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Conflagration is an uncontrolled burning that threatens human life, health, property or ecology. A conflagration can be accidentally or intentionally created (arson). Arson can be accomplished for the purpose of sabotage, diversion, and also can be the consequence of pyromania. During conflagration the property is destroyed by fire. Sometimes the conflagration produces a firestorm, in which the central column of rising heated air induces strong inward winds, which supply oxygen to the fire.
Contents |
Definitions
- a destructive fire, usually an extensive one[1]
- a very intense and uncontrolled fire[2]
- a large disastrous fire[3]
- a large destructive fire[4]
The causes and types of conflagration [5]
The most common causes of conflagration are: careless handling of fire, the nonobservance of the operating instructions of production equipment, spontaneous combustion of substances and materials, the discharges of static electricity, lightning, arson[citation needed]. Depending on an occurrence place we can distinguish: vehicles conflagration; steppe and field conflagrations; underground conflagrations in mines; peat and forest conflagrations; conflagrations in buildings and constructions.
The space covered by conflagration is usually divided into 3 zones - the active fire zone, the heat zone and the smoke zone. External signs of a zone of the active fire are the presence of flame and the smouldering or hot materials. The main characteristic of the ravages of fire temperature is developed during combustion. For residential houses and public buildings indoor temperature reaches 800–900 °C. Typically, the highest temperatures occur during outdoor fires and the average for combustible gases 1200–1350 °C, for liquids 1100–1300 °C, for solids 1000–1250 °C. When burning thermite, elektron, magnesium the maximal temperature reaches 2000–3000 °C.
The space around the burning zone, where temperatures reached as a result of heat transfer values, causing destructive impact on the surrounding objects and dangerous for humans, called the zone of heat. Adopted take that into a zone of heat, burning the surrounding area, includes land, the temperature at which the mixture of air and gaseous products of combustion of not less than 60-80 °C. During a conflagration a significant movement of air and combustion products occurs. Hot gaseous products of combustion move upward, causing the influx of more dense cold air to the combustion zone. Inside the building the intensity of gas exchange depends on the size and location of openings in walls and floors, the height of the premises, and the number and burning properties of materials. The direction of traffic hot product and usually determines the probable spread of the fire path, as well as powerful back heat flows can move sparks, burning coals and lead to considerable distance, creating new hotbeds of burning. Products of a fire combustion (smoke) form a smoke zone. The composition of smoke usually consists of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor as well as ash and other substances. Many products of incomplete and complete combustion, which are parts of the smoke, have high toxicity, the products generated during combustion of polymers are especially toxic. In some cases, products of incomplete combustion, such as carbon monoxide, may form with oxygen combustible and explosive mixtures.
Sometimes there are industrial conflagrations such as a fire at an oil refinery where much flammable material is processed; for example, the 2009 Cataño oil refinery fire. Powdered material can rapidly burn causing powder explosions.
Sometimes there are conflagrations in forests or other wilderness areas; see Wildfire.
The most famous conflagrations
| Place | Date | Conflagration | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rome | 64 | Great Fire of Rome | |
| Alexandria | AD 46–120 | Burning of the library of Alexandria | |
| Moscow | 1547 | ||
| Moscow | 1571 | ||
| Edo | 1657 | Great Fire of Meireki | 30,000 to 100,000 victim,60-70% of city was burned. |
| London | 1666 | Great Fire of London | 13000 houses and 87 churches are destroyed. |
| Moscow | 1812 | Fire of Moscow (1812) occurred after Napoleon captured the city. | |
| Hamburg | 1842 | Great Fire of Hamburg | The quarter of city territory is devastated. |
| Santiago, Chile | 1863 | Fire of the Jesuit Church | At least 2,000 victims |
| Atlanta | 1864 | Atlanta Campaign during American Civil War. Occurred after General Sherman captured the city. | More than 4,000 houses, including dwellings, shops, stores, mills and depots are burned, about eleven-twelfths of the city. Only about 450 buildings escaped this ruthless burning. |
| Chicago | 1871 | Great Chicago Fire | From 200 to 300 victims, 17000 buildings are destroyed |
| Jacksonville | 1901 | Great Fire of 1901 | Destroyed 146 city blocks, over 2,368 buildings and left almost 10,000 people homeless all in the course of eight hours |
| San Francisco | 1906 | Result of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake | More than 105,000 victims,96% of city burned |
| Barnaul | 1917 | Uncontrollable fire | 34 victims, 60 quarters destroyed. |
| Stalingrad | 1942 | The result of an air bombardment | More than 40000 victims and 60000 wounded men, a half of city was destroyed, the fire produced a firestorm |
| Hamburg | 1943 | The result of an air bombardment | 35000—45000 victims, the centre of the city was destroyed. |
| Dresden | 1945 | The result of bombing of Dresden in World War II | 25000—40000 victims, the centre of the city was destroyed. The fire produced a firestorm |
| Chicago | 1958 | Our Lady of the Angels School Fire | 95 victims |
| Brussels | 1967 | A conflagration in the Innovation Department store | 323 victims, 150 wounded |
| Moscow | 1977 | A conflagration in the Russia Hotel | 42 victims |
| Bradford | 1985 | Bradford City stadium fire | 52 victims |
| New York City | 2001 | World Trade Center fires | several thousand victims as fires cause two towers to collapse; caused by two airplane crashes due to terrorism; |
| Asunción | 2004 | Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire | 374 victims, 500 wounded |
| Greece | 2007 | 2007 Greek forest fires | 84 victims |
| Australia | 2009 | Black Saturday bushfires | 209 victims, 500 wounded |
References
- ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
- ^ WordNet 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
- ^ Merriam Websters' Dictionary
- ^ Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
- ^ Great Soviet encyclopedia, ed. A. M. Prokhorov (New York: Macmillan, London: Collier Macmillan, 1974–1983) 31 volumes, three volumes of indexes. Translation of third Russian edition of Bol'shaya sovetskaya entsiklopediya.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Conflagration |
- Conflagration on map (AccidentMap.com Accident on map)
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