Reaction to Fire of Eight Species of Densified Mexican Wood

The objective of the research was to evaluate the ignition time and mass loss in fire reaction tests of eight species of densified Mexican wood. A 30% densification coefficient was applied. For each species, two samples of densified and non-densified wood were contrasted in ad-hoc reaction to fire tests for the investigation. The fire exposure time of five minutes was sufficient to reach the ignition time of the specimens and cause a loss of mass. Wood densification is a treatment that increases the ignition time and decreases mass loss when wood is exposed to fire under laboratory conditions. The magnitudes of ignition time and mass loss are different for each species. There is no clear statistical trend in mass loss as a function of densification. Prospectively, the eight species of wood investigated are potential candidates for densification treatment in order to improve their properties of wood density and reaction to fire.