Black Fire
A term used to describe smoke that is high volume, turbulent velocity (hot), ultradense, and _____. _______ is a sure sign of impending autoignition and flashover.
Boiling Point
The temperature where a liquid will convert to a gas at a vapor pressure equal to or greater than atmospheric pressure.
Combustion/Fire
A chemical reaction that includes the self-sustaining rapid oxidation of a fuel accompanied by the release of heat and light. Commonly referred to as ______.
Deflagration
Combustion rate below the speed of sound (subsonic).
Density
The mass per unit volume of a substance under specified conditions of pressure and temperature.
Detonation
Combustion rate above the speed of sound (super sonic).
Endothermic Reaction
Chemical reactions that absorb heat or require heat to bond atoms or molecules.
Evaporation
A process in which the molecules of a liquid are liberated into the atmosphere at a rate greater than the rate at which the molecules return to the liquid. Ultimately the liquid becomes fully airborne in a gaseous state.
Exothermic Reaction
A chemical reaction that results in heat release.
Fire Point
The lowest temperature at which a fuel off-gases an ignitable mixture that, when introduced to a spark or flame, will ignite and sustain burning.
Fire Tetrahedron
Four-sided pyramid-lig figure used to depict the four ingredients necessary for combustion; heat, fuel, oxygen, and chemical chain reaction.
Flammable Limits
The concentration level of a substance at which it will burn. ________________ are expressed as a percent range mixed in air.
Flashover
A sudden event that occurs when all the contents of a container reach their ignition temperature nearly simultaneously.
Flashpoint
The lowest temperature at which a fuel off-gases an ignitable mixture that, when introduced to a spark or flame, will briefly ignite, but not sustain burning.
Hostile Fire Event
A unique fire phenomenon (such as flashover, backdraft, and rapid fire spread) that takes place within a building.
Ignition Temperature
The lowest temperature that a fuel will off-gass an ignitable mixture that will self-ignite and continue to burn (also know as auto-ignition). May also be referred to as ignition point.
Matter
Something that occupies space and can be perceived by one or more senses; a physical body, a physical substance, or the universe as a whole. Something that has mass and exists as a solid, liquid, or gas.
Molecule
The smallest particle into which an element or a compound can be divided without changing its chemical and physical properties; a group of like or differnt atoms held together by chemical forces.
Oxidation
Any process in which oxygen combines with an element or substance.
Oxidizer
A substance that readily releases oxygen, and by yielding oxygen, an ________ can easily cause or enhance the combustion of other materials. ________ can dramatically increase the rate of burning when the combustible material is ignited.
Pyrolysis
Decomposition or transformation of a compound caused by heat.
Rollover
The intermittent ignition of lower-ignition-temperature gases within the upper thermal layer of a room. _______ is a warning sign of impending flashover.
Backdraft
The sudden and explosive ignition of pressurized, superheated, and oxygen-deprived gases (within a closed space) caused by the reintroduction of oxygen.
Smoke
The products of incomplete combustion or decomposition heating (pyrolysis) that include an aggregate of solids, liquids, and gases suspended in the thermal plume.
Thermal Layering
The stratification of gases produced by fire into layers based on their temperature.
Thermal Plume
A column of heat rising from a heat source. A fully formed plume will resemble a mushroom as the upper level of the heat plume cools, stratifies, and begins to drop outside the rising column.
Vapor Density
The weight of a gas compared to air. The weight of air has been given a value of "1" (at 70 degrees F and one atmosphere or, equivalently, 14.7 psi [21 degrees C and 101 kPa]). Gases that weigh more than air will have avalue greater than one and those lig
Vapor Pressure
The amount of force that is pushing vapors from a liquid.
Vaporization
The process in which liquids are converted to gas or vapor.