FSE 120 Task C
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School
Eastern Kentucky University *
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Course
120
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English
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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docx
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5
Uploaded by ChefNarwhal3048
Running Head: POST-FIRE ANALYSIS
1
Task C: Post-fire Analysis
Kaylie R. Petrey
Eastern Kentucky University
FSE 120
May 5
th
, 2022
POST-FIRE ANALYSIS
2
Observations
The fire did a massive amount of damage. The carpet seems to be just a layer of ash and
debris, the cement lines are visible now. However, it does appear that there is a small patch of
carpet left underneath the loveseat. The armchair is charred, all that remains is the burnt wooden
frame and a small amount of polyurethane foam from the cushion. The couch was almost
completely consumed by the fire. The wooden frame is completely charred, a small amount of
polyurethane foam remains under the blanket and within the armrests. The blanket is completely
burned into an ashy pile. The canvas above the armchair is completely burned, only the frame
remains on the wall.
The loveseat has more material leftover than I initially thought it would, more foam
remains than any of the other furniture pieces. The outside of the dresser is severely burned,
there does seem to be a small amount of fuel left on the inside. The books I would say are
partially burned, there is still a large amount of fuel left over from the fire and the pages on the
ground are still legible. The shelf makes it more difficult to assess those books more accurately.
However, the bookshelf is completely burned, very little remains of the item. I assume the
compartment had drywall, at least it looked like it did in the before photos, and that component is
completely gone, you can see what appears to be melt sheeting. The TV that was hanging on the
wall is also gone, I see what may be mounting brackets on the floor, but that is all. The vacuum
in the corner has also turned into a melted pile of plastic one third of the original size. The lamp
shade was completely consumed, the table partially burned, and the lamp itself looks almost
untouched compared to the rest of the items.
POST-FIRE ANALYSIS
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Discussions
I believe that these results do line up with my predictions and estimations. The amount of
damage seen in this compartment is something I would expect as the result of a flashover, which
my estimations and calculations in Task B proved to be possible. As per the videos we watched
in lecture, it did not take a lot of fire spreading for a compartment similar to this one to flashover.
With that being said, I may have overestimated the amount of spread the fire would have before
autoignition temperatures were reached. For example, depending on the starting point of the fire
the loveseat may not have been included in the initial spread of the fire, and because it is the least
burnt of the furniture items, I do not believe that it was. The carpet, couch, armchair, and canvas
were all roughly what I expected them to be.
Fire Class and Suppression
The fire class of this compartment fire is Class A, the fuels included paper, wood, clothes,
plastics, etc. common combustibles. Suppression for this fire includes water and Class A foam. I
would not say it is a Class C fire because in my hypothesis the heater did not catch on fire due to
overload or overheating, but instead generated enough heat to ignite Class A materials through
heat transfer properties. Meaning, the heater was not a fuel source (Gorbet et al., 2016). I do not
believe that the electrical equipment in this scenario was energized, and if it were then the
suppression needed would differ. If the equipment was energized, then this would be a Class C
and Class A fire. Water cannot be used to suppress Class C fires; it would only worsen the fire.
Carbon dioxide extinguishers and cutting power would be needed, or a dry powder can be used
for both A and C (Gorbet et al., 2016).
Conclusions
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POST-FIRE ANALYSIS
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The fire started with the couch, likely with the blanket or the couch fabric itself. As the
fire started to gain more fuel, it began to spread along the couch and to the polyurethane foam.
The foam then began to melt into a flammable liquid and ignited the carpet. Polyurethane only
burns very hot and fast, so the flames would have likely been climbing up the wall and creating
the layers commonly associated with flashovers. The radiating from the couch and the carpet
likely grew to be hot enough to cause autoignition temperatures to be reached, as there is only
one ventilation structure. So, the other fuels in the compartment ignited and the room flashed
over, flame likely lapped at the doorframe as the oxygen depleted from the room. This
assignment has taught me that flashovers are very fast paced in compartment like structures and
that they are very deadly. The temperatures and oxygen consumption are mind blowing. I have
also learned how to estimate fire growth, heat release rates, and getting an overall idea of what
will happen in the event of a fire in a particular area.
POST-FIRE ANALYSIS
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References
Gorbett, G. E., Pharr, J. L., & Rockwell, S. R. (2016).
Fire dynamics
(Second). Pearson.