You know the saying, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire!”  There is a lot of truth in this statement.  Fire is a chemical reaction in which an oxidizer reacts with a fuel, raising the fuel to its ignition temperature, resulting in combustion of the fuel.  The rust on your car is actually the result of the same chemical reaction.  It just occurs so slowly that the heat generated is dissipated months before your car catches fire.

If we take a tour around the house and garage we will notice that most everything we have is combustible.  Wood furniture, plastic, synthetic carpets and furniture coverings are all potential fuels.  Other materials are fire resistant or noncombustible.  These include the drywall or plaster on the walls and ceilings, cement block, concrete and glass.

Each fuel has its own unique ignition temperature.  The ignition temperature is the temperature that a fuel will begin to burn.  In addition, different fuels burn at different rates.  Synthetics can smolder for hours before they generate enough heat to burn with an open flame.  Gasoline, on the other hand, ignites so rapidly that it has explosive force.

We want to believe that fires won’t occur in our home, yet we live in houses built of wood and place all sorts of combustible furnishings inside.  We don’t think of our furnishings in these terms but nearly every item in our home will burn.  Certainly, most fires are accidental and are caused by careless behavior.  Others are caused by faulty or poorly maintained mechanical equipment, but the fact is that fire does not discriminate.  Rich or poor, male or female, young or old, we are all at risk.

Know what to do if a fire occurs in your home.  Each year more than 4,000 people die as a result of house fires in America.  Another 19,000 are injured.  Unless you are lucky, you will not survive without an understanding of fire and an escape plan.  Below are four facts that you must know if you are to survive a fire 

Fire is not bright.  It is pitch black!  Fire starts bright, but quickly produces black smoke and complete darkness.  Expect not to see!  This due to the use of plastics and synthetics today.  Plastics and synthetics are materials with a high carbon content.  Like a tire fire, the smoke generated is black.  If you wake up to a fire you could be blinded, disoriented and unable to find your way around the home you’ve lived in for years.

Smoke and toxic gases kill more people than flames do.  Fires consume the oxygen that your body needs, and produces carbon monoxide and cyanide gases that kill.  Breathing even small amounts of these gases will make you drowsy, disoriented and short of breath.  The odorless, colorless fumes can lull you into a deep sleep before the flames reach your bedroom door.  While asleep, your sense of smell does not work.  You will not smell the most acrid smoke.

Heat is more threatening than flames.  A fire’s heat alone can kill.  Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level.  At the ceiling temperatures can reach over 1,000 degrees.  Inhaling this super hot air will scorch your lungs.  Your clothes will melt to your skin.  In five minutes a room can get so hot that everything in it ignites at once; this is called flashover.

Time may be your biggest enemy.  In less than 30 seconds a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire.  It only takes a few minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house.  In five minutes a house can be engulfed in flames.  Most fatal fires occur in the home when people are asleep.  If you wake up to a fire, you won’t have time to grab valuable.  There is only time to escape.

Conclusion
Every home should have at least one working smoke detector on each level.  No building is safe to sleep in without a smoke detector.  None!  You will not smell or hear a fire once asleep.  Smoke detectors offer the earliest warning of fire.

For most of us, the problem is trying to remember when we last replaced the batteries in our smoke detectors.  Hectic life styles and schedules make it easy to overlook items that aren’t broken.  Don’t wait for the annoying chirp.  Buy fresh batteries today and when the time falls back one hour on October 30th, replace the batteries in your smoke detectors. 

Did you know that the Brimfield Fire Department has a limited supply of smoke detectors and replacement batteries available at no cost to residents?  Just stop by the fire station and let the duty crew know how many you need.  One final note about smoke detectors; they should be replaced after ten years of service or as recommended by the manufacturer.  Over time the sensor in your smoke detector loses its sensitivity and should be replaced.