INVESTIGATING THE FLAMMABILITY STATUS OF SOME POTENTIAL FIRE TOLERANT TREES IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the fire tolerant potentiality and flammability status of ten tropical trees in South-East Nigeria. The tree species: Daniellia oliveri, Vitex doniana, Tectona grandis, Delonix regia, Newboulia laevis. Azadirachta indica, Dialium guineense, Terminalia superba, Manilkara obovata and Invingia gabonensis were identified and named by taxonomists. An item structured instrument which was developed by the researchers to reflect the six points modified Likert scale of strongly agree, agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, disagree, strongly disagree, was used to elicit information from the respondents who were mainly seasoned wood dealers of above 60 years of age. Major tool of analysis was Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Gmelina arborea, treated with 2M borax for 48 hours was the control and referred to as fire retardant treated wood (FRTW). Physical properties of wood (moisture content and density) as well as flame characteristics (ignition time, flame propagation rate, after glow time, flame duration and ash formation) of the control and the ten tropical tree species were carried out using published protocols. Test of significance (p-values) for all the tree species were greater than 0.05 at 95% confidence interval which indicates that there was no significant difference among all the tropical trees investigated. The values for physical properties and flame characteristics of the trees vary among the selected species but compared favourably with that of the FRTW. This study has shown that the timbers investigated could tolerate fire.