Burns can occur at temperatures as low as 120 degrees F. Typical wood fires burn around 300-400 degrees F. The biggest problem with small burns is not the damage but the pain. Second degree burns occur after 3 seconds at 140 degrees F. Third degree burns occur after 5 seconds at this temperature. A good rule of thumb is each 50 degree C causes 1 HP of damage per minute divided by the percent of the body covered (You won’t die by emmersing your hand in boiling water …). Each 100 Degrees Celcius over 50 Degrees causes 1 point of pain. For each missed success the character adds one penalty die to all rolls. Some sample temperatures are listed below:
| Celcius | Fahrenheit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 122 | Low heat for cooking |
| 100 | 212 | Water boils |
| 150 | 302 | Wood burns; Maximum survivable breathing air temp for short period without the presence of moisture. |
| 250 | 482 | Kerosene Ignites |
| 300 | 572 | Oil Ignites |
| 500 | 932 | Bronze Melts |
| 950 | 1742 | Silver melts |
| 1000 | 1832 | Copper, Glass, and Gold Melt |
| 1300 | 2372 | Steel |
| 1550 | 2822 | Iron Melts |
| 1750 | 3182 | Platinum Melts |
1.1 SOURCES OF IGNITION – GENERAL TEMPERATURES
| Source | Temperature (Celsius) |
| Cigarettes – ventilated | 400°-780° |
| Cigarettes – unventilated conditions | 288° |
| Cigarettes – insulated and smoldering |
510°-621° |
| Match | 600°-800° |
| Candle flame | 600°-1400° |
| Stove element | >550° |
| Fluorescent light | 60°-80° |
| Incandescent light | 100°-300° |
| Tungsten halogen light | 600°-900° |
| Electrical arcing | to 3750° |
| Electrical spark | 1316° |
| Lightning | 30000° |
| Oxyacetylene | 3300° |
| Industrial furnaces | 1700° |
| Bunsen burner | 1570° |
1.2 COLOR
TEMPERATURES OF HEAT
| Dull red | 500°-600° |
| Dark red | 600°-800° |
| Bright red | 800°-1000° |
| Yellow red | 1000°-1200° |
| Bright yellow | 1200°-1400° |
| White | 1400°-1600° |
1.3 TEMPERATURES
DURING BUILDING FIRES
| Hot gas layer | 600°-1000° |
| Floor temperature | >180° |
| Glowing smoldering combustion |
to 600° |
| Flashover | >600° |
| Glowing coals | to 1300° |
| Reactions to temperature exposure |
|
| Reaction | Temperature (Celsius) |
| Wood slowly chars* | 120°-150° |
| Decayed wood ignites | 150° |
| Ignition temp of various woods |
190°-260° |
| Paper yellows | 150° |
| Paper ignites | 218°-246° |
| Oil soaked lagging ignites |
190°-220° |
| Leather ignites | 212° |
| Hay ignites | 172° |
| Coal ignites | 400°-500° |
| * wood chars at a rate of approximately 30-50 mm/hour |
|
| Melting points and ignition temperatures |
||
| Plastic | Melting Point Range |
Ignition Temperature |
| ABS | 88°-125° | 416° |
| Acrylics | 91°-125° | 560° |
| Cellulosics | 49°-121° | 475°-540° |
| Nylons | 160°-275° | 424°-532° |
| Polycarbonate | 140°-150° | 580° |
| Polyesters | 220°-268° | 432°-488° |
| Polyethylene ld | 107°-124° | 349° |
| Polyethylene hd | 122°-137° | 349° |
| Polypropylene | 158°-168° | 570° |
| Polystyrene | 100°-120° | 488°-496° |
| Polyurethanes | 85°-121° | 416° |
| PTFE | 327° | 530° |
| P.vinylideneclor | 212° | 454° |
| PVC | 75°-110° | 435°-557° |
| Wool | 228°-230° | |
| Cotton | 250° | |
| Rubber | 260°-316° | |
| Melting points and flame colours |
||
| (o) & (r) denote oxidizing and reducing conditions respectively | ||
| Metal | Melting Point |
Flame Colour |
| Aluminium | 660° | Colorless |
| Copper | 1080° | Green (o) Red (r) |
| Lead | 327° | Colorless |
| Tin | 232° | Colorless |
| Bismuth | 271° | Colorless |
| Zinc | 419° | Colorless |
| Aluminium alloy | 600° | Colorless |
| Antimony | 630° | Colorless |
| Magnesium | 651° | Colorless |
| Brass | 900°-1000° | Green (o) Red (r) |
| Silver | 961° | Colorless |
| Bronze | 1000° | Green (o) Red (r) |
| Gold | 1063° | |
| Cast iron | 1200°-1350° | Yellow-brown |
| Manganese | 1260° | Violet (o) |
| Nickel | 1450° | Brown-Red |
| Cobalt | 1490° | Blue |
| Steel | 1100°-1600° | Brown-Red |
| Platinum | 1770° | |
| Titanium | 1670° | |
| Chromium | 1900° | Green |
| Tungsten | 3410° | |
| Solder 60/40 | 183° | |
| Electric fuses | 371° | |
| Carbon | 3730° | |
| Pure iron | 1535° | |
| Boiling points, flash points, ignition temperature and heat of combustion |
||||
| Liquid | Boiling Point |
Flash Point |
Ignition Temperature |
Heat of Combustion (kilocalories per gram) |
| Kerosene | 175°-260° | 38°-74° | 229° | 11 |
| Gasoline | 40°-190° | -43° | 257° | 11.5 |
| Stove oil | 190°-290° | |||
| Diesel | 190°-340° | 69° | 399° | |
| Fuel | 200°-350° | |||
| Brake fluid | 190° | |||
| Engine oil | 150°-230° | 260°-371° | ||
| Acetone | 57° | -20° | 465° | |
| Benzene | 80° | -11° | 560° | 10 |
| Octane | 126° | 13° | 220° | 11.4 |
| Pet ether | -18° | 288° | ||
| Gum turpentine | 37° | |||
| Spirit turpentine | 135°-175° | 35° | 253° | |
| Alcohol | 78° | 13° | 365° | 7.1 |
| Ethylene glycol | 111° | 413° | ||
| Styrene | 31°-37° | 490° | ||
| White spirits | 150°-200° | 35° | 232° | |
| Asphalt | 38°-121° | 538° | ||
| Paint thinners | 39° | 245° | ||
| Paraffin wax | 199° | |||
| * fire point is approximately 10°-50° above flash point |
||||
| * cooking oil spontaneously combusts at 310°-360° |
||||
| * temperature of flame from burning petrol is 471°-560° |
||||
| Upper & lower flammable limits & ignition temperature |
|||
| Gas | UFL % |
LFL % |
Ignition Temperature |
| Propane | 9.6 | 2.15 | 466° |
| Butane | 8.5 | 1.9 | 405° |
| Natural gas | 15 | 4.7 | 482°-632° |
| Hydrogen | 75 | 4 | 400° |
| Acetylene | 3 | 65 | 335° |
| Appearance | Temperature |
| Yellow | 320° |
| Brown | 350° |
| Purple | 400° |
| Blue | 450° |
| * steel starts to weaken at 200° |
|
| * loses 50% of its structural strength and sags at 550° |
|
| * melt point of steel 1100°-1650° |
|
| Appearance | Temperature |
| Reddish pink – reddish brown |
300° |
| Gray | 300°-1000° |
| Buff | >1000° |
| Sinters and yellowish | >1200° |
| * sand and sandstone becomes friable at 573° |
|
| * wall masonry collapses at 760° |
|
| Effect | Soda | Borosilicate |
| Very slight distortion | 700° | 750° |
| Slight distortion | 750° | 800° |
| Considerable distortion | 800° | 850° |
| Medium fluid flow | 850° | 900° |
| Liquid flow | 900° | 950° |
| * glass thermally cracks at 90°-120° |
||
| Effect |
Temperature
|
| Resin chars & slowly blackens |
288° |
| Resin chars quickly | 400° |
| Fibers becomes light gray |
482° |
| Fibers fuse | 593° |
| Fibers melt | 649° |