EFFECTS OF EXTREME HEAT ON MAN

CHARACTERISTICS OF CONFLAGRATION HEAT Air raids in Germany killed about 800,000 persons,¹ a rough estimate accurate to not more than plus or minus 30 per cent. Reliable data on the distribution of different causes of death have not been published and possibly never will be published. The few known data² differ greatly concerning the relative number of injuries caused by heat from flames, radiant heat, carbon monoxide or mechanical agents. These data concern attacks on a small scale only. The larger the conflagration, or rather the affected area, the less nearly exact data one may expect. No survivor could report on the events in the center of Dresden, where 300.000 persons were reported killed in 24 hours.

Actual knowledge on conflagrations diminishes with the increase in size of the affected area, but one may attempt an extrapolation from physical and medical knowledge. This way of gaining experience is