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Conflagration is an uncontrolled burning that threatens human life, health, property or ecology. A conflagration can be accidentally or intentionally created (arson). Arson can be accomplished for the purpose of sabotage, diversion, and also can be the consequence of pyromania. During conflagration the property is destroyed by fire. Sometimes the conflagration produces a firestorm, in which the central column of rising heated air induces strong inward winds, which supply oxygen to the fire.

Contents 1 Definitions 2 The causes and types of conflagration [5] 3 The most famous conflagrations 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Definitions

• a destructive fire, usually an extensive one^[1]

• a very intense and uncontrolled fire^[2]

• a large disastrous fire^[3]

• a large destructive fire^[4]

[edit] The causes and types of conflagration ^[5]

The most common causes of conflagration are: careless handling of fire, the nonobservance of the operating instructions of production equipment, spontaneous combustion of substances and materials, the discharges of static electricity, lightning, arson^{[citation needed]}. Depending on an occurrence place we can distinguish: vehicles conflagration; steppe and field conflagrations; underground conflagrations in mines; peat and forest conflagrations; conflagrations in buildings and constructions.

The space covered by conflagration is usually divided into 3 zones—the active fire zone, the heat zone and the smoke zone. External signs of a zone of the active fire are the presence of flame and the smouldering or hot materials. The main characteristic of the ravages of fire temperature is developed during combustion. For residential houses and public buildings indoor temperature reaches 800–900 °C. Typically, the highest temperatures occur during outdoor fires and the average for combustible gases 1200–1350 °C, for liquids 1100–1300 °C, for solids 1000–1250 °C. When burning thermite, elektron, magnesium the maximal temperature reaches 2000–3000 °C.

The space around the burning zone, where temperatures reached as a result of heat transfer values, causing destructive impact on the surrounding objects and dangerous for humans, called the zone of heat. Adopted take that into a zone of heat, burning the surrounding area, includes land, the temperature at which the mixture of air and gaseous products of combustion of not less than 60-80 °C. During a conflagration a significant movement of air and combustion products occurs. Hot gaseous products of combustion move upward, causing the influx of more dense cold air to the combustion zone. Inside the building the intensity of gas exchange depends on the size and location of openings in walls and floors, the height of the premises, and the number and burning properties of materials. The direction of traffic hot product and usually determines the probable spread of the fire path, as well as powerful back heat flows can move sparks, burning coals and lead to considerable distance, creating new hotbeds of burning. Products of a fire combustion (smoke) form a smoke zone. The composition of smoke usually consists of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor as well as ash and other substances. Many products of incomplete and complete combustion, which are parts of the smoke, have high toxicity, the products generated during combustion of polymers are especially toxic. In some cases, products of incomplete combustion, such as carbon monoxide, may form with oxygen combustible and explosive mixtures.

Sometimes there are industrial conflagrations such as a fire at an oil refinery where much flammable material is processed; for example, the 2009 Cataño oil refinery fire. Powdered material can rapidly burn causing powder explosions.

Sometimes there are conflagrations in forests or other wilderness areas; see Wildfire.

[edit] The most famous conflagrations

Place	Date	Conflagration	Size
Rome	64	Great Fire of Rome
Alexandria	AD 46–120	Burning of the library of Alexandria
Moscow	1547
Moscow	1571
Edo	1657	Great Fire of Meireki	30,000 to 100,000 victims, 60-70% of the city was burned.
London	1666	Great Fire of London	13,000 houses and 87 churches were destroyed.
Moscow	1812	Fire of Moscow (1812) occurred after Napoleon captured the city.
Hamburg	1842	Great Fire of Hamburg	Twenty-five percent of the city was destroyed.
Santiago, Chile	1863	Fire of the Jesuit Church	At least 2,000 victims.
Atlanta	1864	Atlanta Campaign during American Civil War. Occurred after General Sherman captured the city.	More than 4,000 houses, including dwellings, shops, stores, mills and depots are burned, about eleven-twelfths of the city. Only about 450 buildings escaped this ruthless burning.
Chicago	1871	Great Chicago Fire	From 200 to 300 victims; 17,000 buildings were destroyed.
Jacksonville	1901	Great Fire of 1901	Destroyed 146 city blocks, over 2,368 buildings and left almost 10,000 people homeless all in the course of eight hours.
Chicago	1903	Iroquois Theater Fire	Deadliest single-building fire in US history with 602 victims.
San Francisco	1906	Result of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake	More than 105,000 victims, 96% of city burned.
Barnaul	1917	Uncontrollable fire	34 victims, 60 quarters destroyed.
Stalingrad	1942	The result of an air bombardment	More than 40,000 victims and 60,000 wounded men, a half of city was destroyed; the fire produced a firestorm.
Hamburg	1943	The result of an air bombardment	35,000—45,000 victims, the center of the city was destroyed.
Dresden	1945	The result of bombing of Dresden in World War II	25,000—40,000 victims, the center of the city was destroyed. The fire produced a firestorm.
Tokyo	1945	Repeated air-raids as a part of Operation_Meetinghouse#B-29_raids	Roughly 100,000 victims.
Osaka	1945	firestorm as a result of air-raids.
Kobe	1945	firestorm as a result of air-raids.
Chicago	1958	Our Lady of the Angels School Fire	95 victims
Brussels	1967	A conflagration in the Innovation Department store	323 victims, 150 wounded
Moscow	1977	A conflagration in the Russia Hotel	42 victims
Bradford	1985	Bradford City stadium fire	52 victims
New York City	2001	World Trade Center fires	2,806 victims as fires caused two towers to collapse. Caused by two airplane crashes during a terrorist attack.
Asunción	2004	Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire	374 victims, 500 wounded
Greece	2007	2007 Greek forest fires	84 victims
Australia	2009	Black Saturday bushfires	209 victims, 500 wounded

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Conflagration

• Conflagration on map (AccidentMap.com Accident on map)