ABSTRACT
Dealing with the quantitative aspects of Fire, Explosion, Exposure effects plus the qualitative aspects of Other Hazards:
There are many different types of fire: pool fires, jet flames, fireballs and flash fires. The chances of survival for anyone caught within the flame zone are very remote and direct contact will likely cause death. Outside of direct contact, the thermal radiation effects can be very damaging. The following table shows the impact of thermal radiation on people. The extent of injury will depend on a range of factors including:
• Total radiation emitted by heat source
• Distance between heat source and receptor
• Whether clothing offers protection
• Whether clothing is readily flammable
• Age and condition of health of receptor
The following diagram shows Mortality in relation to Thennal Load (based on data from F.P. Lees (1) where:
Thermal Load = (Exposure Time in Seconds, t) x (Incident Flux in kW/m2, 1)4/3
The calculation of thermal radiation flux will depend on the originating source and is not covered in this text. Methodologies that cover this are typically included in CCPS reference (3).
