broom
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...
or a leaf rake with wide, overlapping metal bristles in the form of a
hand fan
A handheld fan, or simply hand fan, is any broad, flat surface that is waved back-and-forth to create an airflow. Generally, purpose-made handheld fans are folding fans, which are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material (su ...
. It is also called a swatter or a beater. It is designed for extinguishing minor
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
s in rural areas such as
heaths
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
. A flapper is built with a long handle and a series of
lamella
Lamella (plural lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to:
Biology
* Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap
* Lamella (botany)
* Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal
...
e which allows firefighters to stand well back from the fire. The lamellae are constructed in either
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...
or steel, though practically any other fire-resistant material could be used.
The fire is attacked from the upwind side by lightly swatting out the
flame
A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...
s or embers with the thick flap. When the flapper hits the ground, the
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...
supply to the fire is stopped and the fire will be extinguished. Where ground cover is short, the flapper can be dragged along the fire edge to smother the fire. If used too hard it can add more oxygen to the fire. It is often recommended to either hose water on the area or keep it under observation, as there will always be a risk of it flaring up later.
Due to a flapper's small size it is unfit for use against a blazing forest fire or large burning fields. The tool's design makes it only suitable for minor flames or glows within a limited area. It is commonly used in fire mop-up operations. For fire fighting in larger areas it is much more convenient to take out hoses from a
fire engine
A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an ...
and spray selected areas. Alternatively a
water cannon
A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...
from a
water tender
A water tender is a type of firefighting apparatus that specialises in the transport of water from a water source to a fire scene.
Driptorch
A driptorch is a tool used in wildfire suppression, controlled burning, and other forestry applications to intentionally ignite fires by dripping flaming fuel onto the ground.
Description
The driptorch consists of a canister for holding fuel ...
*
Fire triangle
The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for understanding the necessary ingredients for most fires.
The triangle illustrates the three elements a fire needs to ignite: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen). A fir ...
Pulaski (tool)
The Pulaski is a special hand tool used in fighting fires, particularly wildfires,
which combines an axe and an adze in one head. Similar to a cutter mattock, it has a rigid handle of wood, plastic, or fiberglass. The Pulaski is used for constru ...