Fire behavior and combustion dynamics

Fire Behavior

Annotated Bibliography

Deng, Tzu-Jeng, Charng-Horng Hsieh, Her-Jiun Sheu, Chyan Yang. (2001) A conceptual framework for improving fire-fighting service quality of a public fire department.

Includes results of a study on improving fire-fighting services by improving fire fighting and recognition techniques. Good for those interested in other than wildland fires, and those interested in going into fire management.

International Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 24, 405.

Drysdale, Dougal. (1999, October). An introduction to fire dynamics, 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons.

Problems addressed include: the conditions necessary for ignition and steady burning of combustible materials to occur, how large a fire has to become before fire detectors and sprinkler heads will operate, and the circum- stances that can lead to flashover in a compartment.

A very comprehensive information on fire behavior, especially from an engineering viewpoint. Identifies fire science and fire dynamics and provides the scientific back- ground necessary for the development of fire safety engineering as a professional discipline.

Howes, Christopher T. (1999). Wildland fire

Personal experience piece discussing fighting a wildland fire in Florida. Includes information on briefings, daily tasks, fire ignition, weather, and safety on the fire line. Good insight into actually fighting a wildland fire.

Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, Vol. 14, 30+

Miller, Melanie. (2001, June). Fire behavior and characteristics. National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

Discusses the "standard terminology" of fire behavior, but only for the wildland fire situation.

Meant for fire behavior practitioners and stud- ents. Good definitions of fire behavioral terms. http://fire.r9.fws.gov/ifcc/monitor/EFGuide/fire_behavior.htm

Morias, Marco. (2001, June). Fire behavior. HFire (Highly Optimized Tolerance Fire Spread Model).

A multi-page Web Site discussing the complexity of fire behaviors, including variables, physical principles, and prediction. Includes a list of additional references. Good basic descriptions and insight into a variety of fire behavior terms. http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~complex/research/hfire/fbehave/fbehave_home.html

Quintiere, James G. (1997, August). Principles of fire behavior. Delmar Learning.

Includes a short history of fire science, along with information on ignition, heat transfer, combustion, burn rate, flame spread, compartment fires, and fire analysis. Written specifically for the fire practitioner.