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Firebrands and Embers

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Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires

Synonyms

Brands; Flying brands

Definitions

Both wildland and structure fires can generate burning particles which flow along with the gaseous combustion products. When such particles have the capability of setting additional fires (“spot fires”), they become firebrands. Firebrands and embers are similar items but with a slight distinction. “Ember” refers to any small, hot, carbonaceous particle. Meanwhile, “firebrand” specifically denotes an object which is airborne and carried for some distance in an airstream. Thus, aerodynamic properties of firebrands become an important characteristic that needs to be considered. Firebrands are also sometimes referred to as “flying brands” or “brands,” and all of these terms have the same meaning. Since firebrands or embers can be burning (flaming or smoldering), they can serve as ignition sources for vegetation, structures, or other target fuels (Fig. 1).

Introduction

The basic aerodynamics is that the firebrand first gets lofted by the plume of...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fire Science and Technology Inc., and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA

    Vytenis Babrauskas

Authors
  1. Vytenis Babrauskas
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Correspondence to Vytenis Babrauskas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. United States Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA

    Samuel L. Manzello

Section Editor information

  1. National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster (NRIFD), Tokyo, Japan

    Sayaka Suzuki PhD

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Babrauskas, V. (2018). Firebrands and Embers. In: Manzello, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_3-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_3-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51727-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51727-8

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