Fire Service Ventilation (7th Edition)
Chapter 1-Terms
Fire Behavior & Airflow Characteristics
Bank down
To move in a downward direction due to restricted lateral movement.
Btu
The amount of heat required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.
Buoyancy
Tendency to rise or float.
Calorie
The amount of heat needed to raise one gram of water one degree Celsius.
Churning
Movement of smoke being blown out of a ventilation opening and then being drawn back in by negative pressure created by an ejector because area around ejector is not sealed.
Circulation
Moving around of air inside a structure or other confined space.
Combustion
The process of burning by chemical change (Rapid Oxidation).
Condensation
The process by which a gas or liquid changes to a vapor. Synonymous with Vaporize.
Conduction
Transfer of heat through direct contact between two objects or through contact with an intervening medium that transfers heat.
Convection
Transfer of heat by the movement of fluids such as air or water.
Dehydration
Inadequate stores of water in the human body.
Deleterious
Having a harmful effect; injurious. Synonymous with Devastating.
Devastating
Action taken that overwhelms or destroys. Synonymous with Deleterious.
Diffusion
Process by which molecules spread from areas of higher concentration to areas of lower concentration.
Dilution
The process of making weaker or less concentrated.
Diminish
To reduce or make smaller.
Discernible
Able to make out visually or perceptibly.
Dissipate
To disperse or make disappear.
Emanate
To come from a specific source.
Fire
A chemical reaction that releases heat and light accompanied by flame.
Flame
Visible, luminous body of burning gas.
Gravitate
To appear suspended in mid air.
Horizontal
On, or relating to the horizon.
Hypoxia
Oxygen deficiency in the body tissues.
Incipient
Beginning to exist or appear.
Inversion
Atmospheric phenomenon that allows smoke to rise until its temperature equals the surrounding air temperature, then begins to spread laterally in a horizontal layer.
Joule
The amount of heat energy provided by one watt flowing for one second.
Lateral
Of, or relating to the side or outer edge.
Lethal
Deadly.
Luminous
Emitting self-generated light.
Mitigate
To lessen severity or danger. Synonymous with Subside.
Oxidation
Chemical reaction in which oxygen combines with other elements.
Particulate
Of, or relating to separate or formed particles.
Permeate
To spread or flow throughout.
Physiological
Relating to the normal functioning of a living organism.
Pulmonary
Relating to or affecting the lungs.
Radiation
Transfer of heat through heat waves (infrared).
Stratify
To settle at various levels of accumulations or layers of smoke according to density of weight, heaviest at the bottom.
Subside
To sink to a lower or normal level. Synonymous with Mitigate.
Synergistic
The combined effects of two or more substances that is greater than the individual substances' effects.
Systemic
Relating to the effects on body systems.
Urea
The chief nitrogenous component of urine.
Vaporize
To be converted to vapor. Synonymous with Condensation.
Ventilation
Systematic removal of heated air, smoke, and airborne contaminants from a structure and replacing them with fresh air.
Vertical
At a right angle to the horizon; upward.