Application of CMA program to wood charring

Experiments were conducted to test the ability of a computer program to describe the charring of ovendried wood. Note: Mr. White is a Forest Products Technologist and Dr. Schaffer is a Supervisory Research Engineer at the Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory. The Laboratory is maintained at Madison, Wisconsin in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin. Note: The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute official endorsement or approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.     

Effect of fire whirlwind formation on solid fuel burning rates

Burning rates of Douglas fir wood were measured using crosspiled sticks 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 in. (0.64, 1.27, 1.90, and 2.54 cm) in cross-sectional dimensions. Burning was 1.4 to 4.2 times as fast with the whirlwind as without. Note: Mr. Martin is Project Leader, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Professor, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington. Mr. Pendleton is a Forester, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Leavenworth, Washington. Mr. Burgess is a Forester, Pack River Forest Products, Peshastin, Washington. This paper was presented at the Combustion Institute, Western States Section at Pullman, Washington, May 6–7, 1974.     

Containment tables for initial attack on forest fires

Long-range planning of forest fire initial attack systems requires a method for evaluation of force effectiveness against an assumed pattern of fire occurrence on the planning unit. Note: The author is an Operations Research Analyst at the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, stationed at Riverside, California.     

Handtools and chain saws outproduce hydraulic units

Field tests assessed forest fireline construction capabilities of two power-assisted tooling systems—a chain saw system and a hydraulic power unit system. These were compared with the conventional handtool system as to fireline construction rate, cost, and other considerations. Note: Irene A. Althaus is a Natural Resource Economist assigned to the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Berkeley, California, stationed at Riverside, California. Robert W. Weaver is Fire Research Coordinator with the California Department of Forestry, Sacramento, California.     

A fire danger rating system for Hawaii

Extremes in rainfall on the Hawaiian Islands make it difficult to judge forest fire danger conditions. The use of an automatic data collection and computer processing system helps to monitor the problem. Note: Messrs. Burgan and Fujioka are on the staff of the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Mr. Hirata is with the National Weather Service. All three are stationed at Honolulu, Hawaii.     

A high temperature water-cooled anemometer

Prior attempts to measure air velocity within and near fires have not been completely successful because of mechanical and electronic failures due to heat. A system of cooling critical mechanical and electronic parts of anemometers using liquids has been developed to overcome this problem. Note: Mr. Palmer is stationed at Riverside, California, and Mr. Northcutt’s current address is Division of Forest Fire and Atmospheric Sciences Research, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250.     

The effect of humidity,air temperature,and wind speed on fine fuel moisture content

A controlled environmental chamber was used to study the effects of relative humidity, air temperature, and wind speed on moisture content of tobosa grass. Prediction equations were developed to show rates of change in fine fuel moisture content and equilibrium fine fuel moisture content for both absorption and desorption. Note: Mr. Britton is a Research Associate at Texas Tech University; Mr. Countryman, a Project Leader, Forest Fire Laboratory, Riverside, California; Dr. Wright, Associate Professor of Range Management, Texas Tech University; and Dr. Walvekar, Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering, Texas Tech University. Mr. Britton’s current address is Range Science Department, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas. Note: This paper is College of Agricultural Sciences, Texas Tech University Contribution No. T-9-111.     

A new fire management policy on Forest Service lands

A new Forest Service policy, effective February 1978, allows some wildfires to burn under prescribed conditions, urges a multidisciplinary approach to fire control, and has applications to rural and urban situations. Note: The author, formerly with the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Berkeley, Calif., is now with the Forest Fire and Atmospheric Sciences Research Staff, Washington, D.C.     

Developing a cost-effective fire management plan for California’s Kern Plateau

The Kern Plateau in Sequoia National Forest was selected as a pilot study area for the development and application of a new fire management planning process. Note: Jason M. Greenlee is President of Fire and Land Management Enterprises (FLAME), Boulder Creek, California. Carl C. Wilson was formerly National Fire Specialist for the Forest Service, USDA, and is now a Forest Fire Consultant at Berkeley, California.     

Measuring mass loss rates in free burning fires

Accurate data on mass loss rates of fuels in large, free-burning fires are scant. However, the authors report a method of making such measurements, which, when tested, provided reliable data. Note: Mr. Murray is now in the Forestry and Timber Bureau, Canberra, Australia; Mr. Northcutt is now in the Division of Forest Fire and Atmosphere Research, Forest Service, USDA, Washington, D. C.; and Mr. Countryman is stationed at Riverside, California.     

The modeling of pulsating fires

The authors present scaling relationships for modeling pulsating fires. Data gathered from various sizes of pulsating fires compared favorably with the predicted relationships between fire diameter and pulsation frequency. Note: Mr. Byram is Principal Physicist and Mr. Nelson a Forest Products Technologist with the Southern Forest Fire Laboratory. The paper was presented at the fall meeting, Western States Section, The Combustion Institute, La Jolla, California, October 27 and 28, 1969.     

Occurrences of lightning fires — Can they be simulated?

A computer simulation model of lightning fire discoveries has been developed by analyzing historical records of lightning fire occurrences. The model is being tested by using reports of lightning fires from four national forests. Results to date suggest that statistical distributions can be used to model the characteristics of lightning fire discoveries. Note: The author is stationed at the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Station, Riverside, California.     

Energy release rates in fire retardant evaluation

Rate of spread and other indirect measurements of fire intensity are often used as measures of flammability when fire-retardant chemicals are evaluated under laboratory conditions. The authors describe a system for obtaining the energy release rate directly and show its importance and relation to retardant effectiveness. Note: The authors are Research Foresters stationed at the Northern Forest Fire Laboratory, Missoula, Montana.     

Model experiment of hazardous forest fire whirl

The fluid dynamical scaling laws of forest fires are derived by dimensional analysis and a scale model is constructed to investigate a forest fire which seriously injured several fire fighters. The result of the small-scale experiment indicate that a fire whirl could be generated in such a fire. Note: Mr. Richard I. Emori is with the Mechanical Engineering Department, Seikei University, 3-Kichijoji Kitamachi, Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Kozo Saito is a Research Associate with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey.     

A fire station placement model

The authors have constructed an analytical model to solve the fire station placement problem. Quick and ready graphs have been prepared for its application by fire service personnel. Note: Mr. Guild is a member of the Department of Industrial Engineering, and Mr. Rollin is with the Ordnance Research Laboratory.     

Flame propagation of burning solid material with moisture

The author has developed an analytical model in an effort to determine the effect of moisture on flame propagation. To some degree, the study clarifies the fire controlling mechanism of liquids. Note: Mr. Ying is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering Sciences.     

A heat stress monitoring system for fire fighters

A portable lightweight seven-channel radiotelemetry system has been developed, which is capable of monitoring environmental stresses and physiological response of fire fighters exposed to heat stress during fire fighting operations. Note: Dr. Uwe Reischl is connected with the Social Ecology Program at UC, Irvine, and Dr. Peter Reischl is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Department at USC.     

Experimental measurements of the thermal effectiveness of two types of protective clothing for fire fighters

Experiments were conducted to quantitatively assess and compare the thermal effectiveness of two types of lower torso protective clothing, commonly known as a day clothing set and a night clothing set, as a function of the moisture content and tightness of fit. Results were obtained giving the temperature distribution through the clothing sets. Note: Allan T. Kirkpatrick is Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. Henry, Curtis and Alan Adelgren are undergraduate students, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.     

The accumulation of gases on an upper floor during fire buildup

Full-scale tests with rapidly developing and slowly developing fires were conducted in an effort to contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of death by toxic gases in building fires. Note: Dr. Wagner’s present address is Department of Electrical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant GI-12.     

A survey of fire loads in hackney hospital

The author suggests that greater cost effectiveness in providing structural fire resistance in existing hospital buildings may result from tailoring fire resistance to the fire loads in the various accommodations rather than to have a blanket requirement to cover all types of accommodations. Note: The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Department of Health and Social Security. Dr. Green is located in London, England.