The Fire Triangle and Wildland Fires

The Fire Triangle and Wildland Fires

Objectives Draw and label the 3 aspects of the fire triangle Be able to suppress a fire by removing one part of the fire triangle Identify variables that effect the behavior of wildland fires Identify safe actions and behaviors required for experimenting with fire

Procedure Person 1 Fix the candle to the inside bottom of the jar using the clay Do not light any matches until told to do so Drop all burned matches into beaker of water Light the candle Using the spray bottle, spray the flame with a small amount of water What happens?(when we sprayed water on ) What did you remove that a fire needs? (Fire needs, and we removed that.)

Procedure Person 2 Relight the candle After it is lit put the lid on top of your jar What happens? (When we put the lid on ) What did you remove that a fire needs? (Fire needs and we removed that.) Let the lid cool then remove the lid

Procedure Person 3 Put ¼ cup of vinegar into flask & measure out 1 tsp of baking soda Relight your candle Add your baking soda into the flask and let sit until bubbles stop or fizzing slows down Tilt flask over the flame in the glass jar and pour the gas only over the candle without pouring any liquid into the jar. What happens? (When we poured gas over the flame ) What did you remove that fire needs? (Fire needs and we removed that.)

Procedure Person 4 Blow into your jar to displace any carbon dioxide Relight the candle and observe the candle as it burns all the way down What happens? (When we let the candle burn all the way down ) What did you remove that fire needs? (Fire needs and we removed that.)

So, what are the 3 parts of the Fire Triangle?

Fire Triangle A model for understanding the ingredients necessary for most fires

Sketch and label your candle & jar model and identify the parts that represent the components of the fire triangle

The Fire Triangle If you add all 3 components of the fire triangle together in the correct mixture, the result is fire If you remove any one of the components, the fire is extinguished

What is Fire? Fire is a rapid chemical reaction in which oxygen in the air and a fuel combine to produce heat, light, water vapor and other byproducts. The products of fire are completely new and different from the original material.

Important Terms Fuel-burnable material Oxygen-elemental gas needed for humans to breath and fires to burn Ignition source-anything that provides enough heat, spark, or flame to start a fire in fuel Combustion-the process of burning

Wildfires or Wildland Fires Clean & put materials back into bin On a brand new page in your notebook write the heading Matchstick Forest Gather materials: 1 drilled wooden square, matches, 1 nail and spray bottle Each table will test a different variable and each table will have a slightly different setup The matches will represent: trees with flammable crowns The slant of the board represents: the slope of the land

Matchstick Forests Data Table Without wind Observations With wind Observations flat flat slight slope slight slope steep slope steep slope Less dense Less dense

Matchstick Forest Model Trim/cut and attach data table to page in your notebook Insert a match into every hole in your board The tables assigned to the less dense forest need to remove any 12 of your match sticks (not on edges) and place them back into match box Set up your board: flat, slight slope, or steep slope as instructed by your teacher

Matchstick Forest Model As a class we will all observe each group one at a time and record our observations in the data table Flat board-light any match along any edge of your forest Slight slope-light middle match on bottom Steep slope-light middle match on bottom For less dense lightning will strike a tree at random (the teacher is the lightning strike)

Matchstick Forest Model After recording your observations remove all burnt matches (using the nail to push out any matches you can t pull out) leave all unburnt matches in your board. Skip a line after your data table and answer the following in complete sentences

Conclusion of Fire Triangle & Wildland Fires 1. Have you ever tried to light a fire in a fireplace or while camping or other situation? What are some factors/variables that might make it difficult to light the fire? 2. Would the same factors/variables be true for a wildland fire? 3. If you had to face a wildfire what weather conditions and topography would you hope for? Explain why. 4. What safety precautions should be taken when experimenting with fire?

Colorado Springs and Wildland Fires Which of the topography models represent what happened last year in the Waldo Canyon fire? The recent Black Forest Fire? What weather conditions were present during both of these Colorado Springs wildland fires? What other factors/variables may have contributed to these fires that have caused so much sadness and damage to our community?

Thanks to our community

Thanks to our community