Article

Thatched roofs - fire hazards and precautions

April 1989

Authors:

The fire precautions to be taken to prevent the occurrence of fires in thatched-roof houses are discussed. Recommendations are given on checking the electric work, television aerial, draughts, access to roofs, chimneys and open fires, wire melting, etc.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.

Article

Identification of the darting melted beads of copper wire on fires caused by short circuit

June 2012

Using a metallography microscope, a systematic study was carried out on the copper conductor melted beads formed by electric short circuit. The beads were prepared in atmosphere and different temperature conditions such as 20, 300, 500, 650, 800°C, and fire conditions by making a direct short circuit of 1 mm 2 single strand of copper wire. The results show that, primary short circuited melted ... [Show full abstract] beads are mainly large irregular cupric oxide and cuprous oxide dendritic crystal druses with eutectic structures and disordered grains. On the other hand, the secondary short circuited melted beads show orderly arranged internal grains with dendrite and eutectic composites, and the eutectic is located in the end of the large scale orderly arranged and segregation-free dendrite.

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February 2006 · Journal of Forensic Sciences

Fire investigators frequently encounter electrical wires with melted ends at fire scenes, which can provide useful information on the cause and development of the fire even when the melted ends result from the fires. A bead on a melted end of a wire was found in the area of origin of a massive fire that lasted for nearly a whole day, devastating a factory. The bead appeared to be the end of a ... [Show full abstract] wire soldered to a terminal. X-ray analysis showed that the bead is a tin-copper alloy. Although regular tin-lead solder was used in the factory, lead was not detected. This contradictory result stood in the way of fire investigation. Therefore, an unused wire soldered with tin-lead solder was heated in an electric furnace at 500 degrees C for 3 h for further examination. X-ray analysis of this wire showed that copper can be alloyed with tin while losing lead in a long-term heat in a fire.

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Analysis of thermal characteristics of electrical wiring for load groups in cattle barns

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The purpose of the current study is to analyze the thermal characteristics of electrical wirings depending on the number of operating load by connecting four types of electrical wirings that are selected by surveying the conditions for the electric fans, automatic waterers and halogen warm lamps that were installed in cattle barns in different years. The conditions of 64 cattle barns were ... [Show full abstract] surveyed and an experimental test was conducted at a cattle barn. The condition-survey covered inappropriate design, construction and misuse of electrical facility, including electrical wiring mostly used, and the mode of load current was evaluated. The survey showed that the mode of load current increased as the installation year of the fans, waterers and halogen lamps became older. Accordingly, the cattle barn manager needed to increase the capacity of the circuit breaker, which promoted the degradation of insulation of the electrical wires' sheath and increased possibility for electrical fires in the long-run. The test showed that the saturation temperature of the wire insulated sheath increased depending on the installation year of the load groups, in case of VCTFK and VFF electric wires, therefore, requiring their careful usage in the cattle barns.

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Cause Analysis of Errors in the Judgement of Fire Causes

April 2013 · Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation

Eui-Pyeong Lee

Investigators in fire stations or police stations investigate fires and judge their causes. As the results of judging fire causes play an important role in taking measures for fire prevention and arguing about who is responsible, it is necessary not to make errors of the judgement of fire causes. However, in fact, many errors are made in the judgement of fire causes, resulting in serious side ... [Show full abstract] effects. This study analyzed causes for errors in the judgement of fire causes based on five cases which made errors. Main causes to make errors in the judgement of fire causes included: 1) the lack of fire investigators' expertise and experience, 2) superior institutions' urge to report, 3) speeding investigation, 4) the lack of fire investigators' activeness, 5) investigation for shirking responsibility, 6) a limitation on private investigators' participation, 7) lukewarm mutual-investigation and information exchange, 8) some investigators' weak responsibility for investigation results, 9) judging fire ignition sources or causes without on-the-spot investigation, and 10) a trend to treat as electrical fires if the traces of electric fusion are found.

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Sanford

Service-entrance conductors between the customer's service-entrance equipment and the power company pole transformer are not covered by the National Electric Code (NEC) and often have entirely inadequate overcurrent protection. Power companies fuse to protect their transformer and not the individual service laterals which may supply a number of customers. Thus currents in excess of a 1000 A can ... [Show full abstract] flow for a considerable time as a result of short circuits in the service-entrance conductors. Often these conductors are enclosed in a steel conduit between where they enter the building and meter box, and/or service equipment, and the welding action of shorts in this conduit melts the steel of the conduit and starts fires long before the pole-transformer fuse blows. Several such fires are documented in this report. Possible solutions to this hazard are proposed.

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The National Electrical Code and Proposed Changes for 1968

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Frank Stetka

This paper gives a short history of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the publishers of the National Electrical Code (NEC). It indicates the procedures and time schedules used in revising the Code. It also gives a history of the formulation of the Code-Making Panels, their responsibilities, and how they operate. Included also is a brief description of some of the more important ... [Show full abstract] proposals that were considered. Copyright © 1968 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

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A Study on the Possibility of Electrical Fires due to the Short Circuit and Ground Fault of Power Ca...

January 2007 · Journal of the Korean Society of Safety

Short circuit and ground fault account for the primary causes of electrical fires. In this research, real-scale experiments were conducted to assess the possibility of electrical fires due to these causes. The experiment conditions were identical with an actual fire accident, in which the power cable was supported by an iron fence. The purposes of this research are to investigate the short ... [Show full abstract] circuit caused by wire cutting, the conductivity of the iron fence depending on its coating conditions, and the ground fault of one wire or two wires in an effort to reconstruct the fire accident. The test results show that, owing to the instant operation of circuit breaker in the moment of short circuit or ground fault, the generated ignition energy is far less than necessary to start an ignition. Therefore it is concluded that electrical fire is highly unlikely if the electric system is protected by a circuit breaker with normal functions.

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Spontaneously ignited fires

November 1995

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Real-Scale Fire Wind Tunnel Experiment on Generation of Firebrands from a House on Fire

January 2004 · Fire Science and Technology

Factors that cause spreading of urban fires among buildings are flame contact, radiant heat, convective heat, and firebrands. There are many cases in which firespread is caused by leaping flames resulting from many firebrands in places that are distant from the fire outbreak site, especially under strong wind conditions. Firebrands and leaping flames caused by them are important factors to ... [Show full abstract] clarify the mechanism of urban fires. Nevertheless, their systematic engineering study has not been greatly implemented because of limited availability of experimental facilities. Therefore, the authors performed a Fire Wind Tunnel experiment using a real-scale fire preventive wooden house to investigate firebrands. This study is aimed at quantitatively and qualitatively elucidating the chronological relationship of fire evolution and firebrand generation.

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Fighting Fire with... [Product Safety Perspectives]

January 2017 · IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine

Bill Bisenius

In the July and October issues of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, I defined the six hazards of product safety. In this column, we will have a more in-depth review of the risk of fire and how to prevent fire hazards from occurring. If you have not learned the six hazards of product safety and the basics of fire hazards, you should read my July and October 2016 columns before continuing.

Conference Paper

Combination AFCIs: What they will and will not do

January 2012

Joseph C Engel

All new home branch circuits are required by Code to be electronically protected, either by Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) or Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs). Areas including kitchens, bathrooms, garages, etc. must be protected by GFCIs, while living areas must be protected by AFCIs. The AFCI is the fourth generation in residential branch circuit protection after fuses, circuit ... [Show full abstract] breakers, and GFCIs. National Electrical Code in 2002 first added AFCI protection, for bedrooms outlets. In 2008, coverage was expanded to all living areas, also adding that only “Combination AFCIs” are allowed. Manufacturers and UL claim that arcing across a break in a cord's conductor is hazardous, and that a Combination AFCI will respond to prevent a fire. The author believes the claim is unproven, and will explain why the disallowed Branch/feeder AFCI provides more protection at less cost.

Thatched roofs - fire hazards and precautions

Abstract

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