SHS

DISASTER READINESS AND

RISK REDUCTION
QUARTER 2
WEEK 4 A

Quarter 2 – Week 4
Module 4A- Elements of Fire Triangle
DISASTER READINESS AND RISK REDUCTION
Grade 11/12 Quarter 2 - Module 4A- Elements of Fire Triangle
First Edition, 2020

Copyright © 2020
La Union Schools Division
Region I

All rights reserved. No part of this module may be reproduced in any form without
written permission from the copyright owners.

Development Team of the Module

Author: Jermie Sotero

Editor: SDO La Union, Learning Resource Quality Assurance Team

Illustrator: Ernesto F. Ramos Jr., P II

Management Team:

Atty. Donato D. Balderas, Jr.

Schools Division Superintendent

Vivian Luz S. Pagatpatan, Ph.D.

Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

German E. Flora, Ph.D., CID Chief

Virgilio C. Boado, Ph.D., EPS in Charge of LRMS

Rominel S. Sobremonte, Ed.D., EPS in Charge of Science

Michael Jason D. Morales, PDO II

Claire P. Toluyen, Librarian II

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DISASTER READINESS AND
RISK REDUCTION
Quarter 2 – Week 4
Module 4A- Elements of Fire
Triangle
Target

In the previous lesson you were able to recognize, interpret, and were able to
use available tools for monitoring hydro meteorological hazards. It was stated that
most hydro meteorological hazards can be heard seconds before they reach our area.
Hence it is always necessary to be always active and prepared during these events
especially that such hazards forms and travel in the atmosphere is easy to see and
detect them from afar.
In this module, we will be discussing about the nature of fire.
Fire in its most common form can result in conflagration, which has the
potential to cause physical damage through burning. Fire is an important process
that affects ecological systems around the globe. The positive effects of fire include
stimulating growth and maintaining various ecological systems. Its negative effects
include hazard to life and property, atmospheric pollution, and water
contamination. If fire removes protective vegetation, heavy rainfall may lead to an
increase in soil erosion by water.
Also, when vegetation is burned, the nitrogen it contains is released into the
atmosphere, unlike elements such as potassium and phosphorus which remain in
the ash and are quickly recycled into the soil. This loss of nitrogen caused by a fire
produces a long-term reduction in the fertility of the soil, but this fecundity can
potentially be recovered as molecular nitrogen in the atmosphere is "fixed" and
converted to ammonia by natural phenomena such as lightning and
by leguminous plants that are "nitrogen-fixing" such as clover, peas, and green
beans.
After going through this module, you are expected to recognize and identify
elements of the fire triangle in different situations.

Learning Tasks:

1. Define fire triangle and identify its elements

2. Classify the different elements of a fire triangle

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Jumpstart

Activity 1. Provide your answer on the chart provided below. Your answer will be
evaluated base on the rubric provided below. Leave the T part blank

K W
What is your idea about fire triangle? What do you want to know about fire
triangle?

T
What do you think is the effect of fire triangle?

Criteria Fair Good Very Good

2 points 3 points 4 points
Description Description Description
has no new provides some was written
Quality of information new neatly, very
Writing and ideas are information well
poorly and organized informative
organized and well
organized
There are Few misspelled Virtually, no
misspelled words and spelling,
words, and punctuation punctuation or
Grammar, punctuation errors but grammatical
Usage and and were able to errors and
Mechanics grammatical provide a were able to
errors that description provide a very
interferes with good
the description description.
provided

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Discover

THE FIRE TRIANGLE

Fire can be devastating. They lead to property Fire hazards ca occur

loss, injuries, environmental damage, and sometimes anywhere because the
fatalities. three components of
fire are present
It is therefore essential that everyone has everywhere: fuel, heat,
safety knowledge in the preservation of fires and and oxygen
preparedness in dealing with them.

FIRE TRIANGLE

Fire is the process of rapid oxidation of any

material resulting in burning. Oxidation means
that oxygen molecules interact with different
substances in the environment, making it
unstable and thus creating a reaction. When
burning happens, heat, and other reaction
products are released.

FUEL A fire triangle is a model that shows the

three essential components that when present together can start a fire and sustain
it- fuel, heat, and oxygen.

FUEL

- Fire needs fuel source or combustible material in order to burn. Fuel comes
in different forms: solid (e.g., wood, paper, plastic), liquid (e.g., gasoline, kerosene,
acetone), and gas (e.g., methane, propane, acetylene). Different types of fuel burn at
different rates.

HEAT

- This is needed to start and continue the combustion process. Combustion

happens when flammable vapor mix with air (oxygen) and is ignited by a spark or
flame. In essence, when the ignition temperature (heat) of the fuel (any material) is
reached, combustion reaction happens. This is because the energy stored in that
material reacts with the oxygen that is present in the air, giving off heat. Most solid
combustible materials ignite immediately because they instantly give off vapor and
readily reach their ignition or flammable temperature. Other solids may take time
to
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ignite because of their density such that the flammable vapor does not get released
fast. Liquid fuels, on the other hand, give off flammable vapor even in cold
temperatures. Hence, fire may still be produced even in temperatures below 0 oC.
Petrol is an example of a liquid fuel that can be ignited at 43oC below 0.

OXYGEN
Fire hazards ca occur
anywhere because the - This constitutes about 21% of the air
three components of fire around us. Oxygen reacts with flammable vapors
are present everywhere. given off by fuels and the reaction releases heat. The
Fire will not cease until magnitude of the fire, whether it is going to be
one or more of the explosive or flammable, depends on the ratio
components are between the oxygen and fuel.
removed

THE FIRE TETRAHEDRON

The fire tetrahedron represents the addition of a

component in the chemical chain reaction, to the three
already present in the fire triangle. Once a fire has started,
the resulting exothermic chain reaction sustains the fire
and allows it to continue until or unless at least one of
the elements of the fire is blocked. Foam can be used
to deny the fire the oxygen it needs. Water can be
used to lower the temperature of the fuel below the
ignition point or to remove or disperse the
fuel. Halon can be used to remove free radicals and
create a barrier of inert gas in a direct attack on the
chemical reaction responsible for the fire.
Combustion is the chemical reaction that feeds a fire more
heat and allows it to continue.
When the fire involves burning metals like lithium, magnesium, titanium, etc., it
becomes even more important to consider the energy release. The metals react
faster with water than with oxygen and thereby more energy is released. Pouring
water on such a fire results in the fire getting hotter or even exploding. Carbon
dioxide extinguishers are ineffective against certain metals such as titanium.
Therefore, inert agents (e.g. dry sand) must be used to break the chain reaction of
metallic combustion.
In the same way, as soon as one of the four elements of the tetrahedron is
removed, combustion stops.

OXIDIZER
The oxidizer is the other reactant of the chemical reaction. In most cases, it is
the ambient air, and in particular one of its components, oxygen (O2). By depriving a
fire of air, it can be extinguished. For example, when covering the flame of a small
candle with an empty glass, fire stops. To the contrary, if air is blown over a wood
fire (as with bellows), the fire is activated by the introduction of more air.
Some chemicals, such as fluorine gas, perchlorate salts such as ammonium
perchlorate, or chlorine trifluoride, act as oxidizers, sometimes more powerful ones

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than oxygen itself. A fire based on a reaction with these oxidizers can be very
difficult to put out until the oxidizer is exhausted; that leg of the fire triangle cannot be
broken by normal means (i.e., depriving it of air will not smother it).
In certain cases, such as some explosives, the oxidizer and combustible are
the same (e.g., nitroglycerin, an unstable molecule that has oxidizing parts in the
same molecule as the oxidizable parts).
Reaction is initiated by an activating energy, in most cases, it is heat. Several
examples include friction, as in case of matches, heating an electrical wire, a flame
(propagation of fire), or a spark (from a lighter or from any starting electrical
device). There are also many other ways to bring sufficient activation energy
including electricity, radiation, and pressure, all of which will lead to a temperature
rise. In most cases, heat production enables self-sustainability of the reaction, and
enables a chain reaction to grow. The temperature at which a liquid produces
sufficient vapor to get a flammable mix with self-sustainable combustion is called
its flash-point.

EXTINCTION OF FIRE

To stop a combustion reaction, one of the three elements of the fire triangle
must be removed.

Without sufficient heat, a fire cannot begin, and it cannot continue. Heat can
be removed by the application of a substance which reduces the amount of heat
available to the fire reaction. This is often water, which absorbs heat for phase change
from water to steam. Introducing sufficient quantities and types of powder or gas in
the flame reduces the amount of heat available for the fire reaction in the same
manner. Scraping embers from a burning structure also removes the heat source.
Turning off the electricity in an electrical fire removes the ignition source.

Without fuel, a fire will stop. Fuel can be removed naturally, as where the fire
has consumed all the burnable fuel, or manually, by mechanically or chemically
removing the fuel from the fire. Fuel separation is an important factor in wildland
fire suppression, and is the basis for most major tactics, such as controlled burns.
The fire stops because a lower concentration of fuel vapor in the flame leads to a
decrease in energy release and a lower temperature. Removing the fuel thereby
decreases the heat.

Without sufficient oxygen, a fire cannot begin, and it cannot continue. With a
decreased oxygen concentration, the combustion process slows. Oxygen can be
denied to a fire using a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher, a fire blanket or water.

ROLE OF WATER IN FIRE-FIGHTING

Water can have two different roles. In the case of a solid combustible, the
solid fuel produces pyrolyzing products under the influence of heat, commonly
radiation. This process is halted by the application of water, since water is more
easily evaporated than the fuel is pyrolyzed. Thereby energy is removed from the
fuel surface and it is cooled and the pyrolysis is stopped, removing the fuel supply
to the flames. In firefighting, this is referred to as surface cooling.

In the gas phase, i.e. in the flames or in the smoke, the combustible cannot
be separated from the oxidizer, and the only possible action consists of cooling
down. In this case, water droplets are evaporated in the gas phase, thereby
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lowering the

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temperature and adding water vapor making the gas mixture noncombustible. This
requires droplets of a size less than about 0.2 mm. In firefighting, this is referred to
as gas cooling or smoke cooling.

Cases also exist where the ignition factor is not the activation energy. For
example, a smoke explosion is a very violent combustion of unburned gases
contained in the smoke created by a sudden fresh air input (oxidizer input). The
interval in which an air/gas mix can burn is limited by the explosive limits of the
air. This interval can be very small (kerosene) or large (acetylene).

Water cannot be used on certain type of fires:

 Fires where live electricity is present – as water conducts electricity it presents

an electrocution hazard.
 Hydrocarbon fires – as it will only spread the fire because of the difference in
density/hydrophobicity. For example, adding water to a fire with an oil source
will cause the oil to spread, since oil and water do not mix.
 Metal fires – as these fires produce huge amounts of energy (up to 7.550
calories/kg for aluminum) and water can also create violent chemical reactions
with burning metal (possibly even serving as an additional oxidizing agent).

Since these reactions are well understood, it has been possible to create
specific water-additives which will allow:

 A better heat absorption with a higher density than water.

 Carrying free radical catchers on the fire.
 Carrying foaming agents to enable water to stay on the surface of a liquid fire
and prevent gas release.
 Carrying specific reactive which will react and change the nature of the burning
material.

Water-additives are generally designed to be effective on several categories of

fires (class A + class B or even class A + class B + class F), meaning a better global
performance and usability of a single extinguisher on many different types of fires
(or fires that involve several different classes of materials).

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Explore

Enrichment Activity

A. Identify and Explain.

1. Components of
Fire: A.
B.
C.
2. Certain types of fire
A
B
C
B. KWL Chart:
Direction: Fill in the K and W columns before the lesson. Fill in the L column after
the lesson. Use the rubric provided in answering the chart

K W
My new idea about fire triangle What I have known about fire triangle

L
What I have learned on the effects and elements of a fire triangle

Criteria Fair Good Very Good

2 points 3 points 4 points
Description has no new Description Description was
information and ideas are provides some written neatly, very
Quality of poorly organized new well informative and
Writing information well organized
and organized
There are misspelled words, Few misspelled Virtually, no
and punctuation and words and spelling,
grammatical errors that punctuation punctuation or
Grammar, interferes with the errors but grammatical errors
description provided
Usage and were able to and were able to
Mechanics provide a provide a very good
description description.

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Deepen

Activity 1

Directions: Answer the following questions briefly but substantially. Write your
answer in a separate sheet of paper. Your answers will be scored based on the rubrics
below.

Criteria Fair Good Very Good

2 points 3 points 4 points
Description has no new Description Description was
information and ideas are provides some written neatly,
Quality of poorly organized new very well
Writing information informative and
and organized well organized
There are misspelled Few misspelled Virtually, no
words, and punctuation words and spelling,
and grammatical errors punctuation punctuation or
Grammar, that interferes with the errors but grammatical errors
description provided
Usage and were able to and were able to
Mechanics provide a provide a very
description good description.

1. How is fire triangle differ to fire tetrahedron?

2. What is the importance of water in firefighting?

3. What is the role of oxidizer in chemical reaction?

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Activity 2

You are considered as a mechanical engineer in the Bureau of Fire Protection

Department. You were given a task to create the most latest and advance fire truck.
Draw your most ideal fire truck in a short bond paper. Use the rubric as a guide in
making your output.

RUBRIC FOR THE ACTIVITY

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Required The drawing includes All required elements Few of the Several required
Elements varied use of are included on the required elements elements were
(coloring, different colors poster. are included on missing.
design) which suits the the drawing
design perfectly

Picture The drawing is The drawing is The drawing is The drawing is

exceptionally attractive in terms of acceptably distractingly messy
attractive in terms of design, layout and attractive though or very poorly
design, layout, and neatness. it may be a bit designed. It is not
neatness. messy. attractive.

Process Questions:

1. What is the difference of your fire truck to the current fire truck that our society
have?

2. What motivates you to make such design?

3. How effective is your designed fire truck during emergency situation?

Criteria Fair Good Very Good

2 points 3 points 4 points
Description has no new Description Description was
information and ideas are provides some written neatly,
Quality of poorly organized new very well
Writing information informative and
and organized well organized
There are misspelled Few misspelled Virtually, no
words, and punctuation words and spelling,
and grammatical errors punctuation punctuation or
Grammar, that interferes with the errors but grammatical errors
description provided
Usage and were able to and were able to
Mechanics provide a provide a very
description good description.

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Gauge

Directions: Read very carefully the questions below and choose the letter that
corresponds to your answer.

For Items 1-3

A. Fire B. Fuel C. Heat D. Oxygen

1. It is the process of rapid oxidation of any material resulting in burning.

2. The element that reacts with flammable vapors given off by fuels and the
reaction releases heat?
3. The element of fire triangle that comes from different forms?
4. The magnitude of the fire, whether it is going to be explosive or
flammable, depends on the ratio between the oxygen and fuel.
A. Fire and fuel B. Fire and heat C. Fire and Oxygen D. Oxygen and fuel
5. To stop a combustion reaction, one of the three elements of the fire triangle must
be removed. This idea indicates
A. Extinction of Fire C. Role of oxygen
B. Management of fire D. Suppressing fire
6. Which of the following is NOT included?
A. Metal fires C. Fires where live electricity is present
B. Hydrocarbon fires D. Methane fire
7. Which among the following type of fire where water can’t be used?
A. Metal fires C. Fires where live electricity is present
B. Hydrocarbon fires D. All of the above
8. Which among the following causes an electrocution hazard?
A. Metal fires C. Fires where live electricity is present
B. Hydrocarbon fires D. Methane fire
9. Where are the two role of water in firefighting occur?
A. Solid and Gas B. Solid and Liquid C. Solid only D. Liquid only

10. This element is needed to start and continue the combustion process?
A. Fire B. Fuel C. Heat D. Oxygen
11. Which of the following element give’s off flammable vapor even in cold
temperature?
A. Solid fuel B. Liquid Fuel C. Gas Fuel D. Oxygen
For Items 12-15
A. Solid B. Gas C. Liquid D. Heat

12. What form of fuel is acetylene?

13. What form of fuel is methane?
14. What form of fuel is propane?
15. What form of fuel is acetone?

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ANSWER KEY

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References

Diwa Senior High School Series. Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction. Diwa
Learning Systems., Inc., 4/F SEDCCO 1 Bldg. 120 Thailand corner Legaspi
Street. Legaspi Village, 1229 Makati City, Phillipines. Fire hazard pp 97-98.

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