FIREFIGHTERS BARCELONA
When a team of firefighters arrives at the place where the fire is taking place, the first thing that must be done is to recognize the land. This one, will have to determine the probabilities of development of the fire and the speed and direction of propagation. And it will happen following the following criteria:
1.The types of vegetation and its combustion capacity
2.Weather conditions
3.Topographical conditions
The type of vegetation and its combustion capacity is a very important factor, since it will determine the characteristics and durability of the fire. In principle, the type of vegetation in the area and its disposition to the land must be taken into account. And, above all, it is important to look at if there are:
•Light fuels: such as branches or blades, since the propagation capacity is very high
if the humidity is low.
•Heavy fuels: logs, large branches or roots. With these fuels, the force of the fire at first will be low but, being very heavy materials, over time the fire ends up having a great force.
•Green fuels: the living parts of plants will prevent and delay the spread of fire.
Meteorological conditions are another key factor. The factors related to the time that will influence in a more determining way in the force of the fire and the proportions to which it will arrive, are the following:
•The humidity of the atmosphere.
•The temperature.
•The wind: this is precisely the factor that most influences the propagation of fire, as it escapes it and also provides oxygen to combustion. If the air is hot and dry, it also quickly dries out ground fuels and causes faster and easier combustion. In addition, the wind can disperse sparks and cause secondary fires.
Finally, the topographic conditions that most influence the vegetation fires are:
•Altitude: in addition to influencing the development of fuels, it makes a significant difference in the exposure of these to the wind, which is much stronger in the highlands of the mountains.
•The orientation: the side of a mountain determines the exposure to the sun of the fire, the exposure to local winds and in warm areas, the type of vegetation.
•The slope: it is the main topographic factor, since it accelerates the propagation of fire by approximating the fuels, accelerating its preheating and increasing the wind speed favoring the propagation by convection.
-12-