Fire appliances

Check fire-fighting capability and access for fire appliances. Liaison with emergency services. 

Hot gases rise by thermal lift. Hence in the open air they will disperse. Within buildings this is a serious cause of fire escalation and toxic/asphyxiation hazards if smoke and hot gases are able to spread without restriction (or venting) to upper levels. A balanced flue can serve to effectively isolate a combustion process in a gas-fired appliance, but must be sound in construction and unrestricted to avoid leaks. 

A Category 2 incident is one clearly recognizable from the outset as beyond the capability of the forces to hand. The emergency services should be informed immediately of the magnitude of the incident and the specific location. The resources sent in response, e.g. the number of fire appliances, ambulances, police, need to be predetermined by good pre-planning. 

A balanced flue can serve to effectively vent a combustion process in a gas-fired appliance, but must be sound in construction and unrestricted to avoid leaks. 

Yamanaka S, Hirose H, Takada S. 1979. Nitrogen oxides emissions from domestic kerosene-fired and gas-fired appliances. Atmos Environ 13(3) 407-412. 

It is therefore considered necessary to provide first-aid fire appliances to deal with the incipient fires which if allowed to grow unchecked, might pose hazard to personnel, plant and property. Adequate water supply is essential for fire fighting and the protection of explosives from attack by fire. 

Emissions from fireplaces and stoves have been reported in several studies testing furnaces and wood fuel typical for different areas of the world. Wood smoke emissions typical for central Europe were investigated by Schmidl et al. [22, 23]. In these studies, different common European wood types were analysed to derive chemical profiles of wood combustion emissions for various types of wood. An overview of the fuel wood types used in the Alpine countries is given by Kistler et al. [24]. In the above-mentioned emission studies, wood has been burnt in a tiled wood stove [22] and in two automatically and two manually fired appliances [23]. The authors found a high variability for the emissions from small-scale manually fired wood combustion appliances in the performed individual tests. 

Measurement of air-to-fuel ratio and minimum achievable burn rates for wood-fired appliances Determination of metals emissions from stationary sources... 

Fire appliances should have easy access to hazardous areas with allowance being made for variable wind direction. The siting of fire hydrants should reflect this. The layout of road tanker loading/discharge bays should allow for a tanker to be driven out forwards and without difficult manoeuvring in the event of fire. 

UL ANSI/UL384-1991 Primary safety controls for gas- and oil-fired appliances (1985) UL ANSI/UL 372-1985 ... 

A fire appliance and equipment maintenance person was appointed, and the post was made a full-time position. 

Carbon monoxide is rarely used in the laboratory, and you are more likely to encounter risk from carbon monoxide poisoning at home. Carefully examine all potential sources of carbon monoxide to ensure that you and others are not exposed. Carbon monoxide detectors are relatively inexpensive, and, along with smoke detectors, every home that uses any gas or fuel-fired appliance should have one. 

Similarly gas fired appliances generate carbon dioxide within the occupied space at a greater rate than emissions from the ground on many low risk sites. 

Reasonable provision shall be made within the site of the building to enable fire appliances to gain access to the building. 

Fire appliances are not standardised in the UK the widths, lengths and weights of fire appliances vary from fire authority to fire authority therefore the local building authority will normally inform planners of the exact dimensions that may be required. In terms of load-bearing capacity it is normally considered that roadways capable of supporting 12.5 tonnes per axle are sufficient. 

Are all fire appliances correctly labelled, sited and maintained ... 

State the number, type and location of fire appliances and the system for ensuring regular servicing of such appliances. 

This incorporates a number of features, including the design of fire detection equipment, the maintenance of all facilities, as well as fire appliances, with the principal objective of preventing a potential major fire from starting. Fire prevention measures include segregation of areas, specific procedures covering potential fire hazards in processes such as welding, and inspection of equipment, facilities and systems on a frequent basis. 

FLUE GASES. The corrosivity of flue gases to aluminum alloys depends on the sulfur content of the fuel being burned and if condensation is present. The sulfur content of fuels increases in the following order processed natural gas, fuel oil. hard coal, soft coal. Aluminum alloys have been widely used for flue linings and vent pipes serving domestic gas-fired appliances and has been specified by many gas companies and public utilities. Aluminum alloy flue liners have been widely used for house chimneys. Generally, aluminum alloys will suffer some corrosion if condensation is present in the flue. See also Ref (1) p. 133. 

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