More about Vertical ventilation when structures are very close together. It seems to be a hard subject to get used to or understand. Im sure the point of this post was to draw attention to how close the structures are to one another and horizontal ventilation, before the fire is extinguished would transfer the fire to the next structure. The point I was trying to make was that cutting holes in the roof and opening the ceilings was not just letting heat and toxic smoke out into the environment. The vertical ventilation tactic is a bad tactic IF the fire has NOT already been fully extinguished. My example of a pot bellied fire place can show how opening a hole at the top will cause a suction that will draw in fresh clean air, but the air will contain new oxygen also, and that new oxygen makes conditions much worse in the structure by creating more heat and toxic smoke which makes the fire fighters need more water to extinguish the fire. And more water may not be available and even if it is, it will mean more toxic pollution in the amount of water run-off. If you keep the windows and doors closed UNTIL THE FIRE HAS BEEN EXTINGUISHED the invisible CO2 created by the combustion of the structer and its contents will help extinguish the fire in hidden areas and even in other parts of the structure. THEN it doesnt really matter how you get the toxic smoke out of the structure because the new fresh air with 21% oxygen will not have an ignition source to make any new heat or smoke. And there will be much less water needed and there will be much less contamination both in the air and in the water shed. There is no good reason to risk fire fighters lives by climbing up on the roof of a burning structure to let the heat out before the fire is fully extinguished. Am I the only one that knows about CO2 being created by the fire? Or better yet, am I the only one that has ever considered how to use the CO2 and ventilation to extinguish more fire with less water ? I say surely not, but I never see anyone ever mention it and the testing labs have never knowingly tested it. The picture is of a couple of Joshuas best about to get a surprise from a dragon.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:55:42 +0000