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Fire Investigator > Basic Fire Methodology > Flashcards

Basic Fire Methodology Flashcards

1
Q

Testing the hypothesis can be done through different forms, but in the fire investigative field, it is most often done by testing and ____

A

Deductive reasoning

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2
Q

More likely true than not (more than 50 percent likely to be true)

A

Probable

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3
Q

Feasible (often used when two hypotheses hav the same level of certainty)

A

Possible

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4
Q

Not enough certainty to be considered an expert opinion

A

Suspected

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5
Q

The investigator has to approach every incident with an open mind and without presumptions or ____

A

Expectation Bias

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6
Q

Every ____ must fully understand the fundamental properties of fire and fire development to determine accurately the origin and cause of any fire or explosion event

A

Fire Investigator

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7
Q

Four components must be present for a fire to occur (also known as the fire tetrahedron)

A

Fuel, oxidizing agent, heat, uninhibited chemical chain reaction

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8
Q

The most common fuels an investigator will encounter are ____

A

Organic fuels, which contain carbon (e.g. wood, plastics and petroleum products

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9
Q

Most fires require an ____ , like oxygen from the air, to support the combustion process

A

Oxidizing agent

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10
Q

The rate at which heat is released, known as the ____; is measured in joules per second or watts

A

Heat release rate

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11
Q

An ____ provides a self-sustaining event that continues to develop fuel vapors and sustain flames even after the removal of the ignition source

A

Uninhibited chemical chain reaction

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12
Q

During a fire, materials may ____ as a result of being heated

A

Change their physical state

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13
Q

Changes in physical state due to being heated include ____ and ____

A

Melting; vaporization

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14
Q

Flames produced during the combustion process can be categorized as either ____ or ____

A

Pre-mixed; diffused

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15
Q

If a fire has a limited amount of air for combustion, an increase in the amount of visible products of combustion, such as ____, ____ and ____ will occur

A

Soot, smoke; carbon monoxide

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16
Q

The ____ should not be relied on as an indicator of the material burning

A

Color of smoke

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17
Q

Fluid flows, heat transfer, ignition and flame spread, fuel packages, heat flux and the distinction between fuel-controlled fires and ventilation-controlled fires are all components of ____

A

Fire dynamics

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18
Q

Fluids include both liquids and gases, but in fires, we are generally focused on ____

A

Gas flows

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19
Q

____ naturally moves from areas of higher temperature to lower temperature through heat transfer, measured as ____ per unit of time

A

Heat energy; energy flow

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20
Q

The study of the science, methodology and practice of temperature measurement

A

Thermometry

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21
Q

The ____ of a given fire will be a reflection of the potential energy

A

Total fuel load

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22
Q

The total fuel load does not determine ____

A

How fast the fire develops once ignition occurs

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23
Q

The ____ within a fuel package are factors that influence the speed and intensity of a particular fire, as well as the best method of fire extinguishment

A

Specific fuel items

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24
Q

The power of a fire is determined by calculating its ____, the energy being released by the individual fuels being consumed

A

Heat release rate (HRR)

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25
Q

The power of the fire is measured in either ____ or ____

A

Watts; kilowatts

26
Q

Generally, larger flame heights correspond to higher rates of heat release, but this holds true only when the fuel packages being compared are in the ____ in a compartment

A

Same relative location

27
Q

An ____ can be defined as either smoldering or flaming or as either piloted or autoignition

A

Ignition source

28
Q

____ may also ignite without a piloted ignition source if the gas-air mixture is heated to its autoignition temperature

A

Flammable gases

29
Q

____ are not only dependent on the individual fuel properties, but also the position and orientation of the fuel surfaces

A

Rates of flame spread

30
Q

When a material melts, it flows with gravity, usually colleting on a ____ below the object and allowing the flames to spread away from the burning fuel to other fuel packages

A

Horizontal surface

31
Q

The rate of flame spread may be accelerated through ____ produced by other burning objects and from the upper gas layers of a compartment fire

A

Radiant heat

32
Q

Whereas flame spread involves the movement of fire across the surface of a fuel item, fire spread refers to ____ of other fuel items and ____ that may be present or located nearby

A

Ignition; packages

33
Q

A ____ is when the size of the fire is controlled by how much fuel is burning

A

Fuel controlled fire

34
Q

After ____, the room is said to be fully involved and progresses from fuel-controlled burning to ventilation-controlled burning

A

Flashover

35
Q

One of the major determining factors in whether flashover will occur is the presence of a ____ with sufficient energy to radiate downward to involve exposed fuel packages

A

Hot gas layer

36
Q

The process of air or gases being drawn into a fire, plume or jet

A

Air entrainment

37
Q

The lowest temperature at which a combustible material ignites in air without a spark or flame

A

Autoignition temperature (AIT)

38
Q

A relatively thin layer of flowing hot gases that develops under a horizontal surface (e.g. ceiling) as a result of plume impingement and the flowing gas being forced to move horizontally

A

Ceiling jet

39
Q

a chemical process of oxidation that occurs at a rate fast enough to produce heat and usually light in the form of either a flow or flames

A

Combustion

40
Q

Heat transfer to another body or within a body by direct contact

A

Conduction

41
Q

Heat transfer by circulation within a medium such as a gas or a liquid

A

Convection

42
Q

A flame in which the fuel and air mix or diffuse together at the region of combustion

A

Diffusion flame

43
Q

Reaction characterized by or formed with evolution of heat

A

Exothermic reaction

44
Q

The detailed study of how chemistry, fire science and the engineering disciples of fluid mechanics and heat transfer interact to influence fire behavior

A

Fire dynamics

45
Q

The lowest temperature at which a volatile combustible substance continues to burn in air after its vapors have been ignited (as when heating is continued after the flash point has been determined)

A

Fire point

46
Q

A transition phase in the development of a compartment fire in which surfaces exposed to thermal radiation reach ignition temperature more or less simultaneously and fire spreads rapidly throughout the space, resulting in full room involvement or total involvement of the compartment or enclosed space

A

Flashover

47
Q

A material that will maintain combustion under specified environment conditions

A

Fuel

48
Q

A fire in which the heat release rate and growth rate are controlled by the characteristics of the fuel, such as quantity and geometry and in which adequate air for combustion is availabe

A

Fuel-controlled fire

49
Q

Any articles that are capable of burning

A

Fuel items

50
Q

The total quantity of combustible contents of a building, space or fire area, including interior finish and trim, expressed in heat units or the equivalent weight in wood

A

Fuel load

51
Q

A collection or array of fuel items in close proximity with one another such that flames can spread throughout the array

A

Fuel package

52
Q

A form of energy characterized by vibration of molecules that is capable of initiating an d supporting chemical changes and changes of state

A

Heat

53
Q

The amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of a unit mass 1 degree, under specified conditions

A

Heat capacity

54
Q

The measurement of the rate of heat transfer to a surface, expressed in kilowatts/m2, kilojoules/m2 sec, or Btu/ft2 sec

A

Heat flux

55
Q

The rate at which heat energy is generated by burning

A

Heat release rate (HRR)

56
Q

The transport of heat energy from one point to another caused by temperature difference between those points

A

Heat transfer

57
Q

The line where the flow of the hot gas and cooler air changes

A

Neutral plane

58
Q

A substance that promotes oxidation during the combustion process

A

Oxidizing agent

59
Q

The conversion of a material from one state of matter to another that is reversible and does not change the chemical composition of the material

A

Phase change

60
Q

The column of hot gases, flames and smoke rising above a fire; also called convection; column, thermal updraft or thermal column

A

Plume

Fire Investigator (3 decks)

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