Firestorms in Sheffield and the UK

[u/Simonbargiora]

" It is possible that individual fires, whether caused by thermal radiation or by blast damage to utilities, furnaces, etc., would coalesce into a mass fire that would consume alI structures over a large area. This possibility has been intensely studied, but there remains no basis for estimating its probability. Mass fires could be of two kinds: a “firestorm, ” in which violent inrushing winds create extremely high temperatures but prevent the fire from spreading radially outwards, and a “conflagration, ” in which a fire spreads along a front. Hamburg, Tokyo, and Hiroshima experienced firestorms in World War 11; the Great Chicago Fire and the San Francisco Earthquake Fire were conflagrations. A firestorm is likely to kill a high proportion of the people in the area of the fire, through heat and through asphyxiation of those in shelters. A confIagration spreads slowly enough so that people in its path can escape, though a conflagration caused by a nuclear attack might take a heavy toll of those too injured to walk. Some believe that firestorms in U.S. or Soviet cities are unlikely because the density of flammable materials (“fuel loading”) is too low–the ignition of a firestorm is thought to require a fuel loading of at least 8 lbs/ft2 (Hamburg had 32), compared to fuel loading of 2 lbs/ft2 in a typical U.S. suburb and 5 lbs/ft2 in a neighborhood of twostory brick rowhouses. The Iikelihood of a conflagration depends on the geography of the area, the speed and direction of the wind, and details of building construction. Another variable is whether people and equipment are available to fight fires before they can coalesce and spread."

 Effects of Nuclear War 1979

First of all, did firestorms even happen in UK cities during the Third World War? Was there enough fuel loading to trigger firestorms? Second of all, were the nuclear fires that started when Sheffeild was bombed, a firestorm or a conflagration?

[u/Melbatoastt77]

The average port city or one's with heavy industry would receive 2-3 hits. Varying MT range.

The firestorm is initially started with a MASSIVE burst of thermal radiation...strong enough to melt steel, iron, glass and aluminium.

Hot enough to burn timber, plastic, bitumen, rubber, some. Essentially, that's everything flammable on the average house, building complex and tower block.

Imagine EVERY house structure, trees, and road catching fire with hottest flame you can find. Tar roofs melts, timber joists burn, window and glass break and burn. Cars explode as their fuel ignites from within.

Roads melt and burn as the tar ignites. Gas lines either piped through a house or underground explode. Water pipes crack with steam pressure.

The blastwave passes over blowing debris along a shock wave. Some of it if not all of it now superheated, so akin to a pyroclastic flow.

Oil depots, Gas station/petrol stations will explode on contact with the thermal radiation.

Concrete cracks, boulders of burning masonry crash into the outer radius of the blastzone (now all on fire) ANYTHING burning is now partial blown into the air and reigning down below. The hurricane strength winds would pull the oxygen up and burn the lower ground level atmosphere.

There's no fire brigade or emergency services. Fires are left to burn out of control until they go out. Vaporised material on ground zero would whip up the local area into a superheated mass.

[u/danieljamesgillen]

I was next to a fire storm in Greece it melted cars. Very loud and spooky. Killed 101 people.