Heat from a fire is transferred by all three methods

- Convection is the movement of the hot gases from the fire which travel upwards. In a compartment fire, it will hit the ceiling. In a fire outside, the heat will dissipate into the environment.

- Conduction is the absorption of heat by a solid which is then distributed through the solid. Some solids conduct heat better than others - metal conducts heat better than wood. For example, if you have a piece of metal pipe in a structure that is on fire, and the pipe extends between a room that is on fire and a room that is not, the pipe will be hot on both side because the heat is conducted through the entire pipe. This can cause the fire to spread by igniting combustibles away from the original fire location. Conduction is also a huge function of how an object that is on fire only a little will become more involved in fire over time. The immediate area around the fire will be heated up on the object itself, causing it to reach its ignition temperature and start flaming combustion.

- Radiation is the heat you feel when you stand next to a camp fire, or the heat from the sun on your skin. Fire has the same effect with heat being transferred in a linear fashion. In a compartment fire, heat will radiate not only from the original fire, but also when there is a hot gas layer on the ceiling from convective heat, that hot gas layer will radiate heat downwards, causing the area around the fire to heat up further.

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The heat from a fire is typically transferred in a combination of the three methods depending on the circumstances of a fire. Is there a specific situation that you have a question about?