Different Causes of Fires

• Stages of Fire

  • Ignition
  • Growth
  • Fully Developed Decay
• Ignition Stage

  • fire is easiest to suppress at this point, causing the least damage.
  • difficult to manually fight and extinguish a fire when it is in this stage because of the time it takes to identify the fire, locate a handheld extinguisher, and perform the proper steps to spray the fire.
• Growth Stage

  • Once a fire reaches this stage, it becomes harder to control.
  • Flashover
  • NFPA 921 defines flashover as “a transitional phase in the development of a compartment fire in which surfaces exposed to thermal radiation reach its ignition temperature.
• Fully Developed Stage

  • A fully developed fire is the hardest to suppress because, at this point, the fire is at maximum temperatures and causing the most heat damage.
• Decay Stage

  • phase when the fire decreases in intensity until it is either a smolder or non-existent.