English for fire safety Engineers

ENGLISH FOR FIRE SAFETY ENGINEERS

 

Сборник иностранных текстов

 

Хабаровск

Издательство ДВГУПС

2013

УДК 378.016: 811.111(075.8)

ББК Ш 143.21 - 923

Я 972

 

Рецензент – доцент кафедры “Иностранные языки” ДВГУПС,

 

кандидат педагогических наук

 

Т. Б. Котмакова

 

Ященко, М. В.

Я 972 Английский язык для инженеров по специальности “Пожар-

ная безопасность” = English for Fire Safety Engineers: сборник

иностр. текстов / М. В. Ященко. – Хабаровск: Изд-во ДВГУПС,

2013. – 60 с.

 

Данный сборник иностранных текстов подготовлен в соответствии с типовой программой университета по иностранным языкам.

 

Сборник состоит из четырёх уроков. Первый урок посвящен особен-ностям процесса горения, второй – классификации пожаров, в третьем рассматриваются методы пожаротушения, в четвертом представлен ма-териал о средствах пожаротушения.

 

Предназначен для студентов 2-го курса дневной формы обучения специальности 280705.65 “Пожарная безопасность”, изучающих дисцип-лину “Английский язык”.

 

 

УДК 378.016: 811.111(075.8)

ББК Ш 143.21 - 923

 

© ДВГУПС, 2013

ВВЕДЕНИЕ

 

Целью сборника является формирование коммуникативной компетен-ции через изучение профессионально-ориентированных текстов, взятых из учебной и научной англоязычной пожарно-технической литературы.

 

Каждый урок включает в себя три текста. Text А предназначен для изучающего чтения, text В ориентирован на активизацию навыков “быст-рого” чтения (ознакомительного, просмотрового, поискового), text С на-правлен на развитие навыков перевода. Кроме того, каждый урок содер-жит список лексических единиц, рекомендуемых для усвоения (VOCABULARY), лексикограмматические упражнения (VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR EXERCISES), упражнения направленные на развитие навыков устной речи (SPEECH PRACTICE EXERCISES). Раздел аудиро-вание (LISTENING) обусловлен необходимостью научить студентов по-нимать речь носителей языка, так как в рамках учебного процесса нет возможности непосредственного общения с ними.

 

Особое внимание в сборнике уделено формированию коммуникатив-ной компетенции через изучение профессионально-ориентированных текстов, рассматривающих особенности процесса горения, классы пожа-ров, методы и средства пожаротушения.

 

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UNIT 1

 

COMBUSTION

 

VOCABULARY

 

Study the active vocabulary.

 

1. combustion                                       – горение

supporter of combustion   – вещество, поддерживающее горение

2. fire                                                               – огонь, пожар

3. combustible                                      – горючий

flammable

 

4. development                                   – развитие

5. fuel                                                              – горючее, топливо

6. to evolve                                              – выделять

to give off

7. to burn                                                    – гореть

8. to ignite                                                  – зажигать, воспламеняться

 

9. ignition                                                    – зажигание, воспламенение

source of ignition                       – источник зажигания

10. spread                                                 – распространение

to spread                                          – распространяться

11. sufficient                                           – достаточный

 

12. rate                                                          – скорость

13. rise                                                          – повышение, подъем

to rise                                                    – возрастать, повышаться

14. to raise                                                – поднимать, повышать

 

15. to smolder                                       – тлеть

16. incipient                                             – начальный

 

17. flame                                                     – пламя

to burst into flames               – вспыхнуть

18. smoke                                                  – дым

 

19. flashover                                          – полный охват помещения огнем,

искровой разряд

 

20. to remove                                        – удалять

21. chain                                                     – цепь

chain reaction                           – цепная реакция

22. vigorous                                            – сильный, бурный, энергичный

 

23. to extinguish                                – тушить

fire extinguishing method – метод тушения огня

24. to cool off                                        – охлаждать

 

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TEXT A

 

Discuss the questions with your partner.

 

1. What is a fire? Is it a substance or process?

 

2. What three things are necessary to keep fire burning? Complete the fire triangle below with these three things.

 

3. What are the stages of fire development?

 

Read the text using a dictionary if necessary. Check your answers for Ex. 1.

 

FIRE TRIANGLE

 

The ancient Greeks believed that fire was one the four basic elements that composed all things in the universe. In the mythology of virtually every culture fire is a sacred substance that gives life or power. Fire is not, in fact, a substance. When you gaze at the leaping flames of a campfire, you are observing not an object, but a process – a chemical reaction. It is the same chemical reaction that occurs when a cut apple left on the counter turns brown, or when silver tarnishes or when an iron nail rusts. That process is oxidation: combining oxygen with another substance. The defining difference between a fire and your half – eaten apple is speed: fire is an oxidation process that happens very fast, so that light, heat and sound are released – often enough force and majesty to justify ancients’ reverence.

 

At the beginning the fire has no source of heat except the heat of ignition. The small number of oxidation reactions that occur at this point do not contribute much to the development of a fire. Therefore, this stage is called smoldering or the incipient stage; it gives off smoke but very little heat. Then the fire breaks into the open flame. Now there is a sufficient amount of heat to

 

 

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accelerate the combustion process and the chain reaction begins. This period is often called the open flame production phase. When the fire breaks into open flame the process changes. The fire will begin to spread and the temperature in the area will rise rapidly. As the ignition temperature of almost all ordinary carbonaceous materials is between 40 and 1400 degrees Fahrenheit we may assume that the fire will be generating enough heat to involve all the fuels unless some extinguishing agent interferes. This period is called the critical period or flashover stage. So there are three stages in the development of a fire.

 

After a fire goes to a flashover stage fire control is a combination of methods to remove the heat and products of combustion, to channel the direction of spread to the smallest possible area of involvement, and to cool off the atmosphere or fuel so that combustion ceases. This requires keen insight into the combustion process.

 

Fire or combustion may be defined as a rapid chemical reaction between substances in which heat and light are evolved. It is usual to speak of one of the substances as the combustible and other as the supporter of combustion. In all ordinary fires the supporter of combustion is the oxygen of the atmosphere. In some limited circumstances other gases, e.g. chlorine, may support combustion.

 

The fire triangle identifies the three needed components of fire: fuel, heat and oxygen. Fuel is something which is capable of combining vigorously with oxygen, or in other words, will burn. Combustion will be fiercer as the more oxygen is supplied. Most materials require the application of heat in one form or another to bring them to the temperature at which they will combine with the oxygen so vigorously that they will ignite (ignition temperature) although some substances, e.g. phosphorous react so at ordinary temperature. All three components must be present to have a fire.

 

It is not necessary usually to heat all the fuel to its ignition temperature, because as one part of it ignites, the heat of the reaction is sufficient to raise the temperature of the adjoining parts so that they also ignite, and so on until the reaction has spread through the whole fuel.

 

Fire will burn until one or more of the components are removed. Traditional fire extinguishing methods involve removing the fuel, heat or oxygen. In more recent years a fourth component – the chain reaction has been added to explain fire. Once a fire has started, the resulting chain reaction sustains the fire and allows it to continue until or unless at least one of the elements of the fire is removed. In other words, the chain reaction provides the heat necessary to maintain the fire. The addition of this forth component forms what is called the “fire tetrahedron”.

 

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A) Match the words with similar meanings.

 

1) to evolve                              A) material

2) incipient                                B) speed

 

3) vigorously                          C) to remove

4) to happen                           D) to react with oxygen

5) substance                          E) starting

6) to eliminate                       F) strongly

7) combustibility                 G) to give off

8) fire                                               H) flammability

 

9) to oxidize                             I) combustion

10) rate                                         J) to occur

 

B) Match the words with opposite meanings.

 

1) to cool                                        A) weak

 

2) to cease                                  B) insufficient

3) flammable                           C) to heat

4) to extinguish                       D) slow

5) to raise                                      E) to reduce

6) to accelerate                      F) to begin

7) rapid                                             G) to ignite

 

8) incipient                                   H) final

9) sufficient                                 I) non-flammable

10) vigorous                               j) to slow down

 

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SPEECH PRACTICE EXERCISES

 

TEXT B

 

Read the text.

 

PROTECT YOUR HOME

 

The best way to protect your structure from being damaged by a wildland fire is to prevent it from starting on fire in the first place. To do this, one must know of the many ways fire spreads from one fuel source to another.

 

One way a structure starts on fire is through radiation. Heat travels via electromagnetic waves, without objects or gases carrying it along. Radiated heat goes out in all directions, unnoticed until it strikes an object. Burning buildings can radiate heat to surrounding structures, sometimes even passing through glass windows and igniting objects inside. The amount of heat produced depends on:

 

– the size of the flame: generally, larger flames release more heat;

 

– the amount of surface area on the structure exposed to the radiant heat: the larger the piece of surface that is exposed, the greater the chance of ignition;

 

– duration of exposure: the more time the structure is exposed the greater the likelihood of ignition;

 

– the distance between the flames and the structure: the closer the flames are to the structure, the greater the chance of ignition.

 

A second way a structure may start on fire is through conduction. Conduction is caused by direct contact between the flame and the structure. Firebrands, which are small pieces of burning material often carried by wind, can start new fires, and are a common form of conduction. Minimizing the chance of loss due to firebrand-started ignitions include:

 

– using non-flammable building materials in the construction of your home. This is especially important when considering the type of roof to install;

 

– planting appropriate vegetation around structures.

 

Convection is a third way fire spreads. Convection is caused by the superheated air that rises from the fires and pre-heats the fuels above it. Convection is most often associated with steep slopes and the "Chimney Effect". The best way to minimize loss due to convective heating include:

 

– build all structures back away from steep slopes. The edge of these steep slopes often provides the best view but can also make the home extremely difficult to protect during a wildland fire;

 

– avoid building your home at the top of steep canyons.

 

If a structure is properly insulated from all these types of spreading, the chances of the structure being lost or damaged to a wildfire will be minimized.

 

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TEXT C

 

FLASHOVER

 

A flashover is the near-simultaneous ignition of most of the directly exposed combustible material in an enclosed area. When certain organic materials are heated they undergo thermal decomposition and give off flammable gases. Flashover occurs when the majority of the exposed surfaces in a space are heated to their ignition temperature and emit flammable gases. Flashover normally occurs at 500 °C (930 °F) or 1,100 °F for ordinary combustibles.

 

An example of flashover is when a piece of furniture is ignited in a room. The fire involving the initial piece of furniture can produce a layer of hot smoke which spreads across the ceiling in the room. The hot buoyant smoke layer grows in depth, as it is bounded by the walls of the room. The radiated heat from this layer heats the surfaces of the directly exposed combustible materials in the room, causing them to give off flammable gases. When the temperature of the evolved gases becomes high enough, these gases will ignite, throughout their extent.

 

Flashover is one of the most feared phenomena among firefighters. Firefighters are taught to recognize flashovers and avoid backdrafts. For example, they have certain routines for opening a closed door in a building on fire, such as positioning adjacent to the door instead of in front of it. A firefighter has about 2 seconds to evacuate a flashover environment, even if wearing proper gear.

 

15

LISTENING

 

21. You are going to watch a video. Before watching discuss the questions with your partner:

 

1. What is flashover?

2. What should you do in case of a fire at home?

3. What devices help to detect and put out fires in buildings?

 

Watch the video “FLASHOVER: THE POWER OF FIRE” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPweBlXNfxo

 

 

UNIT 2

 

CLASSES OF FIRES

 

VOCABULARY

 

TEXT A

 

CLASSIFICATION OF FIRES

 

In firefighting, fires are identified according to one or more fire classes. Each class designates the fuel involved in the fire, and thus the most appropriate extinguishing agent. Multiple classification systems exist in different countries.

 

The United States uses the NFPA (National Fire Protection Organisation) system. The NFPA defines five classifications of fire, including classes A, B, C, D and K according to the nature of the combustible materials, the size and intensity of the fire and the substances which are the most suitable for their extinction.

 

Class A is the most common type of fire involving ordinary combustible materials such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber, and many plastics. This type of fire leaves an ash behind after burning and has an ember flame. The most common and the most effective extinguishing agent for them is generally water in the form of a jet or a spray. Water is used in a cooling or quenching effect to reduce the temperature of the burning material below its ignition temperature.

 

Class B fires are the ones involving liquids or liquefiable solids. A flammable liquid must be burning at room temperature in order to be a Class B fire, and a combustible liquid must be heated to its flammable point to be classified as Class B. Some flammable and combustible liquids included in this classification are petroleum, tars, oil-based paints, oil, alcohols, lacquers,

 

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solvents and flammable gases. For the purpose of choosing effective extinguishing agents, flammable liquids may be divided into two groups:

– those that are extinguished with water;

– those that are not extinguished with water.

 

Depending on a liquid, the extinguishing agents include water spray, foam, vaporizing liquids, carbon dioxide and dry powder. Blanketing is the most suitable method of extinguishment of this class of fires.

 

A Class C fire is a fire that can be classified as an A or B fire, but that involves electrical equipment as well. Extinguishing agents should not be conductors of electricity. Water and foam are both conductors of electricity and should not be used on live electrical equipment, but in some circumstances an exception may be made in favour of a spray from specially designed nozzles. It is not always possible to extinguish a fire without using the cooling effect of a large quantity of water. In such cases equipment must be made electrically dead before jets of water are applied in order to avoid the danger of shock.

Class D fires are ones involving combustible metals such as magnesium, titanium, lithium, zirconium, sodium, and potassium. Extinguishing agents containing water are ineffective and even dangerous. A Class D fire burns at an exceptionally high temperature, and when water is used on these types of fires it can decompose into hydrogen and oxygen aggravating the fire. Special extinguishing agents such as sodium chloride, carbon dioxide, dry sand or salt are available for the fire control specifically for each metal.

Class K is the newest NFPA classification of fire. This classification includes cooking appliances that involve a combustible medium such as cooking oil, other fats and alcohols. Though such fires are technically a subclass of class B, the special characteristics of these types of fires are considered important enough to recognize separately. Saponification can be used to extinguish such fires.

 

A) Match the words with similar meanings.

 

1) to apply                                 A) to put out

2) agent                                       B) to aggravate

3) very                                           C) ingredient

4) various                                   D) extinction

5) to extinguish                   E) appliance

6) part                                             F) to involve

7) equipment                         G) to use

8) to intensify                         H) different

9) to include                            I) medium

10) extinguishment        J) extremely

 

B) Match the words with opposite meanings.

 

1) solid                                              A) liquid

2) to compose                         B ignition

3) dead                                            C) to exclude

4) extinction                                D) live

5) to include                               E) to heat

6) different                                   F) to decompose

7) to aggravate                       G) wet

8) dry                                                  H) to improve

9) to cool                                        I) safe

10) dangerous                        j) the same

 

FIRE EXTINGUSHER

 

The body __ the extinguisher consist __ a high – pressure steel bottle, tested __ pressure __ 225 kg/sq. sm. __ its top the bottle is provided __ a valve __ a ring. __ the bottle there is a siphon pipe. __ the valve __ the outlet a rubber hose leads, ending __ a nozzle and a tapering outlet tube. A handle __ holding the extinguisher and a safety-device built __ the valve make __ the whole extinguisher. Smaller extinguishers are provided __ a hanger, the larger ones have a flange (base) pressed __ the bottom part __ placing the extinguisher __ the ground. The automobile-type extinguishers have __ __

 

the hose, a stiff metal tube __ a nozzle __ an outlet tube fixed __ the valve body __ means __ a joint.

 

The capacity __ the extinguishers is __ 1.5 kg (automobile-type extinguishers) __ 6 kg __ liquid carbon dioxide. If the extinguisher contains

 

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__ more than 80 % __ its charge, it can be used further __ sealing. If more than 20 % __ the initial filling have been discharged, the extinguisher must be filled __.

 

SPEECH PRACTICE EXERCISES

 

TEXT B

 

HOLIDAY FIRES

 

It seems to happen most around the Christmas holidays – the electrical outlet begins putting on extra weight. There are nine strings of lights for the tree, electric candles, a CD player with holiday music and so on. Overloaded

 

25

outlets do cause fires – an estimated 5,300 annually in American households.

Almost 2,000 of those occur during the holidays.

 

In addition to overloaded outlets, there are other things that can make your home go up in flames this Christmas. Things like faulty wiring, winter weather and bad product choices can all act as contributing factors in a holiday fire.

 

Every year, thousands of counterfeit electrical products end up on the shelves of legitimate stores across the United States. And a lot of these products simply are not built to withstand the demands of the extra holiday decorations. Even certified products can cause an overload. Electrical devices that are built to put out heat, like space heaters and hair dryers, tend to use more power than other devices. Devices like these may overload a circuit, especially one that is already reaching its maximum amperage allowance. Coupled with a faulty circuit breaker, this overload can cause the products to overheat and possibly catch fire.

 

But it is even more likely that a fire will occur in a place you cannot easily see. Waste heat generated by the electrical current can cause wiring hidden within a home's walls to expand and contract, eventually loosening it. Once that wiring is loose, the electricity can arc, with a heat output reaching 1,500 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. That's more than enough to ignite wood or old insulation under normal circumstances, but winter weather is less humid than in the summer. Inside a house in the winter months, the relative humidity within the walls can drop to that of the average desert, turning studs - wooden wall supports - into kindling, easily ignited by an arcing current.

 

Here we arrive at one of the problems with electrical fires: By the time you see smoke coming out of your outlet, a fire has most likely already begun and is spreading out of sight within your walls and up to your attic. It's easy for a homeowner who has turned off the power to a burning socket to think that they've taken care of the problem. But an unseen fire may already be building beyond the outlet.

 

Even worse, electrical fires can be particularly tricky to put out. Since they involve electricity, using water to put out the fire can cause electrocution. Chemical powders can cause the fire to smolder then reignite. If you notice an electrical fire, you should turn off your power (if it is safe) and leave your house. Then call 911 to report the fire.

 

TEXT C

 

METAL FIRES

 

Potassium, sodium and calcium decompose water readily, liberating hydrogen. These metals are all used in industry but not as widely as the “light metals” which are widely used in aircraft and motor vehicles industries and in the trades where lightness is desirable attribute. Magnesium, some of its alloys and titanium are easily ignited when in the forms of wire, powder, turnings of swarf: aluminum in similar forms is capable of burning.

 

The dusts may form inflammable and explosives mixture with air. Water applied to any of these fires is decomposed, giving off hydrogen, which aggravates the fire and may give rise to explosions which would scatter the burning metal. Other metals too, e.g. zinc, in finely – divided form are combustible.

 

Water, foam, carbon tetrachloride, methyl bromide, chlorobromomethane or carbon dioxide, in fact, none of the usual extinguishers may be used on metal fires. They are all ineffective and most of them are dangerous, because they are liable either to cause the explosion or to do more harm than good by scattering the burning metal.

 

Gas-expelled dry powder extinguishers are unsuitable for the latter reason, but there is one specially-constructed model which discharges through a long tube in a cone-shaped nozzle by which powder is delivered lightly onto the fire. The solid extinguishing agents that find little application in firefighting generally, are of value in dealing with metal fires. They must be applied gently in order to cover the burning metal without disturbing it, and care is necessary, as some scattering may, nevertheless, occur. Dry sand, talc, mixture of asbestos dust and graphite may be used. Asbestos hand-clothes or blankets are useful where small quantities of metal are involved, not so much to extinguish the fire as to prevent its spread.

 

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LISTENING

 

Part 1

 

A flammable can be simply described as a (1) ___ that will readily catch fire and (2) ___. Silane is a commonly used flammable substance. There can be two identical amounts sitting side by side in identical dishes, yet one will (3)

 

___, the other one won’t. The reason is the silane that (4)___ was (5) ___ by dry ice, the other one was (6) ___ to just over 81° F, the flashpoint of silane.

 

Flashpoint is the lowest temperature at which a substance (7) ___ __ a vapour that will burn. One of the first things you need to(8) ___ when you’re dealing with (9) ___ and (10) ___ is that it’s the vapour that the substance gives off that burns not the substance itself.

 

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Flammables and explosives are two classes of materials that can always be (11) ___: well, flammables can ignite and burn, explosives are a subject of a very rapid (12) ___ reaction or (13) ____ and can (14) ___ gas and heat with potentially violent results. Flammables and explosives are both (15) ___ that you ought to be very careful with.

 

Part 2

 

Let’s look at another (1) ___ flammable material – gasoline. Its (2) ___ ignite easily at temperatures as low as negative 45° F and even when it’s at its (3) ____ and a (4) ___ is created gasoline may not (5) ____ (6) ____. Whether it does, will depend on a gasoline’s fuel – air mixture and limits of flammability. Materials have both lower and upper limits of flammability. A substances’ (7) ___ flammability limit is the minimum percentage of vapour to air that required for ignition to (8) ____ ___. The (9) ____

 

flammable limit is the percentage of the vapour to air beyond which ignition is no longer (10) _____.

 

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UNIT 3

 

FIRE EXTINGUISHMENT

 

VOCABULARY

 

TEXT A

 

FIRE EXTINGUISHMENT

 

As such factors as heat, fuel, oxygen, and chain reaction are necessary for fire, it follows that the withdrawal of any of them will cause the fire to go out. So the theory of fire extinguishment is based on removing any one or more of the four elements in the fire tetrahedron to suppress the fire. Before attempting to extinguish a fire, the fireman must decide which of the factors he will try to remove. Efforts directed at removing the fuel are sometimes called starvation; depriving the fire of oxygen is known as smothering or blanketing and reducing the temperature is known as cooling.

 

It is often possible to use more than one method at the same time, in fact most means of extinguishment do so, although they are classified under the method on which they principally rely.

 

Removal of Fuel. This method is applied by removing from theneighbourhood of the fire such combustible materials which can be removed. It is often possible to transfer stock or other contents from the parts of a burning building to a safe place. When dealing with flammable liquid fires, valves can be shut off and storage vessels pumped to safe areas to help eliminate the supply of fuel to the fire. Flammable gas fires are completely extinguished by shutting off the fuel supply. These and similar actions may be of great value in reducing the potential damage, but they do not generally provide positive action against fire. Moreover, under many circumstances, it is not practical to attempt to remove the fuel from the fire. Smothering or cooling is usually more useful.

 

Smothering or blanketing. This is an attempt to reduce the supply ofoxygen necessary for the fire. A reduction of the proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere from the normal 21% to less than 15% will extinguish most fires, but in some cases the percentage of oxygen must be reduces as low as 0%. When the burning material, e.g. celluloid, includes in its chemical composition sufficient oxygen for its combustion, smothering is, of course, ineffective.

 

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Examples of smothering include the use of sand to cover small fires of spilled oil and wrapping a blanket around a person whose clothing is burning. Inert gases or vapours may be used to displace the air surrounding a fire or to reduce the oxygen content of the atmosphere below the level required for combustion to continue. Such a “blanket” is, of course, a temporary one because the gases tend to be dissipated by the convection currents set up by the heat of the fire or in the open air by droughts. Carbon dioxide, carbon tetrachloride, methyl bromide and chlorobromomethane are the extinguishing agents usually used in this case.

 

Cooling. In order to remove the heat, something must be applied to thefire to absorb the heat or act as a heat exchanger. Water is not the only agent used to accomplish this, but it is the most common. This is possible through water’s ability to absorb massive amounts of heat by converting water to water vapor.

 

Interruption of Chain Reaction. Modern extinguishing agents, suchas dry chemical and halons, have proven to be effective on various fires even though these agents do not remove heat, fuel, or oxygen. Dry chemical and halogenated agents are thought to suspend “free radicals” that are created in the combustion process and thus prevent them from continuing the chain reaction.

 

A) Match the words with similar meanings.

 

1) withdrawal                         A) possible

2) to keep from                    B) fireman

3) firefighter                             C) to try

4) because                               D) to continue

 

5) potential                               E) removal

6) to suspend                        F) to prevent

7) to go on                                G) blanketing

8) to take in                              H) to bond with

9) smothering                        I) as

10) to attempt                        J) to absorb

 

B) Match the words with opposite meanings.

 

1) to interrupt                           A) less

2) possible                                   B to rise

3) to remove                              C) useless

4) sufficient                                 D) temporary

5) permanent                            E) to prevent

6) to reduce                                F) impossible

 

7) to sustain                               G) negative

8) useful                                         H) to supply

9) more                                            I) not enough

10) positive                                 j) to continue

 

SPEECH PRACTICE EXERCISES

 

TEXT B

 

THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON

 

1. The great fire of London is one of the most well-known disasters in

 

London’s history. The fire started at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning on September, 2 1666 in Thomas Farriner’s bakery on Pudding Lane lasted just under five days. It may have been caused by a spark from his oven falling onto a pile of fuel nearby. The fire spread easily because London was very dry after a long, hot summer. The area around Pudding Lane was full of warehouses containing highly flammable things like timber, rope, and oil. A very strong easterly wind blew the fire from house to house in the narrow streets.

 

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2. As the fire was spreading so quickly most Londoners concentrated on escaping rather than fighting the fire. They rescued as many of their belongings as they could carry and fled. Many Londoners fled to the river and tried to load their goods onto boats to get away to safety. Other people rushed through the City gates and went into fields outside London. They stayed there for many days, sheltering in tents and shacks. Some people were forced to live in this way for months and even years.

 

3. There was no fire brigade in London in 1666 so Londoners themselves had to fight the fire, helped by soldiers. They used buckets of water, water squirts and fire hooks. Equipment was stored in local churches. The best way to stop the fire was to pull down houses with hooks to make gaps or “fire breaks”, but this was difficult because the wind forced the fire across any gaps created. A quicker way of demolishing houses was to blow them up with gunpowder, but this technique was not used until the third day of the fire. Fire Posts, each staffed by 130 men, were set up around the city to fight the blaze. On Tuesday night the wind dropped and the firefighters finally gained control. By dawn on Thursday the fire was out.

 

4. The damage caused by the Great Fire was immense: 1/3 of London was destroyed and about 100,000 people were made homeless. It took nearly

 

50 years to rebuild the burnt area of London. The new regulations were designed to prevent such a disaster happening again. Houses now had to be faced in brick instead of wood. Some streets were widened and two new streets were created. Pavements and new sewers were laid, and London’s quaysides were improved. The results were noticeable: “(London) is not only the finest, but the most healthy city in the world”, said one proud Londoner.

 

TEXT C

 

A FIRE BLANKET

 

A fire blanket is a safety device designed to extinguish small incipient (starting) fires. It consists of a sheet of fire retardant material which is placed over a fire in order to smother it.

 

In order for a fire to burn, all three elements of the fire triangle must be present: heat, fuel and oxygen. A fire blanket either completely surrounds a burning object or is placed over a burning object and sealed closely to a solid surface around the fire. Whether the blanket is placed on top, or surrounding it, the job of the blanket is to cut off the oxygen supply to the fire, thereby putting it out.

 

Small fire blankets, such as for use in kitchens and around the home, are usually made of fibreglass and sometimes kevlar and are folded in to a quick-release container for ease of storage.

 

Larger fire blankets, for use in laboratory and industrial situations, are often made of wool (sometimes treated with a flame retardant fluid). These blankets are usually mounted in vertical quick-release cabinets so that they can be easily pulled out and wrapped round a person whose clothes are on fire.

 

LISTENING

 

UNIT 4

 

EXTINGUISHING AGENTS

 

VOCABULARY

 

TEXT A

 

EXTINGUISHING MEDIA

 

Classification of extinguishing agents must be flexible and every hazard needs to be considered separately. There are different forms of extinguishing media, e.g. foam, halogenated agents, wet chemical agents, and dry powders.

 

All of them are widely used in firefighting. But water is considered to be the best extinguishing agent, the most sufficient and the cheapest means of fire extinguishment. Water is used by the Fire Service for the majority of fires and it can be applied to the heart of the fire by means of hand extinguishers, hand or stirrup pumps, hose reels, hose lines or fixed installations.

 

Firefighting foams have been grouped into two main types: chemical foams and mechanical foams. Chemical foams are rarely found still in use and have been replaced for the most part by different types of mechanical foams. Chemical Foams relied on a chemical reaction between two materials to produce a foam layer that blankets the flammable liquid surface and secures the vapors. Mechanical Foams refer to foam solutions that require a mechanical injection of air to expand and form bubbles. Some examples of mechanical foams are: Protein Foam, Fluoroprotein Foam, Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), Film Forming Fluoroprotein Foam (FFFP), Alcohol Type AFFF, Alcohol Type FFFP, Low Expansion Foam and High Expansion Foam. All of these foams are sold in concentration, proportioned by different means into a foam concentrate/water solution and delivered to the fire as expanded or finished foam. Foam expansion is usually rated in ratios: low expansion foam (10:1), medium expansion foam (20-100:1), high expansion foam (100-1000:1). All mechanical foams extinguish fires through physical means. The foam blanket or film secures vapors coming off of the fuel

 

45

surface, the foam concentrate is mixed with water prior to being expanded and therefore has excellent cooling characteristics and mechanical foams will separate the fuel from air.

 

Fires may also be extinguished by the introduction of inert gases to smother or reduce the oxygen content below the level supporting the combustion. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen are the two gases that are known to be used and involved in this process most readily. They are available in hand extinguishers, fixed installations and so on.

 

Halogenated agents have been used for fire fighting since the early 1900's. Each halogenated agent has unique physical properties such as vapor pressure, boiling point, specific gravity and the like. Here is the list of them:

– bromotrifluoromethane (BTM-CbrF₃);

– bromochlorodifluoromethane (BCF-CBrClF₂);

– bromochloromethane (CB-CH₂BrCl);

– carbon tetrachloride (CTC – CCl₂);

– dibromotetrafluororoethane (DTE – C₂Br₂F₄);

– dibromodifluoroethane (DDE – CBr₂F₂);

– methyl bromide (MB – CH₃Br).

 

Halogenated agents suppress fire by interrupting the chemical chain reaction in the combustion process, working in the fire chemically instead of physically. It is generally agreed that bromine is released from the agent as it decomposes in the fire carrying away the "free radicals" that cause the combustion and releasing more bromine to continue the "chain breaking" process. The primary advantage of halogenated agents has been the lack of clean up required after using the agent. In some environments (such as electronics, data processing, jet engines and high tech optical equipment), discharging other extinguishing agents such as dry chemical or water could cause more property damage than the fire itself.

 

Wet Chemical agents are solutions of water mixed with potassium acetate, potassium carbonate, potassium citrate or combinations thereof. They are specifically designed for Class K fires but they have demonstrated superior effectiveness on Class A fires when compared with plain water. Wet chemical extinguishers work on Class K fires through two methods. The solution is alkaline in nature and therefore reacts with the free fatty acids in the cooking medium to form a soapy foam on top of the burning material. This secures the vapors and cools the cooking medium as the foam drains out and converts to steam. This reaction is called saponification. In addition to saponification, the agent is discharged as a fine mist that does not submerge below the surface of the cooking medium but rather it converts to steam on

 

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the surface pulling heat out of the material. On Class A fires, the wet chemical works much like water only more efficiently.

 

Dry chemical agents have unique properties for fire extinguishing applications. On class B fires they demonstrate superior "flame knock-down" over other available agents. For class B fires, all dry chemicals rely on particle size and decomposition to accomplish extinguishment. Theoretically, the smaller the particle size, the more effective the chemical will be as an extinguishing agent. Similar in theory to halogenated agents, the primary mechanism through which dry chemicals extinguish a class B fire is a "chain breaking" action. Application of dry chemical is considered to prevent the "free radicals" from linking up to sustain the reaction. Besides, some "smothering" action occurs when dry chemical is decomposed in a flame front and produces CO₂. Cooling also takes place as the dry chemical decomposes. Water vapor is formed as a product of decomposition and the solid particles act as a barrier between the fuel surface and the radiant heat formed by the flames in the vapor space above the liquid fuel. This barrier prevents the radiant heat from returning to the fuel surface and continuing ignition.

 

A) Match the words with similar meanings.

 

1) to replace                           A) rarely

2) to interrupt                         B) to demonstrate

3) seldom                                   C) to consider

4) lack                                            D) to substitute

5) to show                                 E) alkali

6) to think                                   F) majority

7) the most of                        G) absence

8) special                                   H) to break

9) base                                         I) flexible

10) adaptable                       J) unique

 

B) Match the words with opposite meanings.

 

1) to sustain                               A) often

2) advantage                            B expensive

3) superior                                   C) large

4) cheap                                         D) to break

5) rarely                                           E) inferior

6) to accomplish                   F) disadvantage

7) to break                                    G) to fail

8) unique                                       H) usual

9) small                                            I) to appear

10) to drain out                       j) to continue

 

TEXT B

 

FIRE INVESTIGATION

 

Since Roman times, civil authorities have recognized the threat that fire represents. In the days of wooden walls and roofs and straw-covered floors, any fire could ravage an entire city. So, it was in the interest of all concerned to investigate fires and establish how they began. Civil authorities attempted to control the fire risk by assessing penalties if an accidental fire was allowed to get out of control. The same rationale applies today. Fires of accidental cause need to be identified, so that dangerous practices can be eliminated by public education, or so that defective or dangerous products can be taken off the market. Fires of incendiary cause must be detected, so that the firesetter can be intercepted before doing more harm and punished. While fire investigation may appear to be a solution to the problem of fires and arsons, a number of major complications in this sphere exist.

 

A fire can be a complex event whose origin and cause are not obvious. The training and preparation of qualified investigators are often costly and time-consuming, requiring dedication to the profession over many years.In some fires, sufficient data to establish the origin and cause do not survive no matter how diligent the search or well prepared the searcher. The destructive power of the fire itself compromises evidence from the outset. The larger a fire becomes and the longer it burns, the less evidence of causation will remain. In case of major fires, representatives from law enforcement, fire, rescue, and emergency medical services; utility company

 

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other public agency personnel may conduct some obligatory official duties. The presence of so many people, in addition to members of the press and the public offers yet more chances for scene security to be compromised and critical evidence to be contaminated, moved, or destroyed.

 

Responsibility for the investigation of fires is split. While the fire service has the primary civil responsibility to establish a fire’s cause, if the cause is accidental, the scene is released to the owner or the owner’s insurance company for further examination. If the conclusion is that the fire was purposely set, a crime has been committed and law enforcement authority is needed to investigate the crime. Any such transfer may cause complications in establishing lines of authority.

 

A lack of commitment to conduct fire investigations exists on the part of some law enforcement and fire agencies. Because of the demand for rescue, emergency medical assistance, in addition to their traditional duties of fire suppression, fire departments often find themselves with fewer resources to stretch to cover all obligations. As a result, the less visible responsibilities of fire investigation and fire prevention are often scaled back. Law enforcement agencies, facing similar overwhelming demands for their time, might prefer not to become involved.

 

TEXT C

 

LISTENING

 

20. You are going to watch a video. Before watching discuss the questions with you partner:

 

1. What type of fuel do you know?

2. What is a fire extinguisher?

3. What labels are there on fire extinguishers?

 

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Watch the video “TYPES OF FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AND THEIR USES” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjSoxJF3RD4.

 

 

Watch the video again and complete the table:

 

Type of Fire	Colour Code	Burning Material
Extinguisher
Water or		– flammable solids:	________,
Water with additive	________	________, ________, ________
	black	– ______________:	________,
________ or ___		oils, ________
		– _____ and ____ equipment
		– flammable ____ and _____
Foam	________
		– ________:_____,____,____
________	blue	– ________:_____,____,____
		–
Wet chemicals	________	– _____ liquids: cooking ___ and
		___

 

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Answer the question:

 

1. What is the most universal type of fire extinguisher?

 

2. What types of extinguishers are recommended to use on electrical equipment? Why?

 

3. What precautions should be taken when using carbon dioxide fire extinguisher?

 

4. What should be remembered when using dry powder extinguishers on fires caused by electrical equipment?

 

5. What type of extinguisher is considered a must for commercial kitchens?

6. What do larger sizes of foam extinguishers have?

 

7. Where is the basic operating instruction situated?

 

8. Is the classification of fires used in the UK and the USA the same? What differences have you noticed?

 

 

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БИБЛИОГРАФИЧЕСКИЙ СПИСОК

 

1. Craig Voelkert J. A Brief Guide to Fire Chemistry and Extinguishment Theory for Fire Equipment Service Technician [Электронный ресурс] / Voelkert J. Craig. – Fire and Fire Extinguishment, 2009. – 27 p. – Режим доступа: http://amerex-fire.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Fire_and_Fire_Extinguishment.pdf

 

2. Clark J. How many things can you plug into an electrical outlet before it catches fire? [Электронный ресурс] / J. Clark. – Режим доступа: http://home.howstuffworks.com

 

3. Clark W. E. Firefighting Principles and Practices / William E. Clark. – Penwell Publishing Company, USA, 1991. – 379 p.

 

4. Eastwood J. Oxford Practice Grammar / J. Eastwood. – Oxford University Press, 2010. – 439 p.

 

5. Fire and Arson Scene Evidence: A Guide for Public and Safety Personnel. – U. S. Government General Books LLC, 2011. – 74 p.

 

6. Horby A. S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English /

A. S. Hornby. – Oxford University Press, 2010. – 1780 p.

 

7. Gottschack J. Firefighting / J. Gottschack // Porling Kinderley. – 2002. – 160 p.

 

8. Murphy R. English Grammar in Use / R. Murphy. – Cambridge University Press, 2002. – 350 p.

 

9. Protect Your HomeHow Fire Spreads [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: http://www.kansasforests.org

 

10. What happened in the Great Fire of London? [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk

 

11. Аршинова Н. П. Английский язык для вузов пожарно-технического профиля: учебное пособие. Ч. II / Н. П. Аршинова, Е. М. Скурко. – М.: Академия ГПС МЧС России, 2012. – 175 с.

 

12. Аршинова Н. П. Английский язык: методические указания и конт-рольные работы для слушателей факультета заочного обучения / Н. П. Аршинова, Е. М. Скурко. – М.: Академия ГПО МЧС России, 2009. –

 

54 с.

 

13. Иллюстрированный словарь по пожарной безопасности / Е. А. Ме-шалкин, С. М. Палей, М. С. Васильев [и др.]. – М.: ВНИИПО МЧС РФ,

 

1999. – 435 с.

 

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CОДЕРЖАНИЕ

 

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