Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun firefighting An extreme fire behavior phenomena involving ignition of products of combustion (such as carbon monoxide) and pyrolysis products upon introduction of oxygen to a compartment. In this phenomena the fuel generally is at a high temperature (above 600 degrees C), but combustion is limited by a lack of oxygen. Introduction of atmospheric oxygen results in explosive combustion.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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When a fire is starved for air, an explosion - called a backdraft - can occur when a door is opened, he said.
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When a fire is starved for air, an explosion - called a backdraft - can occur when a door is opened, he said.
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This is the reason there is a “flash over” [or "backdraft" if you watched the movie] effect when a door, window, or some other opening is cleared in a fashion where O2 can come into the high temperature enviroment and support [rapid!] combusion of the hot gasses.
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According to Brady, "[a] backdraft occurs when an oxygen-starved fire suddenly receives oxygen.
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The Giants also couldn't have gone wrong at this spot in the backdraft with UCLA's Chris Horton, the safety who eventually went to Washington in the seventh round and provided the best bang for the buck of any player in the 2008 draft.
Backdraft: Joe Flacco among changing parts in '08 re-draft 2009
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Most roof caps for bath fan exhausts have a light aluminum backdraft damper which rests on a sealant strip, which is basically a foam piece of weatherstripping.
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About one-third of the fans that are supposed to be exhausting through the roof are exhausting to a cap with a backdraft damper that is stuck closed, which causes a good portion of the warm, moist air to exhaust in to the attic space (pictured above).
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The bomb was meant for you, and I got caught in the backdraft.
The Black Madonna Davis Bunn 2010
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Cinderella Man, A beautiful mind … even backdraft was pretty «by the book».
First Look: Tom Hanks in Ron Howard's Angels and Demons « FirstShowing.net 2008
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If one of every two messages is misunderstood, working with someone exclusively by e-mail will build up a backdraft of irritation and hurt feelings.
The Tyranny of E-mail John Freeman 2009
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