The Combustion Process

What makes a fire burn? Why is one fire a roaring inferno while another barely
creeps along? Fire is a chemical reaction in which energy in the form of heat is
produced. When forest fuels burn, there is a chemical combination of the oxygen in
the air with woody material, pitch and other burnable elements found in the forest
environment. This process in known as Combustion.
Combustion is a chain reaction chemically similar to photosynthesis in reverse.
Photosynthesis requires a large amount of heat which is furnished by the sun. The
Combustion process releases this heat. The tremendous amount of heat that is
produced in the burning process is the major reason that the suppression of wildfires is
such a difficult task and why the use of prescribed fire is a complex and exacting
process requiring knowledgeable and experienced people.
The combustion process or fire is sometimes called rapid oxidation. It is similar to the
formation of rust on iron or the decay of dead wood in the forest, except that the
process is drastically speeded up.
Fire begins with ignition. The match is a common ignition device. Friction creates
sufficient heat to ignite the phosphorus on the end of the match. Combustion occurs
and the match flames.
Heat is necessary to begin the combustion process. Once started, fire produces its
own heat. Wild land fires originate from such sources of heat as matches, embers from
cigarettes, cigars or pipes, campfires, trash fires, exhaust sparks from railroad
locomotives, sparks from brake shoes or hot-box on railroad cars. lightning,
spontaneous combustion, hot ashes and arson.

The Fire Triangle

Three things are required in proper combination before ignition and combustion can
take place---Heat, Oxygen and Fuel.

1. There must be Fuel to burn.

2. There must be Air to supply oxygen.
3. There must be Heat (ignition temperature) to start and continue the
combustion process.
Heat is Energy
Sources of heat are:

Sun
Atomic

Volcanoes

Fires

The Sun is the major source of heat.

Heat from the sun drives our weather.
With a continuous supply of heat (furnished by the combustion process itself), the
ignition of additional fuel will continue as long as there is enough oxygen
present. Thus it is obvious that these three elements must be present and satisfactorily
combined before combustion can occur and continue. For the sake of simplicity we
call this as Fire Triangle.
Remove any one of the three sides or elements and the fire will cease to
burn. Weaken any one, and the fire will weaken. Increase any one or more of the
elements, and the fire will increase in intensity. Armed with this knowledge the fire
fighter or the prescribed burner can do much to manage a fire.
There are various ways in which the fire triangle can be broken or altered. One
example of how the triangle can be broken can be done with a short candle and a
jar. Light the candle and set it on a flat surface. After its burning well, place the jar

upside-down over the candle. After a short time, the candle will go out. This occurs
because all of the oxygen inside the jar has been used up by the burning candle and no
additional oxygen can get to the candle because of the jar. Before you put the jar over
the burning candle, you had all the ingredients necessary for combustion; heat from
the match, fuel in the candle and oxygen from the air.
Relight the candle. This time, take a pair of scissors and cut off the wick below the
flame and remove the candle. Again, the fire will go out after a short period when the
rest of the wick that was left on the scissors is consumed. This time you had plenty of
oxygen in the air but you removed the fuel. The same principle is used in fighting
wildfires. Remove heat, oxygen or fuel and the fire goes out.
In suppression of a wildfire, the objective is to stop combustion by removing or
altering one or more sides of the triangle.
Stages of combustion: flaming stages (see pictures from lab)
Pre-heating : temperature of the fuel is raised to the point where gases start to volatize
Pre-ignition : volatile materials in the fuel are vaporized
Flaming : the ignition temperature of the fuel is reached and combustion begins
Transition : fuel is partially consumed by combustion while flaming continues in
portions of the fuel resulting in initiation of smoldering and smoke generation
Smoldering : combustion of the fuel is essentially complete where oxygen is available
and smoldering continues resulting in smoke generation
Glowing: a stage of combustion where oxygen is limited
The four most important stages of combustion for prescribed burners are,
pre-ignition (fuel is about to burst into flame)
flaming : active combustion
transition : smoke generation begins
smoldering : residual smoke production

Suppressing fire and smoke generation (segment on Suppression)

When a wildfire has started, we try to remove the oxygen side of the triangle by
smothering the fire with a fire retardant, foam, dirt or water in a fine spray or
fog. They will replace the oxygen around the fuel affecting one side of the fire
triangle. They also absorb heat and thus also alter the heat side of the
triangle. Retardants will coat the fuel and protect it from the heat even after the water
has evaporated. They also inhibit the flaming combustion by chemical action. Foams
also coat the fuel and last longer than water. They reduce heat as well as supply of
oxygen to the fuel. They will adhere to vertical fuel and can be easily applied by
ground units.
Water absorbs vast amounts of heat, especially when applied as a fog. Each droplet
absorbs a large amount of heat which turns the water into a hot gas or vapor
(steam). The hot steam is then dispersed by the wind into the atmosphere. However,
water is heavy and it is difficult to deliver it to the fireline in inaccessible areas. There
is also the possibility of running out at the most inappropriate time and losing the fire.
In forest conditions, one of the more important approaches to suppression of wildfires
is removal of the third side of the triangle--Fuel. The fuel is removed by building a
fireline thus separating the fuels. When the wildfire burns up to the fireline, no more
fuel is available and the fire goes out. The fire line is usually constructed with a
tractor-plow unit or by hand. (In the Western part of the United States, bulldozers and
handcrews are used because of the steep, rocky conditions.) In some areas, helitack
crews and specialized ground equipment are used.
Removing Fuel
Removing the fuel source is the most common method of attacking wildfires. This
method does not extinguish the fire. The fire continues to burn until the fuel inside
the fireline is consumed. Removal of fuel in the path of the fire prevents the fire from
spreading. A slowly advancing fire burning sparse ground fuels may be checked by
constructing a fireline down to mineral soil. A hot, fast-running fire may require
several firelines, burning out the fuel between the firelines and the fire or a
combination of both.