WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY SITUATION?

CONTENTS

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

На сегодняшний день английский язык остается самым востребованным языком в мире коммуникации. Изучение иностранного языка способствует развитию мыслительных процессов у студентов высших образовательных учреждений, так как при изучении иностранного языка студенту приходится оперировать другой системой знаков. Синтаксические конструкции и грамматика развивают способности к анализу и синтезу, запоминание лексических единиц развивает оперативную память, работа с контекстом – языковую догадку, сообразительность и внимание.

Целью пособия является формирование ОК-5 в соответствии с ФГОС у студентов бакалавриата по направлениям подготовки «Безопасность жизнедеятельности», «Защита в чрезвычайных ситуациях», «Безопасность жизнедеятельности в техносфере». Изучение профессионально-ориентированных текстов, взятых из научно-популярных и научных англоязычных источников, позволяет развивать у студентов способность к коммуникации в устной и письменной формах на иностранном языке для решения задач межличностного и межкультурного взаимодействия. А также материал пособия помогает овладеть навыками межкультурной коммуникации в профессиональной и деловой сфере общения, научиться распознавать и продуктивно использовать профессиональную лексику в заданном контексте, соотносить лексику терминологического характера с предложенным определением, работать с текстом в соответствии с алгоритмом извлечения информации, познакомиться с особенностями социальной жизни страны изучаемого языка и особенностями зарубежной системы в области избранной профессии.

Пособие содержит 6 блоков (Unit), каждый из которых включает в себя несколько текстов по заданной тематике. Тексты «А» предназначены для изучающего чтения. Перед текстом выделен список лексических единиц, рекомендуемых для усвоения по данной теме (Words to know). Далее представлен комплекс упражнений на отработку лексических и грамматических навыков, а также задания направленные на развитие навыков устной речи в виде докладов, презентаций. В пособии имеются задания для аудирования, необходимые для обучения пониманию речи носителей языка. Тексты «B» и «С» позволяют более широко раскрыть тематику “юнита” и закрепить лексический материал.

Также в пособие включен раздел Translation Practice, в котором предложено несколько текстов для отработки навыков перевода. В предложенных тестах встречаются лексические и грамматические явления, вызывающие затруднения у студентов во время переводческой деятельности.

Данное пособие может быть использовано как на практических занятиях со студентами бакалавриата, так и для организации их самостоятельной работы. Также, материал может быть использован для исследовательской деятельности студентов магистратуры и при подготовке специалистов в области профессионального перевода в рамках дополнительной квалификации.

UNIT 1

WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY SITUATION?

Add the transcription and translation to the words without:

Read and translate the Text A:

Classifying emergencies

Emergency situation is defined as a sudden, unexpected, or impending situation that may cause injury, loss of life, damage to the property, and/or interference with the normal activities of a person or firm and which, therefore, requires immediate attention and remedial action. Urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer help for the aftermath.

The extreme situations are hazardous ones, they may be caused by nature or by man. To the hazards caused by nature disasters may belong: earthquakes, storms, tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, eruptions of volcanoes, droughts, damages of roads, bridges, buildings, ships sinking, swamping (mashing) soils, avalanches, explosions at chemical enterprises, burning chemical substances resulting in poisonous fumes and smokes, lightning, landslides, glacier slides, ice storms, radiation, drowning, epidemics. To the hazards caused by a man may belong: fires, peril of arable soils in the result of superfluous fertilizes, drying up rivers and other basins, withering plants, crashes of airplanes, poisoning water basins with chemicals, crashes of dwelling houses, disrepair everything connected with electric current, terror acts, strikes, damages of pipelines, clashes of transport vehicles entailing death accidents.

In order to be defined as an emergency, the incident should conform to one or more of the following:

• poses an immediate threat to life, health, property, or environment
• has already caused loss of life, health detriments, property damage, or environmental damage
• has a high probability of escalating to cause immediate danger to life, health, property, or environment.

Whilst most emergency services agree on protecting human health, life and property, the environmental impacts are not considered sufficiently important by some agencies. This also extends to areas such as animal welfare, where some emergency organisations cover this element through the 'property' definition, where animals owned by a person are threatened (although this does not cover wild animals). This means that some agencies do not mount an 'emergency' response where it endangers wild animals or environment, though others respond to such incidents (such as oil spills at sea that threaten marine life). The attitude of the agencies involved is likely to reflect the predominant opinion of the government of the area.

Agencies across the world have different systems for classifying incidents. The first stage of any classification is likely to define whether the incident qualifies as an emergency, and consequently if it warrants an emergency response. Some agencies may still respond to non-emergency calls, depending on their remit and availability of resource. An example of this would be a fire department responding to help retrieve a cat from a tree, where no life, health or property is immediately at risk.

Many agencies assign a sub-classification to the emergency, when incidents that have the most potential for risk to life, health or property. For instance, many ambulance services use a system called the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System (AMPDS)¹ or a similar solution. The AMPDS categorises all calls to the ambulance service using it as either 'A' category (immediately life-threatening), 'B' Category (immediately health threatening) or 'C' category (non-emergency call that still requires a response). Some services have a fourth category, where they believe that no response is required after clinical questions are asked.

Other systems (especially as regards major incidents) use objective measures to direct resource. Two such systems are CHALET² and METHANE³, which are both mnemonics to help emergency services staff classify incidents, and direct resource. Each of these acronyms helps ascertain the number of casualties (usually including the number of dead and number of non-injured people involved), how the incident has occurred, and what emergency services are required.

________________________________________

1. The Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System (AMPDS) is the system primarily used in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it is medically, police and fire approved.

2. CHALET stands for casualties, access, location, emergency services, type.

3. METHANE stands for major incident declared exact location; type of incident e.g. explosion, building collapse; hazards present, potential or suspected; access – routes that are safe to use; number, type, severity of casualties; emergency services now present and those required.

_______________________________________

Answer the questions:

1. What may emergency situation cause?

2. What can prevent a worsening of the incident?

3. How can you understand that the situation is estimated as emergency?

4. Any environmental incident is considered sufficiently important by emergency agencies, isn’t it? If not, why?

5. If the situation refers to non-emergency, you shouldn’t expect the emergency agencies’ respond, should you?

6. What measures do the emergency classifications use in the text?

7. Do you guess other measures for the emergency classification?

Summarize the information from the Text A:

1. the definition of emergency;

2. two main types of emergency;

3. examples of emergency;

4. the systems for classifying incidents.

Match the word combinations and check in the text:

Emergency Action Planning

Planning to minimize all workplace hazards is not easy. All employers face the possibility of emergencies. Having an emergency action plan that addresses unforeseen disasters is one of the best ways an employer can protect the workplace from fatalities. An emergency action plan (EAP) is a written document required by particular OSHA standards. The purpose of an EAP is to facilitate and organize employer and employee actions during workplace emergencies. Well-developed emergency plans and proper employee training (such that employees understand their roles and responsibilities within the plan) will result in fewer and less severe employee injuries and less structural damage to the facility during emergencies. A poorly prepared plan will likely lead to a disorganized evacuation or emergency response, resulting in confusion, injury and property damage.

At a minimum, the plan must include but is not limited to the following elements:

· Means of reporting fires and other emergencies;

· Evacuation procedures and emergency escape route assignments;

· Procedures to be followed by employees who remain to operate critical plant operations before they evacuate;

· Procedures to account for all employees after an emergency evacuation has been completed;

· Rescue and medical duties for those employees who are to perform them;

· Names or job titles of persons who can be contacted for further information or explanation of duties under the plan

· A description of the alarm system to be used to notify employees (including disabled employees) to evacuate or take other actions. The alarms used for different actions should be distinctive and might include horn blasts, sirens or public address systems.

· The site of an alternative communications center to be used in the event of a fire or explosion.

· A secure onsite or offsite location to store originals or duplicate copies of accounting records, legal documents, your employees' emergency contact lists, and other essential records.

There are many emergency services protocols that apply in an emergency, which usually start with planning before an emergency occurs.

Disaster management (or emergency management) is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Disaster management does not avert or eliminate the threats, although their study is an important part of the field. Events covered by disaster management include acts of terrorism, industrial sabotage, fire, natural disasters (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.), public disorder, industrial accidents, and communication failures.

Management, as set out below:

• Recognition or identification of risks
• Ranking or evaluation of risks
• Responding to significant risks
• Tolerate
• Treat
• Transfer
• Terminate
• Resourcing controls
• Reaction Planning
• Reporting & monitoring risk performance
• Reviewing the Risk Management framework

Emergency management consists of five phases: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

Prevention was recently added to the phases of emergency management. It focuses on preventing the human hazard, primarily from potential natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Preventive measures are taken on both the domestic and international levels, designed to provide permanent protection from disasters. Not all disasters, particularly natural disasters, can be prevented, but the risk of loss of life and injury can be mitigated with good evacuation plans, environmental planning and design standards.

The planning phase starts at preparedness, where the agencies decide how to respond to a given incident or set of circumstances. This should ideally include lines of command and control, and division of activities between agencies. This avoids potentially negative situations such as three separate agencies all starting an official rest centre for victims of a disaster.

Following an emergency occurring, the agencies then move to a response phase, where they execute their plans, and may end up improvising some areas of their response (due to gaps in the planning phase, which are inevitable due to the individual nature of most incidents).

Agencies may then be involved in recovery following the incident, where they assist in the clear up from the incident, or help the people involved overcome their mental trauma.

The final phase in the circle is mitigation, which involves taking steps to ensure no re-occurrence is possible, or putting additional plans in place to ensure less damage is done. This should feed back in to the preparedness stage, with updated plans in place to deal with future emergencies, thus completing the circle.

Translate the nouns and write the verbs they are derived from:

recovery ___________________

prevention_________________

preparedness _______________

mitigation _________________

response __________________

management _______________

protection_________________

evacuation_________________

reduction_ _________________

UNIT 2

NATURAL HAZARDS

Words to know:

Fill the crossword:

Across

Use the words from the crossword to complete the sentences:

1. Last night volcano Maui ___________ and the hot ___________ poured downhill. Since there are two villages located at the foot of the volcano, the local population was ___________.

2. The devastation caused by superstorm Sandy, particularly in New York and New Jersey, is tragic, but the ___________ has at least put climate change back on the map.

3. After the harshest winter in decades, the Balkans region in the southeast of Europe is now facing its hottest summer and the worst _________ across the area in nearly 40 years.

4. A powerful ____________ off the coast of Indonesia sparked a three-metre-high ______________that killed at least 113 people.

5. A landslide caused by rains in southern China left 21 people missing today, adding to a growing death toll from China's worst _________ season in a decade.

6. This summer a dozen ____________, which are more common in the US, have hit Europe. The twister which swept through Poland yesterday flattened more than 400 hectares of woodland in the area.

7. The US navy has been deployed to help avert a looming environmental __________ in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read and translate the Text A:

NATURAL DISASTERS

Words to know: adverse, eruption, property, to recover, severe, vulnerable population, consequence, to last, to require, weather-related, loss, event

A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; examples include floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geologic processes. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or property damage, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake, the severity of which depends on the affected population's resilience, or ability to recover.

An adverse event will not rise to the level of a disaster if it occurs in an area without vulnerable population. In a vulnerable area, however, such as San Francisco, an earthquake can have disastrous consequences and leave lasting damage, requiring years to repair.

In 2012, there were 905 natural disasters worldwide, 93% of which were weather-related disasters. Overall costs were US$170 billion and insured losses $70 billion. 2012 was a moderate year. 45% were meteorological (storms), 36% were hydrological (floods), 12% were climatological (heat waves, cold waves, droughts, wildfires) and 7% were geophysical events (earthquakes and volcanic eruptions). Between 1980 and 2011 geophysical events accounted for 14% of all natural catastrophes.

Read the definitions of some natural disasters from the National Geographic site (http://environment.nationalgeographic.com):

Words to know: spiraling, to unleash

Hurricanes are giant, spiraling tropical storms that can pack wind speeds of over 160 miles (257 kilometers) an hour and unleash more than 2.4 trillion gallons (9 trillion liters) of rain a day. These same tropical storms are known as cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and as typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean.

Words to know: to inundate, excessive rain, a ruptured dam, levee, rapid ice melting, beaver dam, to overwhelm, adjacent, floodplain, coastal flooding

A flood occurs when water overflows or inundates land that's normally dry. This can happen in a multitude of ways. Most common is when rivers or streams overflow their banks. Excessive rain, a ruptured dam or levee, rapid ice melting in the mountains, or even an unfortunately placed beaver dam can overwhelm a river and send it spreading over the adjacent land, called a floodplain. Coastal flooding occurs when a large storm or tsunami causes the sea to surge inland.

Words to know: dry powdery snow, wrought, slab, to shatter, per hour within about five second

Many avalanches are small slides of dry powdery snow that move as a formless mass. These "sluffs" account for a tiny fraction of the death and destruction wrought by their bigger, more organized cousins. Disastrous avalanches occur when massive slabs of snow break loose from a mountainside and shatter like broken glass as they race downhill. These moving masses can reach speeds of 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour within about five seconds.

Words to know: unnoticeable, to stretch, to squeeze

Earthquakes, also called temblors, can be so tremendously destructive, it’s hard to imagine they occur by the thousands every day around the world, usually in the form of small tremors. Most earthquakes occur at fault zones, where tectonic plates—giant rock slabs that make up the Earth's upper layer—collide or slide against each other. These impacts are usually gradual and unnoticeable on the surface; however, immense stress can build up between plates. When this stress is released quickly, it sends massive vibrations, called seismic waves, often hundreds of miles through the rock and up to the surface. Other quakes can occur far from faults zones when plates are stretched or squeezed.

Words to know: to bolt, strike, discharge

Cloud-to-ground lightning bolts are a common phenomenon—about 100 strike Earth’s surface every single second—yet their power is extraordinary. Each bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity. This enormous electrical discharge is caused by an imbalance between positive and negative charges. During a storm, colliding particles of rain, ice, or snow increase this imbalance and often negatively charge the lower reaches of storm clouds. Objects on the ground, like steeples, trees, and the Earth itself, become positively charged—creating an imbalance that nature seeks to remedy by passing current between the two charges.

Words to know: wave, surge, to reach, height, widespread, ashore

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves that sends surges of water, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet (30.5 meters), onto land. These walls of water can cause widespread destruction when they crash ashore.

Words to know: awesome, vent, Earth's surface, molten rock, debris, to emit

Volcanoes are awesome manifestations of the fiery power contained deep within the Earth. These formations are essentially vents on the Earth's surface where molten rock, debris, and gases from the planet's interior are emitted.

Words to know: underbrush, wildfire, to burn. to consume, path, mere

Uncontrolled blazes fueled by weather, wind, and dry underbrush, wildfires can burn acres of land—and consume everything in their paths—in mere minutes.

Add natural disasters which are not mentioned in the text and give them definitions:

UNIT 3

HUMAN-MADE HAZARDS

Translate the definition in the writing form:

Anthropogenic hazards or human-made hazards can result in the form of a human-made disaster. In this case, anthropogenic means threats having an element of human intent, negligence, or error; or involving a failure of a human-made system. This is as opposed to natural hazards that cause natural disasters. Either can result in huge losses of life and property as well as damage to peoples' mental, physical and social well-being.

Word combinations to know:

Read and translate the Text A:

SOCIOLOGICAL HAZARDS

Crime is a breach of the law for which some (via the legal systems) can ultimately prescribe a conviction which will carry some form of penalty, such as imprisonment or a fine. At least in the view of the legislators, the criminal act will cause harm to other people. Modern societies generally regard crimes as offenses against the public or the state, distinguished from torts (offenses against private parties that can give rise to a civil cause of action).

Arson is the criminal intent of setting a fire with intent to cause damage. The definition of arson was originally limited to setting fire to buildings, but was later expanded to include other objects, such as bridges, vehicles, and private property. Arson is the greatest recorded cause of fire. Some human-induced fires are accidental: failing machinery such as a kitchen stove is a major cause of accidental fires.

Civil disorder is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe forms of disturbance. Although civil disorder does not necessarily escalate to a disaster in all cases, the event may escalate into general chaos. Rioting has many causes, including large-scale criminal conspiracy, socioeconomic factors (unemployment, poverty), hostility between racial and ethnic groups and mass outrage over perceived moral and legal transgressions. Examples of well-known civil disorders and riots are the Poll Tax Riots in the United Kingdom in 1990; the 1992 Los Angeles riots in which 53 people died; the 2008 Greek riots after a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot by police; and the 2010 Thai political protests in Bangkok during which 91 people died.

Terrorism is a controversial term with varied definitions. One definition means a violent action targeting civilians exclusively. Another definition is the use or threatened use of violence for the purpose of creating fear in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological goal. Under the second definition, the targets of terrorist acts can be anyone, including civilians, government officials, military personnel, or people serving the interests of governments.

War is a conflict between relatively large groups of people, which involves physical force inflicted by the use of weapons. Warfare has destroyed entire cultures, countries, economies and inflicted great suffering on humanity. Other terms for war can include armed conflict, hostilities, and police action. Acts of war are normally excluded from insurance contracts and sometimes from disaster planning.

Write down 5 sociological hazards from the text, their causes and consequences:

Translate from Russian into English:

1. Антропогенные опасности — это угрозы, источником которых является сам человек.

2. К социальным источникам опасностей принадлежат опасности, вызванные низким духовным и культурным уровнем: бродяжничество, проституция, пьянство, алкоголизм, преступность и тому подобное.

3. Неудовлетворительное материальное состояние, плохие условия существования, забастовки, конфликтные ситуации на межнациональной, этнической, расовой или религиозной почве провоцируют появление источников социальных опасностей.

TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARDS

Technological hazards are an increasing source of risk to people and their environment. This is an effect of the globalization of production, an increase of industrialization and a certain level of risk of accidents connected with production, processes, transportation and waste management. Severe accidents have happened which afflicted thousands of people. These have found expression in the public demand to provide technical and organizational tools for the prevention and mitigation of disasters.

Structural collapses are often caused by engineering failures. Bridge failures may be caused in several ways, such as under-design (as in the Tay Bridge disaster), by corrosion attack (such as in the Silver Bridge collapse), or by aerodynamic flutter of the deck (as in Tacoma Narrows Bridge). Failure of dams was not infrequent during the Victorian era, such as the Dale Dyke dam failure in Sheffield, England in the 1860s, causing the Great Sheffield Flood. Other failures include balcony collapses or building collapses such as that of the World Trade Center.

A power outage is an interruption of normal sources of electrical power. Short-term power outages (up to a few hours) are common and have minor effect, since most businesses and health facilities are prepared to deal with them. Extended power outages, however, can disrupt personal and business activities as well as medical and rescue services, leading to business losses and medical emergencies. Extended loss of power can lead to civil disorder, as in the New York City blackout of 1977. Power outages often accompany other types of disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, which hampers relief actions.

Recent notable power outages include the 2005 Java–Bali Blackout which affected 100 million people and the 2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout which affected 60 million people.

Bush fires, forest fires, and mine fires are generally started by lightning, but also by human negligence or arson. They can burn thousands of square kilometers. If a fire intensifies enough to produce its own winds and "weather", it will form into a firestorm. A good example of a mine fire is the one near Centralia, Pennsylvania. Started in 1962, it ruined the town and continues to burn today. Some of the biggest city-related fires are The Great Chicago Fire, The Peshtigo Fire (both of 1871) and the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Casualties resulting from fires, regardless of their source or initial cause, can be aggravated by inadequate emergency preparedness. Such hazards as a lack of accessible emergency exits, poorly marked escape routes, or improperly maintained fire extinguishers may result in many more deaths and injuries than might occur with such protections.

When nuclear weapons are detonated or nuclear containment systems are abused, airborne radioactive particles (nuclear fallout) can scatter and irradiate large areas. Not only is it deadly, but it also has a long-term effect on the next generation for those who are contaminated. Ionizing radiation is hazardous to living things, and in such a case much of the affected area could be unsafe for human habitation. During World War II, United States troops dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a result, the radiation fallout contaminated the cities' water supplies, food sources, and half of the populations of each city were stricken with disease. The Soviet republics of Ukraine and Belarus are part of a scenario like this after a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant suffered a meltdown in 1986. To this day, several small towns and the city of Chernobyl remain abandoned and uninhabitable due to fallout.

Many technological risks are associated with the release of hazardous substances which could affect human health or the environment by contamination

in accident condition or with the production of such substances under certain conditions as fire.

Considering the amount and distribution of facilities using hazardous materials throughout the world, the risks posed by them to societies and the environment it has to be considered as an increasing global problem.

The following list indicates the type of actions which can constitute technological hazards:

release of chemicals to the atmosphere by explosion, fire;

release of chemicals into water (groundwater, rivers etc.) by tank rupture,

pipeline rupture, chemicals dissolved in water (fire), oil spills in marine environment;

contamination by waste management activities;

releases and contaminations as a consequence of military actions (e.g. depleted

uranium), or destruction of facilities;

releases as consequence of the industrial use of biological material (e.g. viruses,

bacteria, fungi).

An aviation accident is defined as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft in which a person is fatally or seriously injured, the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure or the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible.

The category of the vehicle can range from a helicopter, an airliner, or a space shuttle. The world's worst airliner disaster is the Tenerife crash of 1977, when miscommunications between and amongst air traffic control and an aircrew caused two fully-laden jets to collide on the runway, killing 583 people.

04 in Sri Lanka when 1,700 people died in the Queen of the Sea train disaster. Other notable rail disasters are the 1989 Ufa accident in Russia which killed 574, and the 1917 Modane train accident in France which killed 540.

Traffic collisions are the leading cause of death, and road-based pollution creates a substantial health hazard, especially in major conurbations. The greenhouse effect of road transport is a significant fraction of the anthropogenic

warming effect, and the rapid consumption of fossil fuel accelerates the Hubbard peak.

Write down 6 technological hazards from the text, their causes and consequences:

Reconstruct the phrases by matching the words from list (a-l) to the words from list (1-12):

Complete the sentences below using the reconstructed phrases:

1) A situation which presents _________________ to people or environment is called an emergency.

2) _________________ can reduce damage and save people’s lives.

3) Emergency agencies are organized to provide quick and efficient

_________________.

4) The Tay Bridge collapse was caused by _________________.

5) _________________ can lead to many severe accidents such as fires and equipment breakdown.

6) Chemical contamination is associated with the release of _________________.

7) Every building must have _________________ for people to escape in case of fire.

8) The leading cause of transportation accidents is _________________.

9) _________________ is an active fire protection device used to control small fires, often in emergency situations.

10) Sometimes emergency situations may be worsened by _______________.

Write down Mind Map on the Texts A and B:

 

 

Choose the correct prepositions in the newspaper article:

TROUBLE AT NORTON MINING

The entire workforce of Norton Mining has gone on/in strike following a serious accident at the mine in Coolooma in Queensland. The cause for/of the accident is unclear, but the union is blaming management attitudes on/to safety regulations. A spokesperson said, ‘Damage of/to equipment was frequently ignored and union demand for/of safer working practices were rejected. The managers’ relationship with/to the union was very poor, so although we pointed out that there’d been a rise of/in number of minor accidents over the past year, they said there was no need for/of a change in working practices’.

John Norton, the chairman of Norton Mining, is away on/in a business trip. His secretary said she had spoken to him by/on the phone. The news of the accident had come like/as a great shock to him, she added. She was unable to say he would be back.

It is understood that the police would like to speak to Mr. Norton in connection with/to a number of his financial dealings.

FIRE SAFETY

Words to know:

Read and translate the Text A:

FIRE TRIANGLE

The ancient Greeks believed that fire was one the four basic elements that composed all things in the universe. In the mythology of virtually every culture fire is a sacred substance that gives life or power. Fire is not, in fact, a substance. When you gaze at the leaping flames of a campfire, you are observing not an object, but a process – a chemical reaction. It is the same chemical reaction that occurs when a cut apple left on the counter turns brown, or when silver tarnishes or when an iron nail rusts. That process is oxidation: combining oxygen with another substance. The defining difference between a fire and your half – eaten apple is speed: fire is an oxidation process that happens very fast, so that light, heat and sound are released – often enough force and majesty to justify ancients’ reverence.

At the beginning the fire has no source of heat except the heat of ignition. The small number of oxidation reactions that occur at this point do not contribute much to the development of a fire. Therefore, this stage is called smoldering or the incipient stage; it gives off smoke but very little heat. Then the fire breaks into the open flame. Now there is a sufficient amount of heat to 6 accelerate the combustion process and the chain reaction begins. This period is often called the open flame production phase. When the fire breaks into open flame the process changes. The fire will begin to spread and the temperature in the area will rise rapidly. As the ignition temperature of almost all ordinary carbonaceous materials is between 40 and 1400 degrees Fahrenheit we may assume that the fire will be generating enough heat to involve all the fuels unless some extinguishing agent interferes. This period is called the critical period or flashover stage. So there are three stages in the development of a fire.

After a fire goes to a flashover stage fire control is a combination of methods to remove the heat and products of combustion, to channel the direction of spread to the smallest possible area of involvement, and to cool off the atmosphere or fuel so that combustion ceases. This requires keen insight into the combustion process.

Fire or combustion may be defined as a rapid chemical reaction between substances in which heat and light are evolved. It is usual to speak of one of the substances as the combustible and other as the supporter of combustion. In all ordinary fires the supporter of combustion is the oxygen of the atmosphere. In some limited circumstances other gases, e.g. chlorine, may support combustion.

The fire triangle identifies the three needed components of fire: fuel, heat and oxygen. Fuel is something which is capable of combining vigorously with oxygen, or in other words, will burn. Combustion will be fiercer as the more oxygen is supplied. Most materials require the application of heat in one form or another to bring them to the temperature at which they will combine with the oxygen so vigorously that they will ignite (ignition temperature) although some substances, e.g. phosphorous react so at ordinary temperature. All three components must be present to have a fire.

It is not necessary usually to heat all the fuel to its ignition temperature, because as one part of it ignites, the heat of the reaction is sufficient to raise the temperature of the adjoining parts so that they also ignite, and so on until the reaction has spread through the whole fuel.

Fire will burn until one or more of the components are removed. Traditional fire extinguishing methods involve removing the fuel, heat or oxygen. In more recent years a fourth component – the chain reaction has been added to explain fire. Once a fire has started, the resulting chain reaction sustains the fire and allows it to continue until or unless at least one of the elements of the fire is removed. In other words, the chain reaction provides the heat necessary to maintain the fire. The addition of this forth component forms what is called the “fire tetrahedron”.

Find in the text English equivalents for the following Russian word combinations:

основной элемент, смотреть пристально на что-либо, наблюдать что-либо, химическая реакция, тускнеть (лишаться блеска), окисление, соединение кислорода с другим веществом, способствовать распространению огня, тление, выделять дым, достаточное количество тепла, увеличивать скорость процесса горения, открытое пламя, углистый (содержащий углерод), охватить весь горючий материал, огнетушащее средство, удалить горючий материал и продукты горения, направить путь распространения, зона охвата пламенем, горение прекращается, ясно понимать, пожарный треугольник, необходимые компоненты, интенсивно реагировать, температура горения, методы тушения пожара, цепная реакция, поддерживать огонь.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is oxidation? Can you give examples of this process?

2. How many stages are there in the development of a fire?

3. What is the first stage of fire development?

4. What are the sources of heat?

5. What is the second stage of fire development?

6. How will the temperature rise when the fire breaks into open flame?

7. What is the third stage of fire development?

Make your own questions about:

combustion, the process of combustion, the usual supporter of combustion, combustible substances, extinguishing a fire, fire tetrahedron etc.

Substitute the underlined words with the synonyms from the text:

1. The fire has immediately covered adjoining buildings.

2. In the process of burning heat and light are released.

3. Flammable liquids should be stored away from any source of ignition.

4. A flashover takes place when enough air is available.

5. During the starting stage the fire produces water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gases.

6. If any of three factors necessary for combustion is eliminated the combustion will stop.

7. Few substances oxidize strongly even at room temperatures.

8. The speed of burning is the second factor determining the flammability of the material.

9. The temperature of the woodwork in the room was raised to its ignition point.

10. Wood bursts into flames spontaneously at temperatures higher than 520 F.

Complete the table using a dictionary:

Match the words to the definitions:

Insert prepositions where necessary:

1. Fire is one __ the four classical elements __ ancient Greek philosophy and science that was commonly associated __ the qualities __ energy, assertiveness, and passion.

2. A fire __ any time and __ any location, requires three basic elements: combustible fuel, oxygen to combine __ the fuel __ combustion and the source __ ignition.

3. Fire is used __ nearly every human being __ earth __ a controlled setting every day.

4. Substances decompose __ the influence __ heat __ different temperatures.

5. The rate __ combustion depends __ the character __ materials involved __ the process.

6. When there is sufficient air __ the room it can burst __ flames if any source __ ignition is present there.

7. If you remove any component __ the fire triangle it will lead __ the collapse __ and the combustion will cease.

8. There are a lot __ factors which influence __ the behavior __ a fire.

9. Fire safety refers __ precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood __ a fire that may result __ death, injury, or property damage.

10. A backdraft is an explosive event __ a fire resulting __ rapid re-introduction __ oxygen __ combustion, __ example, the breaking __ a window or opening __ a door __ an enclosed space. Backdrafts present a serious threat __ firefighters, even those __ a high level __ experience.

Complete the newspaper story about a fire. Put the verbs in the correct form:

Two people ___ (die) in a fire in Ellis Street, Oldport yesterday morning. They ___ (be) Herbert and Molly Paynter, a couple in their seventies. The fire __ (start) at 3.20 a.m. when the Paynters __ (sleep). A neighbor, Mr Aziz, __ (see) the flame and __ (call) the fire brigade. He also __ (try) to get into the house and rescue his neighbours, but the heat __ (be) too great. The fire brigade __ (arrive) in five minutes. Ten firefighters __ (fight) the fire for thirty minutes and finally ___ (bring) it under control. Two firefighters __ (enter) the burning building but __ (find) the couple dead.

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Древние люди верили, что огонь – э т о священная субстанция, которая придает силы.

2. На самом деле огонь – это химическая реакция, при которой могут выделяться свет, тепло и дым.

3. Существуют три стадии развития пожара: начальная стадия (или тление), стадия открытого пламени и полный охват помещения огнем.

4. Для того чтобы предотвратить пожар, необходимо хорошо понимать процесс горения.

5. Стадия полного охвата помещения пламенем наступает, когда воспламеняются все предметы в этом помещении.

6. Основными элементами пожарного треугольника являются тепло, горючее вещество и вещество, способствующее горению.

7. В обычных условиях веществом, поддерживающим горение, является кислород, также им могут быть и другие газы, например, хлор или бром.

8. Цепная реакция не дает горению прекратиться до тех пор, пока, по крайней мере, один из элементов пожарного треугольника не будет исключен.

9. Традиционные методы пожаротушения состоят в исключении одного из элементов пожарного треугольника.

10. Цепная реакция является четвертым фактором, необходимым

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