Firebrands and Embers

Babrauskas, Vytenis

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_3-1

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In early 1990, during the study of the Oakland Hills fire in California and its impact on wooden structures, Sketchler et al [51] identified three sources of structural ignition and fire spread within WUI residential communities: direct flame impingement, ember exposure, and thermal radiation from flames. However, over the past three decades, WUI researchers have noted that ember exposure or combined exposure scenarios (i.e., embers and other exposures) are always reported as a significant cause of ignition and/or fire spread in WUI communities [7,9,[52][53][54][55][56][57]. In this section, various structural ignition and fire spread mechanisms in WUI communities are reviewed.…”

Section: Ignition Of Structures In Wui Firesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of structural fires in WUI communities are known to generally start from small ignitions caused by ember penetration inside the structures, and if these small fires are not extinguished in time, they could grow until flashover occurs to bring the whole structure down [60]. Recent reviews [7,9,55,56] on exposure conditions and structure ignitions in WUI communities confirm that indoor ignitions usually occur due to embers entering through openings such as eaves or attic vents and igniting highly flammable soft furnishing products. Babrauskas [7] highlighted a study in Australia that reported 70 % of structures destroyed in WUI fires were caused by ember ignition.…”

Section: Ignition Of Structures In Wui Firesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Embers and firebrands are practically similar objects that act as ignition sources in WUI fires, and the terms are often used interchangeably. However, according to Babrauskas [7], embers refer to small hot particles, whereas firebrands have characteristic aerodynamic properties (shape and mass) that keep them airborne over large distances. For the purpose of this review, all hot, glowing particles are addressed as embers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ignitibility of structural wood products exposed to embers during wildland fires :

Nazaré¹,

Leventon²,

Davis³

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ignitability of structural components due to ember accumulation is a common cause of structural fires in wildland urban interface (WUI) communities. To fire harden structures in WUI communities, it is important to quantitatively predict the ember ignitability of wooden substrates. To commence this effort, past studies have been compiled and analyzed to identify knowledge gaps. Key topics including ignition of structures in WUI fires, measurement of thermal response of solid wood products used in residential structures, controlling mechanisms in ignition and sustained smoldering of wood, measurement of ember properties, real-scale and bench-scale experiments on assessing ember ignitability of structural components, and surrogate ignition sources for assessing smoldering propensity of the wooden substrate have been reviewed. Existing test methods have also been reviewed in the light of common exposures seen WUI environment.

show abstract

Section: Ignition Of Structures In Wui Firesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ignition Of Structures In Wui Firesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ignitibility of structural wood products exposed to embers during wildland fires :

Nazaré¹,

Leventon²,

Davis³

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Firebrands, combusting airborne objects lofted during fires [1], are an important consideration for wildland fire managers because they directly influence fire spread and represent the primary cause of structure ignitions during wildfires [2][3][4][5]. The challenges posed by firebrands during fire suppression efforts have gained attention in response to the increasing losses from wildfires [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diurnal Pine Bark Structure Dynamics Affect Properties Relevant to Firebrand Generation

Pokswinski¹,

Gallagher²,

Skowronski³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Firebrands are an important agent of wildfire spread and structure fire ignitions at the wildland urban interface. Bark flake morphology has been highlighted as an important, yet poorly characterized factor in firebrand generation, transport, deposition, and ignition of unburned material. Using pine species where bark flakes are the documented source of embers, we conducted experiments to investigate how bark structure changes in response to diurnal drying. Over a 3-day period in a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) stand in Florida, we recorded changes in temperature, moisture content and structure of bark across different facing aspects of mature pine trees to examine the effects of varying solar exposure on bark moisture. We further compared results to bark drying in a pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) plantation in New Jersey. Under all conditions, bark peeled and lifted away from the tree trunk over the study periods. Tree bole aspect and the time of day interacted to significantly affect bark peeling. General temperature increases and moisture content decreases were significantly different between east and west aspects in pitch pine, and with time of day and aspect in longleaf pine. These results illustrate that bark moisture and flakiness is highly dynamic on short time scales, driven largely by solar exposure. These diurnal changes likely influence the probability of firebrand production during fire events via controls on moisture (ignition) and peeling (lofting).

show abstract

“…In this report, the term "firebrand", as opposed to "ember", is used throughout to conform the definition given by[27], quote: "Ember" refers to any small, hot, carbonaceous particle. Meanwhile, "firebrand" specifically denotes an object which is airborne and carried for some distance in the air stream.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%