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Physics Of A Firefighter

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The art of reading fire is a very important skill that anyone should know how to do. Firefighters are the best at knowing when and where they need to attack the fire first. One can learn a lot about what a fire is going to do before it happens based on the smoke alone. When the first truck rolls up on scene and there is smoke billowing out of every nook and cranny of a burning structure, the majority of the time somebody on that truck is going to know exactly where that fire is located before any regular civilian would.
The first and foremost thing on any fireman’s mind is there safety. If the area or task is not safe they will move their thing to somewhere that is or they will not run into a burning building. According to Charles M. Hayes …show more content…

B-SAHF stands for building/context, smoke, air track, heat, and flame (firefighternation.com). In the late 1990s, firefighters came up with the idea of the B-SAHF system. The main focus is the SAFH part, but it is also important to think about what is actually burning. No two fires are going to behave the same way so it is very important for somebody to constantly monitor the fire itself to let everyone else know what is going on. Not every home or building is going to be saved due to the fact that the fire could have spread to the roof. Most of the time when that happens, the structure is a total loss.
All outside fires may not be put out and they may get out of control and become a cause for evacuation. Wind is a major factor for any fire but when it comes to an outside fire, it becomes a whole different ballgame. If firefighters are fighting on one side of the blaze and the wind were to shift, the fire is more likely to get out of hand again. A drought is probably the main struggle for fire due to the constant source of fuel that is available.
S(smoke) is the is the first part of the B-SAHF method. One can gain a lot of knowledge about a fire just based off smoke alone. In order to gain this knowledge, firefighters have to look at the color of the smoke, as well as the volume,velocity/speed flow, and density of the fire. After the firemen have taken this information into account, then they …show more content…

Smoke velocity is the number one cause of flashover. Flashover is defined by the NFPA as, "A transitional phase in the development of a compartment fire in which each surface exposed to thermal radiation reaches its 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 area." The velocity of the smoke allows for one to locate the fire and extinguish it if capable before the flashover event occurs. The majority of the time flashover will be what causes the injuries so the sooner the fire can be located and extinguished the

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