Fire Toxicity

Toxic fire effluents are responsible for the majority of fire deaths, and an increasingly large majority of fire injuries, driven by the widespread and increasing use of synthetic polymers. Fire safety has focused on preventing ignition and reducing flame spread through reducing the rate of heat release, while neglecting the important issue of fire toxicity. This is the first reference work on fire toxicity and the only scientific publication on the subject in the last 15 years

Assessment of toxic effects of fires is increasingly being recognised as a key factor in the assessment of fire hazards. This book raises important issues including the types of toxic effluents that different fires produce, their physiological effects, methods for generation and assessment of fire toxicity, current and proposed regulations and approaches to modelling the toxic impact of fires.

The contributors to Fire toxicity represent an international team of the leading experts in each aspect of this challenging and important field. This book will provide an important reference work for professionals in the fire community, including fire fighters, fire investigators, regulators, fire safety engineers and formulators of fire-safe materials. It will also prove invaluable to researchers in academia and industry.

Dr Anna Stec is a Lecturer in Fire Chemistry and Toxicology and Richard Hull is Professor of Chemistry and Fire Science in the Centre for Fire and Hazard Science at University of Central Lancashire, UK.