Burning Index (BI) is a number used by the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...

(NOAA) to describe the potential amount of effort needed to contain a single fire in a particular fuel type within a rating area. The

National Fire Danger Rating System National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) is used in the United States to provide a measure of the relative seriousness of burning conditions and threat of wildfires. Background John J. Keetch, a fire researcher in the southeast, wrote that "One ...

(NFDRS) uses a modified version of Bryam's equation for flame length – based on the Spread Component (SC) and the available energy (ERC) – to calculate flame length from which the Burning Index is computed. The equation for flame length is listed below: ::

F_L=j\left left(\frac\right) (25(ERC))\right

where: :''j'' is a scaling factor, :''SC'' is the spread component, :and ''ERC'' is the Energy Release Component. Consequently, the equation for the Burning Index is: ::

BI=j_1\ F_L

where

j_1

is the Burning Index scaling factor of (10/ft). Therefore, dividing the Burning Index by 10 produces a reasonable estimate of the flame length at the head of a fire. A unique Burning Index (BI) table is required for each fuel model.

References

{{reflist Fire Firefighting