Fires
Fire is changing, it’s getting bigger, stronger, faster. And this time, it’s not climate change—it’s us - Colin Schultz
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image by: Fort Worth Fire Department
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Modern Materials Make Houses Burn More Quickly
Today’s house fires burn eight items faster and produce 200 times the amount of smoke that a fire would have 50 years ago… An average-sized room furnished with modern products is fully engulfed in flames in three minutes. The same room, furnished with items 50 years of age took 30 minutes to do the same.
The more aggressive modern fires mean that where before you had time to get organized and get out the door, now, you have mere minutes from the time the smoke alarm goes to escape your burning home.
Resources
What Should I Do in the Event of a House Fire?
According to the National Fire Protection Association, house fires are responsible for more than 2,600 fatalities per year.1 But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are fire protection steps you can take to keep your family safe in the event of a home fire.
E-Bike Battery Fires Can Be Deadly. Here’s How to Prevent One in Your Home.
To stay safe, don’t mix and match chargers, buy aftermarket batteries or charge in extreme temperatures.
Extinguish the Odds of a House Fire with These Safety Tips
Forty years ago, a person had 17 minutes to escape a home fire. Today, you have less than three minutes. The synthetic materials used in modern homes burn much faster than natural materials, which greatly reduces the time you have to escape a house fire safely.
Every Household Should Know the Top Causes of Home Fires
There is no fool-proof way to prevent fires at home, but these tips will put you on smart path.
Learn About Fires
Fire is FAST! In less than 30 seconds a small flame can turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house or for it to be engulfed in flames.
At 14, I escaped a lethal house fire and lost everything. Comedy saved me
Krystal Evans was scarred, mentally and physically, by the fire. She blocked out the memories – until she decided to write about them.
Burning down the house
Shack fires are a menace that simple fixes could help prevent.
Can you really use foil to fireproof your house?
This technique isn’t new: fire departments in wildfire country have been using foil wrap for decades to protect structures like ranger stations, monuments, and remote US Forest Service buildings. But recent photos of houses miraculously intact amidst smoldering rubble have inspired some homeowners to take matters into their own hands—at times even shelling out big money for the same shiny wrapping material used by the pros.
Deadly blazes reflect America’s failure to adequately house its poor
The real cause of recent deadly fires was poverty.
Fire in a High-rise? In Most Cases, the Fire Dept. Says Stay Put
As relatives waited for victims of a deadly Bronx high-rise fire to be identified, officials said simple safety measures could make a difference.
Fireproofing your home isn't very expensive — but few states require it
While homes can be retrofitted after they're built to improve their wildfire risk, installing fire-resistant materials at the outset is far more cost-effective, building experts say. Homeowners may also see lower insurance premiums, since many insurance companies are beginning to reduce rates for homeowners with wildfire-resistant construction.
Hoarding Is Making Firefighting Harder
The rise of compulsive junk-collection means more people will perish while trapped amid their stuff.
Home Fires: The Most Deadly — And Preventable — Holiday Disasters
But the fires you probably don’t see on the news are home fires; yet home fires kill more people annually than any other disasters the Red Cross responds to. Sadly, home fires are especially prevalent during this festive time.
Homeowners Can Protect Themselves From Wildfires
It’s called home hardening.
House Fires Are Way More Common in Winter—Here’s How to Stay Safe
Many items in modern homes are made of synthetic materials, Carli explains: “If they catch fire, they burn very quickly, so you would have much less time to escape.” Fire safety experts used to tell people they had 7 to 10 minutes to flee a burning home, Carli says. Today, she notes, you could have as few as two minutes.
How to Help Prepare Your Home for the Threat of Wildfires
There are measures you can take to help protect your property from wildfires, including clearing gutters, trimming brush and adding fire-resistant plants to your garden.
Oh Snap!: What Would You Grab If Your House Was on Fire?
What would you take with you if your house were burning? Anyone who’s actually been in this situation knows that the hypothetical list devised on road trips dissolves when faced with actual smoke and flames.
These are some of the deadliest residential fires in recent U.S. history.
An apartment fire in the Bronx in which at least 19 people were killed was among the most devastating residential fires in recent memory.
When Your Yard Can Kill You
In California, state and local laws have long required that people who live in areas at high risk of wildfires create buffers of “defensible space”—land cleared of vegetation and other flammable material—around their homes. Local fire departments and Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency, are tasked with going door-to-door to inspect the properties of the estimated 2.7 million Californians who live in these zones.
Modern Materials Make Houses Burn More Quickly
What used to take half an hour now lasts mere minutes. Today’s house fires burn eight items faster and produce 200 times the amount of smoke that a fire would have 50 years ago… n average-sized room furnished with modern products is fully engulfed in flames in three minutes.
10 fire safety tips to help keep you and your kids alive and safe
Although the number of people killed in fires in the United States has been going down since the 1980s, the number is still high. In the year 2020, for example, 3,500 people were killed in fires in the U.S. The vast majority of those deaths – 2,580, to be exact, or about three out of every four – took place at home. Another 11,500 people suffered fire-related injuries at home.

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