FOCUS
Testing a theory
Angus Sangster explains the work he carried out on a theoretical fire model for waste, and how best to fight waste fires of different types
in Gloucestershire. The fi re tests were designed to represent the worst case fi re types likely to be faced by the fi re and rescue service at a normal waste site. An additional output was the testing of different extinguishing agents, their application and effectiveness. I was appointed by the Waste Industries Safety and Health Forum (WISH) to be the technical lead for this – the WISH fire test programme. The materials selected were refuse derived
D
fuel (RDF), eg black bag waste collected from domestic street collections, and refi ned baled plastic. In addition, pre crushed wood was used to demonstrate the test method and to evaluate the effectiveness of video heat and smoke detection technologies. Two separate firefighting tests were
conducted: one using RDF and the other using plastic bag residue. Each of the tests was conducted within purpose built bays constructed using blocks supplied by Legioblock. The first test consisted of setting alight a pile which contained pre crushed wood. The purpose of this initial test was to establish a reliable method of initiating the
24 NOVEMBER 2018
www.frmjournal.com
URING SEPTEMBER and October 2017, a series of full scale fire tests was conducted at the Fire Service College
deep seated fire. After a number of failed attempts, an oxypropane lance was selected as the pilot for this test programme. It was observed that highly volatile fuels consumed all of the available air too quickly. Even attempts to supply air through a pipe could not sustain a sufficient fire, or generate a self sustaining fire. The second set of tests consisted of a stack of baled plastic which was ignited from the upwind direction and allowed to burn for 40 minutes before firefighters extinguished it. Results from conducting these tests have been analysed and the significant findings are discussed in this article. It explains various extinguishing media, the methods of application and relative effectiveness, the output from which can provide essential recommendations for fi refi ghting operations. The objectives of the tests were to verify
the theoretical model developed as part of a PhD thesis that describes how waste fires develop in waste, based upon this theoretical model. Using these assumptions, I have developed an approach to fi refi ghting in both piled waste and stacked baled waste. These methods would be applied using a range of water additives.
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