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			mara - 8 posts [most recent post]

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Building Playspaces

wood chips spon...

wood chips spontaneously combust in high heat

merrywbee

119 posts

Joined
11/8/2006

wood chips spontaneously combust in high heat
Posted: 14 Aug 07 5:52 PM

A school district playground in Texas recently went up in flames because the wood chips spontaneously combusted. Be sure to watch the video.

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/9148951.html

Playground Spontaneously Combusts

August 14, 2007)--The Arlington school district will replace wood chips with pea gravel at 35 playgrounds in response to a fire blamed on spontaneous combustion of the wood fiber.

Superintendent Mac Bernd says it will cost $200,000.

Officials say surveillance video showed that nobody was around to start the fire at an elementary school playground last week.

Deputy Fire Marshal Keith Ebel say the conditions that caused the chips to catch fire were "like a perfect storm."

Heavy rains earlier this summer saturated the wooden material, which began to decompose in the recent summer heat.

That process produces heat below the surface and coupled with high temperatures Thursdsay afternoon it was enough to ignite the dry chips on the surface.

Officials say the fire was like the combustion that can occur with organic material in a compost pile if it is not turned regularly.

Fire officials said the surveillance video confirms that other similar fires could have started spontaneously, rather than as a result of arson or an accident.

Here's the same story another tv station: http://cbs11tv.com/local/local_story_225165737.html

cmad

37 posts

Joined
1/17/2007

Re: wood chips spontaneously combust in high heat
Posted: 14 Aug 07 10:12 PM

I just saw this on the news too. SCAREY! Does anyone have more info?

KaBOOM Amy

227 posts

Joined
11/8/2006

Re: wood chips spontaneously combust in high heat
Posted: 21 Aug 07 5:02 PM

I can't speak to the spontaneous combustability of wood chips, but I can speak to the Engineered Wood Fiber we use. It pretty much looks just like wood chips, but it's actually engineered and produced. Here's what I've got on the EWF flammability.

Engineered Wood Fiber is tested to ensure that it neither combusts or fuels an existing fire.
Because of the compaction and moisture content of the Engineered Wood Fiber, it is fire retardant
Engineered Wood Fiber is tested to the same specifications as new carpets, curtains, children’s clothing and furniture

We've got some folks on these forums who are in Parks and Rec and might have some experience with actual wood chips. Have any of you ever seen anything like what's described in the article?

flowerbill1952

46 posts

Joined
2/26/2007

Re: wood chips spontaneously combust in high heat
Posted: 05 Sep 07 8:05 AM

We've never seen anything like this with wood fiber for playgrounds. We also have a composting site though and our wood chip pile has spontaneously combusted once enough that the fire department was called- but this was a pile 10 feet or more high that was basically composting and got so hot it started to burn. Normal composting is really just a slow low temp burn anyway.

cmad

37 posts

Joined
1/17/2007

Re: wood chips spontaneously combust in high heat
Posted: 05 Sep 07 9:17 PM

Has it been verified that the playground that spontaneously combusted had wood chips as opposed to engineered wood fiber? We are planning to use engineered wood fiber and I am still nervous!

ncram01

26 posts

www.ssjpitt.org/school/index.html