Grace McCallRyan BeckerDaniel DonovanWill iam BrownCollin LandwehrTeam Phyre

WILD FIRE RETARDANT

Testable Question What is the most effi cient fire retardant in terms of

retaining the fire? We will also compare the cost the and environmental impact.

PURPOSE

Fire Retardant 85% water, 10%

ammonium phosphate and sulfate, and 5% iron oxide for color

Costs about $2 per gallon, usually need 1,000-3,000 gallons dropped

Can be detrimental to the environment

Water Costs $368,645 to

operate a heavy lift helicopter for one week

Water drops are not possible unless there is almost no wind and the

BACKGROUND

Independent Variable Method of preventing the

spread of wildfires

Dependent Variable Number of trees burned

after the fire line

Controlled Variables Size of forest Density of forest Similar types of vegetation Elevation Gradient

Method Separate a square mile of

level forest into 20 even sections. Ten of these sections will be protected by fire retardant and the other ten are for water. Light a fire in each section and record percent burned after all the flames are gone.

A month after the test, we will go back to test the toxicity levels of nearby bodies of water

PROPOSED INVESTIGATION

TEST AREA

Forest

Water Line

Fire Retardant

WaterTrial Percent

Burned Burn Time (min)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Flame Retardant Trial Percent

Burned Burn Time (min)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

DATA COLLECTION

If ammonium sulfate and ammonium phosphate (the fi re retardant) is tested against the eff ectiveness of water, as well as cost and impact on the environment, then the retardant will be more eff ective at stopping the fi re. This is because the retardant is a hydrate and layered, so the fi re has to both burn through the fertilizer and the water.

HYPOTHESIS

C-130 is $6,600/hour, we need 16 hours 16($6,600)= $105,900

Fire retardant is $2/gallon, we need 2,000 gallons 2,000($2)= $4,000

For fi refighters and testing the water toxicity we will allow $1,900 in the budget

Total cost of experiment: $112,000

COSTS

Fire Retardant: 100 mL volumetric flask 5 g. Ammonium phosphate 5 g. Ammonium sulfate 5 g. Iron oxide 85 mL water

Experiment: 6X7 model “forest” made up of matches

PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENT

Retardant

Results: Water-

Burned through the retardant much faster 20-30 seconds

Out of 3 trials, 100% of the “forest” was burned. Fire Retardant-

Greatly slowed the progress of the fire 50-60 seconds

1st trial 0% of “forest” burned 2nd trial 3% of “forest” burned 3rd trial 10% of “forest” burned

PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENT

 "Debate over Fire Retardant Toxicity Rages in West."  Fox News . FOX News Network,22 June 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. "Retardant History." Retardant History . United States Forest Service, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.  Finely, Bruce. "Wildfi re: Red Slurry's Toxic Dark Side."  Denver Post .

The Denver Post, 17 June 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.  James, Randy. "What Are They Dumping on Wildfi res?"  Time . Time

Inc., 02 Sept. 2009. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

BIBLIOGRAPHY