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By Ian S. Hill, MIFireE North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service The fire The city of Basle in Switzerland is located on the banks of the river Rhine, which flows on through Germany and France...

For ignition to occur, sufficient heat energy is supplied to gaseous fuel and an oxidant, either mixed to within flammability limits or at the interface between the fuel and the oxidant, to start a...

Gases are stored in cylinders either as a compressed or liquefied gas or dissolved in a solvent (e.g. acetylene dissolved in acetone). Cylinders are subject to rigorous type testing to ensure that...

​It should be easy to distinguish between LPG and other cylinders (including acetylene) on the basis of their shape (see photos). To distinguish positively between acetylene and other non-LPG...

​ Understanding density is extremely important for a firefighter. For example, the density of a gas or vapour determines whether it will tend to rise or sink in air, and therefore whether it...

The chemical compound ammonium nitrate (AN), chemical formula NH4NO3, is a white crystalline solid at room temperature and standard pressure. It is commonly used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen...

The environmental impact of wildfires cannot be considered in isolation. The potential effect of these fires is an important factor when planning to deal with them. Wildfire has the potential to...

Liquid effluents produced, for example by fire and rescue service workshop facilities or firefighting foam training run-off are known as ‘trade effluents’ and require special consideration for...

Polymers Many organic solids are polymers. The molecules they are composed of consist of many thousands of atoms. Chemists can synthesise polymer molecules by taking small molecules and linking...

​ The firefighter is mostly concerned with energy in the form of heat. Heat may be produced by a chemical change such as combustion, in which we say that chemical energy is released as heat...

In a dish of flammable liquid such as paraffin, a region will exist above the liquid surface in which the evaporating fuel vapour is well mixed with air. If the paraffin is heated above about 40°C,...

The term flash fire is used to describe what happens if the temperature of the fuel is much greater than the firepoint and a flammable vapour/air zone exists at some distance from the liquid surface....

Legislation, states that a fire and rescue authority must make provision for: (a) extinguishing fires in its area, and (b) protecting life and property in the event of fires in its area. Legislation...

​ GHS splits the hazards from chemical products into three types – physical, health and environmental hazards. Within these hazard types are hazard classes that describe the nature of the...

​ Packaged goods transport labelling Different regimes are used to placard and label dangerous goods transported in packages. Following classification, the manufacturer or importer will be...

​ On arrival at an incident, emergency responders may have to make rapid decisions and actions, the consequences of which may determine the success of the operations carried out. However,...

​ Unlike road and rail transportation of hazardous materials, all air transport is classed as international and therefore is governed by international regulations and agreements. The...

​ Abrasion resistance: ensures that CPC material in a particular class has a degree of abrasion resistance, depending on the intended use. Due to the arduous nature of CPC use in fire and rescue...

Explosives are generally categorised as those that: Deflagrate: a technical term describing subsonic combustion that usually spreads through thermal conductivity (hot burning material heats the...

General The transportation of gases at ordinary temperatures and pressures is not a practical or economically viable option due to the size of containers that would be required. Viable storage and...