Fire hazard index

It is suggested then that fire hazard index , II (inflammation index), is defined by the following equation ... 

A Fire Hazard Index. There are a number of situations where all that is needed is an indication of whether a change in a specific commercial product is beneficial or not. In these cases, one can presume that the people exposed to the fire and the building in which the fire exists are fixed. Moreover, it must be established that toxicity is the sole threat to escape, not smoke obscuration or heat. 

Other important properties include Hash point, volatility, viscosity, specific gravity, cloud point, pour point, and smoke point. Most of these properties are related directly to the boiling range of the kerosene and are not independently variable. The flash point, an index of fire hazard, measures the readiness of a fuel to ignite when exposed to a flame. It is usually mandated by law or government regulation to be 120° or 130° F (48° or 72° C), Volatility, as measured... 

AIChE (1994) Dow s Fire Explosion Index Hazard Classification Guide, 7th Edition, 88 pp. AICheE, New York. 

Refer to Fire Explosion Index Hazard Classification Guide for details. 

True fire hazard can be determined only in a specific scenario. Therefore, it is necessary to determine which fire properties are most relevant to the scenario in question. These fire properties will then have to be measured and combined in order to obtain an overall index of fire hazard. As a general rule, it is clear that the most important individual property that governs levels of fire hazard is the rate of heat release the peak rate of heat release is proportional to the maximum intensity a fire will reach. 

Some of the other properties of interest for fire hazard assessment cannot be measured with RHR calorimeters. They include flame spread, limiting oxygen index (LOI, or simply oxygen index, 01 both names have been used, but the author s preferred nomenclature is the one used here) and fire endurance. 

Process industry has used the Dow Fire and Explosion Hazard Index (DOW, 1987) and the Mond Index (ICI, 1985) for many years. These indices deal with fire and explosion hazard rating of process plants. Dow and Mond Indices are rapid hazard-assessment methods for use on chemical plant, during process and plant development, and in the design of plant layout. They are best suited to later design stages when process equipment, chemical substances and process conditions are known. 

The Dow Fire and Explosion Hazard Index, the Mond Index, Hazop and PIIS are discussed here in more detail. The methods and their elements are also presented in Table 1. 

The purpose of the Dow Fire and Explosion Hazard Index (Dow, 1987) is to 1) quantify the expected damage of potential fire and explosion incidents in realistic terms, 2) identify equipment that would be likely to contribute to the creation or escalation of an incident and 3) communicate the fire and explosion risk potential to management. The Dow Index is the product of the Unit Hazard Factor and the Material Factor (Table 1). 

The values of the factors are determined on the basis of the Dow s Fire Explosion Hazard Index Classification Guide (Dow, 1987). The Guide includes rules and tables, which cover well the most chemical substances and unit operations. 

Also indices such as the Dow Fire and Explosion Hazard Index and the Mond Index have been suggested to measure the degree of inherent SHE of a process. Rushton et al. (1994) pointed out that these indices can be used for the assessment of existing plants or at the detailed design stages. They require detailed plant specifications such as the plot plan, equipment sizes, material inventories and flows. Checklists, interaction matrices, Hazop and other hazard identification tools are also usable for the evaluation, because all hazards must be identified and their potential consequences must be understood. E.g. Hazop can be used in different stages of process design but in restricted mode. A complete Hazop-study requires final process plans with flow sheets and PIDs. 

The frequently used Dow Fire Explosion Hazard Index (1987) gives penalties for fired equipment and certain specified rotating equipment. These are a part of the Special Process Hazards term of the Dow Index. 

Dow Chemical Company. 1987. DOW S Fire Explosion Index Hazard Classification Guide. 6th ed. New York American Institute of Chemical Engineers. 

Fire and Explosion Index (E E1) A hazard index developed by Dow Chemical Company used to rank fire and explosion hazards in a chemical process. 

American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), 1981. DOW s Fire Explosion Index Hazard classification guide, New York. 

Data Sources, Reaction Hazard index, and National Fire Protection Association Reactivity Rating... 

A, Flashpoint Index of Tradename Liquids (8800 items), 1972 325M, Fire Hazard Properties of Flammable Liquids, Gases and Volatile Solids (1300 items), 1969... 

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