of Cellulose—W. D. Woolley a n d F . N . Wrist 286 The Effect of Flame Retardants on Thermal Degradation of a-Cellulose in Nitrogen—A. E . Lipska and S. B. Martin 287 A Prehminary Study of the Thermal Decomposition of Polyurethane Foams by Elemental Ultramicroanalysis—^W. D. Woolley and P. Field. 289 Radiation Temperatures of Forest Fires—^D. Packham and A. Pompe 290 Carbon Monoxide Production in Charcoal Briquette Fires—L. L . Wilt- shire and R. S. Alger 290 I. Physical Aspects of Fires Thermal Measurements on Unprotected Steel Columns Exposed to Wood and Petrol Fires—A. J . M. Heselden, C. R. Theobald and G. K . Bedford : 291 Fire at Wulfrun Shopping Centre, Wolverhampton, 24.12.70—^A. Silcock and P. L . Hinkley 291 Measurements of the DjTiamics of Structural Fires—S. J . Wiersma and S. B. Martin 292 J. Meteorological Aspects of Fires Calibration of Surface Wind Speed Observations in Canada—A. J . Simard 293

CONTENTS V i i E . Physiological and Psychological Problems from Fires Study on Injurious Properties of Combustion Products of Building Ma- terials at Initial Stage of Fire—K. Kishitani : 293 L. Operations Research, Mathematical Methods and Statistics An Association Between Fire Spread and Casualties in Fire—M. A. North and R. Baldwin 295 Fire Deaths in the Fust Quarter of 1971—S. E . Chandler 296 Fire Deaths in the Second Quarter of 1971—S. E . Chandler 296 Information Systems for Urban Fire Protection Planning: A Case Study —J.J.Gaudette,Jr 296 ModeUng the Dynamic Behavior of Building Fires—B. T . Lee 297 Fu-es i n Hospitals—S. E . Chandler 298 Large Fires During 1970—G. Ramachandran, P. Kirsop and C. Eveleigh 299 Smoke Tests in New Law Courts Building—E. G. Butcher and M. H a l l . . . 299 Auto Diallers in the United Kingdom—C. M. Jessop and E . D . Chambers. 300 M. Model Studies and Scaling Laws N. Instrumentation and Fire Equipment O. Miscellaneous Some Notes on the Control of Smoke in Enclosed Shopping Centres— P. L . Hinkley 300 Fire Fighting Operations in Hamburg, Germany During World War I I — C . F . MiUer 301 Flammable Fabrics Data Sources, An Information System Printout— C . C . Clark, M . F . Musson and J . Horhck 302 Department of the Environment and Fire Research Offices' Committee Joint Fire Research Organization List of Reports Pubhshed 1958 to March 1971 303 National Data Needs: Fire Service Statistics, U. S. Department of Com- merce, Bureau of Census 303 B O O K S I F S T A Catalog of Pubhcations and Training Aids—International Fire Service Training Association 303 References to Scientific Literature on Fire, Part XX.1969—^J. Crees 304 United Kingdom Fire and Loss Statistics 1969—^Department of the Environment and Fire Offices' Committee Joint Fire Research Or- ganization 304

viii CONTENTS P E R I O D I C A L S Record: Property Conservation Engineering and Management—Factory Mutual Engineering Corporation 305 Fire Control Notes—^U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service 305 Fire Research 1970—Department of the Environment and Fire Offices' Committee Joint Fire Research Organization 305 T R A N S L A T I O N Some Measurements and Observation on the Photodynamics of Burnt Areas in Bas-Languedoc—L. Trabaud 306 M E E T I N G S International Symposium and 15th Nordic Fire Protection Day 1969— Proceedings of Lectures and Discussions on Plastics, Fire, Corrosion— Swedish Fire Protection Association 316 Symposium on Employment of Air Operations in Fire Services—^Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois (June 9-10, 1971)—Committee on Fire Research, National Academy of Science 316 The Fourteenth Symposium (International) on Combustion—^Pennsyl- vania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania (August 20-25, 1972) 317