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VideoJug.com - Fire: What Everyone Needs To Know

VideoJug: Fire: What Everyone Needs To Know

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Fire: What Everyone Needs To Know
What is the most common cause of residential fires?

Some of the most common causes of residential fires is smoking. Sometime people go to bed, watch TV, smoke a cigarette, fall asleep, and then the cigarette falls out of their mouth and onto the sheets, and we have a fire. They would be lucky if they survived that. If they have a smoke detector installed, then possibly they'll wake up and they'll be able to get out before the whole house or room is consumed in the fire.
What are the common causes of commercial fires?

With commercial fires, or high-rise fires, electrical issues are usually one of the biggest culprits of those types of fires and also, if there are kitchens in those types of buildings, that certainly contributes to leading causes of fires. But what we see most that causes commercial fires are electrical or if it's someone that's left something on in an office, a lighter of some sort and its too close to a combustible material.
When do household fires usually happen?

With household fires occurring in a time frame, you don't really have a given time of the day, but cooking is one of the biggest culprits in household fires and I think still statistically 70 percent of the fires is because of the electrical issues. So, it doesn't really fall into a category in terms of a specific time frame like morning, afternoon and evening. But one would have to factor in that most people are in home in the evening, as the family. So, we would se higher bit of incident at that time.
Where do household fires most commonly originate?

Where household fires occur is not really specific if we are talking about maybe a room of the house. Is it the bedroom versus the kitchen? Well it really depends on what the layout of the house is. And again, there's always different types of reasons for a fire. It could be because of cooking, so therefore it would obviously be in the kitchen. But there isn't really any one particular place. It really has to do with the dynamics going on at any one particular time.
What household appliances are most commonly involved in fires?

Coffee makers and toasters, electric ovens or toaster ovens, rather, are probably some of the more common causes of home fire. Again, a lot of it has to do with not just the appliance itself but oftentimes the age of the home. So, if your home was built between the 50's and the 70's the wiring is much older than newer construction. And so these are some of the things you'd have to take into consideration when assessing what appliances are most likely to cause a fire. If you think that that's an issue in your home - and one of the common denominators of determining that would be if you have fuses that blow more often than not, and you are looking at lights that dim when you turn on another appliance - this would be a really good time to make sure that you have an electrician possibly come out and check the system for you.
What month is the most dangerous for household fires?

December is the month where we see more household fires, and that's due to the fact that at Christmas or the holidays we have lights, inside and outside. We tend to be inside more because of the colder weather, depending on where you live, and we use appliances more often like space heaters and those types of things. So December still is the month where we see a higher rate of fire in the home.
How dangerous are Christmas trees during a fire?

Christmas Trees are really dangerous during a fire. People don't really realize how dry those trees become in a very short amount of time. It's the obvious thing, we go, we buy a Christmas tree, we have a little water bowl put on the bottom, we fill it up when we first stand it up, but a lot of people forget about checking that water level. And these Christmas Trees dry out really quick, and remember most people put lights on the Christmas tree, so there's an added factor to the fire danger. A Christmas Tree can go up in Twenty or thirty seconds easily, and then ignite the room. So if you leave the lights on, and you are not home, there's a real good chance that you are going to have a house fire.
What household materials are most combustible?

In the home, the most combustible materials would be your class A materials. This includes ordinary combustibles, such as paper, wood, plastic. You don´t tend to see a lot of flammable liquids in the home. That´s not to say that cleaning solutions and such are not flammable, but we don´t see as many and more commonly we have furniture which is combustible. We sit on it, we have mattresses that we sleep on, and all of these things are what we call ordinary combustible materials.
How many people are injured each year due to fire?

The latest statistic that I could come across as far as injuries due to fire right now is about 100,000 people a year. That runs a pretty good spectrum of injury. It could be anything from a first-degree burn to a third-degree burn. It just depends. But the numbers are running around is 100,000 people are injured each year due to fire.
How many people lose their lives each year due to fire?

Again it's all about statistics. The latest statistics are about 6,000 people a year die as a result of fire. And most of the time again we are talking about residential fire. We certainly have brush fire but most of the loss of life has to do with single family dwellings.
What is the number one cause of death from fire?

The number one cause of death from fire is the product of combustion or asphyxiation. Indeed ‘smoke inhalation' is probably the most common term that people would be able to identify with. Different materials give off different types of gases, and depending upon the environment, meaning how big the room that the fire is in is, and what other factors are in there, such as what other materials are in there. This is because as the fire grows and the heat intensifies, then all these different types of materials give off their own types of gases. So what we usually see as the number one cause of death from fire is asphyxiation or, simply put, smoke inhalation.
What is the most dangerous bi-product of fire?

As far as bi-products of fire go, we look at carbon monoxide poisoning as the most dangerous. It's colourless, tasteless, odourless, and we see this more often than we'd like to. Indeed what happens is that people that don't have forced air heating or a floor furnace, they'll bring in like a little hibachi or barbecue. And they'll light the charcoal briquettes and they'll let it burn all night so they have warmth. And primarily what happens is that these gases that form from the reaction from the fire in briquettes causes carbon monoxide and they asphyxiate while they are asleep. Most of the time they never knew obviously what happened. This happens quite often.
Who is most at risk from fire related death?

The age range of the people that are most at risk from fire related deaths are elderly patients, people from sixty-five and upwards, and then down to about five and below. And that's because often times, if we start with the younger group, they don't have the knowledge base, they don't have the experience and they don't understand the dangers of fire. Then on the upper end of that spectrum, the elderly patients often times are bed ridden, they're sick or they have home oxygen, and they refuse not to smoke. They don't understand that when you light up the cigarette, you have oxygen and you potentially have yourself a little fire bomb there. Therefore it's just a knowledge thing that make people most at risk from fire related death.
On average, how much property damage is caused by fire every year?

Property damage on an annual basis is up in the billions. It would be hard to put a figure on it, but definitely it's a lot higher than most people realize. And that has a lot to do with what goes on in the home, including your electrical appliances, you being very cognizant and paying attention to these things, and doing prevention. That's probably the biggest thing that people overlook. And the second thing is if you live in hillside areas or you live in areas where there's a lot of vegetation around your home, then you have to think about making sure you have a 100 to 200 foot clearance. These are things that are going to keep those numbers of how much property damage is caused by fire every year.
How quickly can a fire fully engulf a room?

It's a tremendous phenomenon. And we see that when we watch movies and so on, and we're in awe at how quickly a fire can spread. And sometimes I think we wonder if that really is in fact true. And it is! A fire can consume a room within a few minutes, indeed in 4 or 5 minutes that entire room can be just completely filled with either smoke and flames, or smoke, which is again a product of the combustion, or the fire itself and materials that are burning. But fire engulfing a room is fast.
What are some common myths about fire?

Some of the myths about fire are interesting. I think the most common one is it's not going to happen to me. Something that people don't really understand is that fires start small, they don't start large and I say that because in knowing that they start small means potentially we can prevent the fire from getting out of hand. And that brings us back to as we progress into this conversation, when we start talking about fire extinguishers and things that you should have on hand and how to prepare yourselves and how to learn how to use these things in the case of a fire

VideoJug.com - Fire Terminology And Science

VideoJug: Fire Terminology And Science

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Fire Terminology And Science
What are the different classifications of fire?

The four classifications of fire are A, B, C, and D. Class A fires are your combustible, or ordinary combustibles such as paper, wood, plastic. Your Class B fires are your flammable liquid fires. We are talking gasoline, diesel, oil here. Indeed it's cooking oil, primarily, and these types of substances. Class C are your energized electrical, such as an appliance that's plugged in, and has a power source that catches on fire, these would all be a Class C fire. When we remove the source of energy, it becomes a Class A fire, with just an ordinary combustible. And then we have Class D fires, which are what we call combustible metal fires. So metals ending in ium such as aluminium, titanium, magnesium. This is why often, when we ask someone if they had a fire, what kinds of things would they put on the fire if they didn't have an extinguisher, you'll get a real spectrum of answers. But one of the answers that you definitely want to educate on, is they'll say that you can throw salt on a fire. Salt is a combustible metal, because it's sodium chloride. We don't think of it in terms of that, but it actually can intensify the fire.
What does 'fire retardant' mean?

A fire retardant is something that we use to coat a material to lessen the chance of it becoming fully engulfed in flames. What it does is put a barrier on that particular material and it makes it much more difficult for the actual heat to penetrate whatever that material is. Commonly, if we look at clothing, that's one of the things that I think we as consumers would see. Looking at a label, especially if your buying clothes for children, you want to make sure that fire retardants are used. Again what it does is it makes it more difficult for that particular material to catch on fire.
What is a fire 'flashover'?

The primary material that is on fire is generating a lot of heat and as it's doing that it's giving off gasses. In that confined space or that area where the fire is occurring, it's then heating up other pieces of furniture or other materials, and then those in turn begin to give off gasses as well. These gasses all come together and physically what would happen is that as a fire fighter you'd be in there and you'd start looking at characteristics that would change such as dark smoke. You'd see an intensification of heat in the area and these are all those things that are pointing to the fact that this flashover is going to occur. Really what happens is that the flames will come up from behind you and end up going up a wall and over a ceiling. If you could see it, it would be like little fingers over your head. That's really what a flash over is. it's when all those gasses heat to a certain degree and it starts to fill the room and it starts to overcome and engulf you, that would be an easier way to put it.
What is a fire's 'ignition point'?

Materials will have a particular degree in which they are going to ignite, as far as fire is concerned and this is their ignition point. When materials reach that level of intensification with the heat in the room and the gases and such, there's a flash point or an ignition point rather, and that particular material will catch on fire. The ignition point is not really spontaneous combustion but it's similar. In other words, it has to get to that intensification and then, in fact, it will ignite and start to burn.
What are fire 'hot spots'?

Fire hot spots we usually see when we have brush fires or wild land fires. Or actually we have a lot of structures that are on fire and what happens is, fire generates it's own wind and so, as the products are burning, lets say the roof of a house and some of the older homes that still exist here have the wood shingle roof, and when that catches on fire the winds catch it and the embers end up flying hundreds of feet away and then they will ignite another area. They will ignite another little spot of brush or another material, whatever it might be, but those are the little hot spots that happen which are largely due to flying embers, these are what we refer to as fire hot spots.
What is a fire 'backdraft'?

A fire back draft can best be described in terms of most of us probably saw the movie Back draft, and you know one of those great lines in that movie was, "Timmy did you check the door before you opened it up and just got blown down the stairwell?" The fire back draft happens when inside that room the fire is happening, and it has consumed all of the oxygen in that space. So what it does is, if we look characteristically, if you were outside of a room that had windows that was on fire that was in a back draft situation, it would almost look as though the room was breathing. The windows would actually expand and contract a little bit. Very dark smoke would kind of seep out of from under the door a little bit and suck back in. And that right there is the fire back draft, it's lost all of the oxygen left in that space and now its looking for more so that it can continue to burn. So, consequently, what could happen is when you open a door or a window, you introduce that oxygen and it is potentially just going to be a very explosive reaction. The windows will blow out, the door will blow open, and if you're standing there, you're going to be blown a pretty far distance from that door due to the fire back draft.
How hot can a room get if it is on fire?

With the fire itself when it first starts, the heat is not too bad, but really on the upper end, by the time it reaches the ceiling, it is over 1,000 degrees easy. Of which you would never be able to stand in there and sustain the heat, especially if you did not have any protective clothing. Even as fire-fighters we have turn out clothing that is flame retardant, we have breathing/air tanks and so on that enable us to stay in that environment, obviously much longer than just an average person but the heat is unbelievably hot and you feel it even through the clothing and the areas that are not protected as well like your cheeks or your nose. Indeed even though it is under the mask you still feel that heat. Your ears as well, these are some of the areas that would commonly see fire fighters get burnt on, especially the ears, because of how hot a room gets if it is on fire.

VideoJug.com - Early Warning From Fire And First Defense

VideoJug: Early Warning And First Defense



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Early Warning And First Defense
What is a 'smoke detector'?

A smoke detector is actually just a device that picks up on an increase in heat in a room and what it does is it gives you a signal, an audible signal, that is either going to be a sort of a loud shrill or a siren. More often than not you'll find sirens on a smoke detector in commercial buildings or high-rise buildings, but as far as the home, single family dwellings, it would be just a very loud obnoxious shrill on your fire alarm that most of us have heard when the battery needs to be changed.
What types of smoke do smoke detectors detect?

Smoke is just the by-product of combustion, so smoke detectors are not specific to any one particular chemical in smoke, although carbon monoxide poisoning has become quite prevalent. And what smoke detectors now have are sort of a combination. Indeed a carbon monoxide smoke detector, which is probably the best thing to install, especially if you're going to go through the exercise of going to buy them, and either changing out old ones or installing these new ones. That's the way to go nowadays in smoke detectors.
Why are smoke detectors important?

Smoke detectors are really the only way that, especially if you're asleep, you're going to have any idea that there's heating smoke in the house, which then potentially is going to end up being a big fire for you. This is an audible alarm, and this is preparation. This is all planning, and the things that you can do to mitigate the outcome of a fire in your home. Your smoke detector gives you that signal, and it gives you time to get out.
Where can I purchase smoke detectors and fire extinguishers?

As far as purchasing smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, you can get these at your home improvement centres, you can get them at local hardware stores, indeed they're really all over the place now. Your larger stores will all have fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. It's just a matter of where you like to do your shopping and what the price range of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers is. They tend to fall pretty much within maybe $5 to $10 difference as far as price range and anywhere from $25 and upwards depending on what size of a fire extinguisher you get and what type of smoke detector that you like.
How many smoke detectors should I have in my home?

Again, as far as how many smoke detectors you should have in your home, if you look it up in the fire code they're going to tell you should have one for every bedroom, in every room, rather. Also if you have more than one story you have to consider the upper floors as well. In the opening to the stairwell itself is a very good place to have a smoke detector. So if there's any smoke from the lower level that potentially is coming up, as smoke rises, it's going to then alert you when it gets to that area in the home. You should have smoke detectors in the bedrooms, hallway, and around or near the kitchen but not necessarily in it.
What are the different types of smoke detectors?

The two main smoke detectors on the market are just a basic smoke detector and a carbon monoxide smoke detector. And that's because it's a different gas. The carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas, so it's something that does require a little bit more of a specific instrument in your smoke alarm in order to detect that.
How do I install a smoke detector?

Smoke detectors are really easy to install. It's going to require, if you like to do a little pilot hole, a drill, and a screwdriver - most of the time it's a Phillips head screwdriver. The directions for installing the smoke detectors come with the packaging. It's going to tell you where to place it and how to do it. So installing a smoke detector is pretty simple.
How often should I check my smoke detectors and fire extinguishers?

With checking the batteries in your smoke detectors, there's two times when we make some changes in our household. We have daylight savings, so we change the times on our clock and We spring ahead, where we fall back. So I like to incorporate as many things as we can. You have a smoke detector, so you should check your batteries every six months when you change the clock for daylight savings. If you really want to get technical, take a sharpie marker and put the date on the battery so that the next time you open up that cover on the detector, then you know when the last time you checked it was. The other things is on your fire extinguishers. It will tell you that you should refill them once a year, regardless of whether you use them or not. But, what I like to do again is incorporate all these things that we need to check, and you want to invert your fire extinguisher. Just turn it upside down, shake it a little bit, and then turn it right side up, because what happens is the powder inside cakes down. This way you keep it free flowing. And now you've incorporated all these things, and you don't have to try to remember that you have to check the smoke detector batteries this month, and do the extinguisher next month. You do them all together and it makes it easier for you. It's all about the preparation.
How long will my smoke detectors and fire extinguishers last?

The smoke detectors are dependent upon the battery if it's battery-operated versus hard-wired, meaning it's actually wired into the electrical system of your home. So there's two issues there. But as far as the battery-operated smoke detectors go, it's as long as the battery's going to last. So, again, we don't like it to be in there longer than a year, without having changed it, regardless of if it chirps at you or not, which is sort of that warning sign that you need to change the battery. As far as a fire extinguisher goes, they'll tell you that you should have it serviced once a year, even if you don't use it. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the extinguisher wont work. On a best guess, if you've had an extinguisher in the home and it's five years old or so, don't throw it away. Buy a new one, and then use that primary one, or the one that you had that you were thinking of replacing, use that one first. In worst-case scenario, you pull the pin, you squeeze down, and it doesn't come out. So now you have the new one that you've just purchased.
How many fire extinguishers should I have in my home?

The number of fire extinguishers in the home is really dependent upon what kinds of things you have in your home and how many stories you have for the home. If it's a two story or three story, however it's configured. But on a best guess, what you should do really, as a best practice rather, is that you should have a fire extinguisher that will handle the lower area of your home and upper. And if you feel the need to have one or two fire extinguishers on each of those floors, that's fine too. There really isn't a set number. It's the mere fact that you realize that a fire extinguisher makes a tremendous difference and it's very cheap in terms of what we pay for our homes. It's cheap insurance and it can really save a lot of lives.
What are the different types of fire extinguishers?

There's a lot of different types of fire extinguishers, as there are four classes of fire. As far as your extinguishers, you have your basic dry chemical extinguishers which we call a multi-purpose ABC extinguisher. We have a water extinguisher, which is primarily used on class A fire. You also have a combustible fire extinguisher, which deals with ordinary combustible material, paper, wood, plastic. And finally you have a CO2 extinguisher, which we would primarily like to use on electrical fires, or class B fires, which are your flammable liquids fires. And that's because there's no residue when you use this type of a fire extinguisher. Halon used to be pretty common, but they've actually changed the chemical formation of it. Halon is still around, it's just under a different name. But, those are the different types of fire extinguishers. As far as the consumer is concerned, your ABC multi-purpose fire extinguisher, that's the one you want to buy.