To Build a Fire

September 22, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

It is impossible to know how man discovered fire because fire predates humanity’s ability to record its thoughts. Fire obviously predates humans as well, and humanoid use of fire was established prior to the dawn of man. For mankind’s ancestors fire was probably discovered due to natural phenomena such as a lightening strike on dry tinder. Harnessing and controlling fire would mean creating it, and for centuries this proved to be a difficult and dangerous task for man.

The name of one of the great inventors has been lost to history as the innovator who discovered that a spark could be created by rubbing two sticks together is unknown. This simple but effect way to start a fire was used until human ingenuity came up with the invention of the fire drill. The drill was a simple device, but it made building and managing fires simpler. By taking a piece of hardwood and driving it into a hole of softer wood, a small burning ember would be created.

The fire drill improved upon the rudimentary method of rubbing stick together by increasing ignition speed and not allowing sparks to fly. But the new manner to build a fire had its drawback. The device was clumsy and not conveniently stuffed into a pocket. Fire technology would catch up with the demands of fire starters centuries later with the invention of the chemical match in 1805.

By 1827, English chemist John Walker improved upon the design to create the friction match, which is essentially the same as matches used today. While the new invention might have made fire more accessible, but the rapid starting and long burning matches caused many wooden villages to burn. Some experts even warned against the use of the match, but it was against human nature to ignore progress.

Rather than turn his back to the invention of the friction match, inventor J. E Lindstrom simply improved upon its design. The safety match was just as easy to light as the friction match, but it extinguished easier to prevent a controlled fire from becoming a disaster.

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Fire, John Walker, Technology, United States

Fire Triangle

September 4, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Fires are no longer the unknown miracles that once caused ancient man to think that it was a gift from the gods. Scientists know very well how fire is created, and not just at the practical level of starting a fire by causing friction between two sticks. Fire is understood as a network of molecular events that result in the release of heat energy.

Fire is the result of a transfer of energy from one form to another. Due to the principle of the conservation of energy within a system, it is known that energy is never lost. Energy just changes forms. As a result of this any type of energy can be used to create fire. Forms of energy such as electrical, chemical and mechanical are all candidates to be converted into heat to start a fire. Once started the fire is a form of chemical energy releasing even more heat. The molecules in the burning material combine with the oxygen in the air to keep the fire burning.

To put the mechanics and life cycle of a fire into simple terms, the concept of the Fire Triangle was created. Each side of the triangle represented a prerequisite for fire: ignition temperature, oxygen and fuel vapor. When brought together these three elements will always result in a fire.

While the triangle is a useful tool in understanding how a fire works, it ignored that a chain reaction must occur to create a fire. Once a fire is started it takes a couple of general forms. Non-flaming fires are slow surface-glow combustion. This type of fire is common during summer weekends as a way to cook food in a charcoal burning grill. This type of fire uses a direct combination of oxygen and fuel source. This type of fire is perfectly explained by the Fire Triangle.

The type of fire that firefighters fear also requires chain reactions. As molecules are transformed through speeding them up with heat into the type of combustible substance that can fuel a fire.

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Energy, Fire, Fire Triangle, Technology

Fires and Ventilation

September 2, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

Ever have trouble sleeping at night because the room was too stuffy, or been in an apartment that caused its inhabitants to have difficulty breathing? The problem could be that the areas were not properly ventilated. Fresh air needs to enter space to make an area livable. While the concept of ventilation is similar in firefighting, it takes far more than adding a fan or cracking a window, either of which could help fuel a fire. Ventilation in firefighting means the systematic removal of gases and heat from a structure.

All fires give off a pair of gases that can be deadly in excess. Carbon dioxide is odorless, tasteless and invisible. In small doses it is not harmful, but if it dilutes the air enough it can choke out the oxygen to the point that there is not enough in the air to sustain life. At most fires the carbon dioxide usually escapes without causing a problem. Although carbon dioxide is heavier than air, the heat from a fire causes it to become lighter than air. As a result, even with an indoor fire the carbon dioxide will attempt to escape into the atmosphere.

Carbon monoxide, the other gas created by fire, is also an invisible, odorless and tasteless gas. Unlike carbon dioxide, it is extremely dangerous. Carbon monoxide is flammable and toxic, which means that it can replace the oxygen in blood and cause death. The concentration of carbon monoxide can be reduced in open areas. But rooms with poor ventilation can be deathtraps. The vast majority of deaths caused by inhaling the products of a fire are due to carbon monoxide. Death can also occur due to a lack of oxygen. Oxygen is the lifeblood of a fire, and feeding the flames can cause the amount of oxygen in a room to drop below what is necessary to sustain life.

So in stuffy rooms or apartments the temporary discomfort of a runny nose could be an alarm to something far more sinister. A poorly ventilated room could quickly become a gas chamber in case of a fire.

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Carbon dioxide, Carbon monoxide, Fire, Gas

Public Safety And Fire Safety

May 6, 2010 by admin

In the interests of public safety and fire safety it’s important to follow a few precautionary measures. Fire kills, but it can usually be prevented from happening in the first place.

A large part of the work of the fire department is to educate the population on the dangers of fire and simple fire prevention techniques. Fire kills thousands of Americans every year, and the saddest part of all, most of the deaths could have been prevented. 80% of these fires are in the home, so in the interests of public safety and fire safety, let’s take a quick look at how to fire proof your home and stop you from becoming another statistic.

Fire Drills

Do you remember those fire drills at school? I do, not with any affectionate I might add. The teachers always pretended that it was ‘random’ and that they ‘didn’t know’, but some sadistic so-and-so always hit the bell when it was freezing cold “no, you’re not allowed to get your coat, just go outside quickly, and don’t run”, then they’d make you stand freezing to death for the next 15 minutes, (it’s just occurred to me that the teachers were somehow permitted to take their coats) until some twerp who had been ignoring his name on the register finally owned up, and everybody was satisfied that no-one was burning to death in the toilets and were allowed to go back inside.

Have you ever practiced a fire drill at home? I bet you haven’t, but it’s a good idea for your children to know all of the escape routes in the home, and that they are kept clear, and to just practice leaving the house safely if there is an imaginary fire in some part of the house.

Smoke Alarms and Fire Extinguishers

Have you checked your smoke alarm lately? My family would argue that I check mine regularly, as a signal to let them know that dinner was ready five minutes ago (oooops) but seriously, smoke alarms save lives, use them, check them and don’t ignore them!

If your smoke alarm goes off (and remember, there’s no smoke without fire!) in the middle of the night, don’t waste time looking for valuables, the only thing you should take with you is your family! Roll out of bed, and keep low to the ground, just one breath can kill you. It’s often the smoke that kills you long before the fire has the chance! Follow your pre-planned escape routes, and feel the back of every door before opening it, if it feels warm, do not open the door, but go through a window or another door. Always close the doors behind you, and that way the fire will be more contained until the fire department gets there.

If you follow these public safety and fire safety tips, hopefully you and your family will be better equipped to prevent or escape from a fire.

Filed Under: Expert Advice, Fire Security, Prevention · Tagged With: Fire, Fire Safety, Smoke detector

Fire Management And Fire Safety

May 6, 2010 by admin

Fire management and fire safety can be practiced by all, just by using your head and following a few simple rules.

Fire kills. There’s no two ways about that one. The death rate in the USA from fire is among the highest per capita in the entire industrialized world, with fire killing around 3,700 and injuring more than 20,000 people every year. Around 100 firefighters lose their lives in the line of duty every year, and the worst part of all, most of these deaths and injuries could have been prevented. What a terrible waste of life.

By following a few simple strategies, fire management and fire safety can become second nature to all. Whilst many of the above fires may have been started deliberately (not deliberately to kill, but deliberately to start a fire) many of them will have been caused by sheer negligence and carelessness and would not have taken hold so quickly and dangerously had a few details been altered.

A Few Home Fire Safety Tips

Do you have a non inflammable roof covering? Flying embers (from your yard or your neighbor) can ignite your roof.
Do you regularly sweep leaves and debris from your gutters (remember those flying embers!)
Do you remove debris from beneath your house regularly? Dried up leaves make great fire lighters you know and those flying embers get everywhere!
Do you store your firewood away from your building? No! Why not?
Do you trim the trees on your lawn so that the branches are at least 6 feet high?
Do you have a hose handy whenever you have a little garbage fire, just in case?
Do you and your family have an emergency escape plan with all the exits from your house kept clear?

If you’ve answered ‘no’ to any of the above, go to the bottom of the class and get busy!

Out and About

Whenever you are out and about, particularly in the spring and early summer months when there is a real risk of wildfire, follow the following (follow the following? Not sure whether that’s right), anyway, smarten up to fire management and fire safety, and don’t forget to tell the kids too:

Never, ever, ever, throw a lighted cigarette from a car window. Smoking is dangerous is many more ways than one! Always make sure that you stub the cigarette out properly, and place in the ashtray. (Don’t pile the ashtray up with candy wrappers either).

Many areas forbid open fires and barbecues at the ‘danger time’, but if you are permitted to light an outdoor fire, never leave it unattended, even for a minute. A sudden gust of wind and that little camp fire can have the entire forest alight. There’ll be much more than your sausages going up in smoke. Always have some water handy to distinguish the flames.

Don’t leave glass containers lying around. As well as being a hazard for cutting the paws of all the wild creatures, they can act as a magnifying glass when the sun comes up, and a fire can be started ‘poof’ just like that.

Filed Under: Expert Advice, Fire Security · Tagged With: Fire, Fire Safety, Shopping