| Are you aware that you can lose all your | | | | heat, fuel, and oxygen. |
| personal belongings | | | | |
| | | | If you take any one of them away, a fire |
| in a single fire?It's very sad when fire | | | | will not occur. It is called |
| strikes your home. You lose everything. | | | | |
| | | | the "Fire Triangle".The Fire Triangle |
| You do not have a chance to save many | | | | principle is used in all fire prevention and |
| belongings. You will be | | | | fire |
| | | | |
| considered lucky if you escape with your | | | | fighting measures. It is very simple. Remove |
| life.A person's home is a very private piece | | | | any one of the three, |
| of his or her existence. | | | | |
| | | | and you will not have a fire. Put all of |
| People have been known to struggle for their | | | | them together and you will |
| entire life just to | | | | |
| | | | have a fire or even an explosion. An |
| accumulate sufficient material riches and | | | | explosion is just a rapid burning |
| built comfortable | | | | |
| | | | of a fire.The three components of a Fire |
| shelters for themselves. We can experience a | | | | Triangle are heat, fuel and oxygen. The |
| tremendous sense of | | | | |
| | | | components can appear in many forms and it |
| loss if our homes have been razed to the | | | | important for those of us |
| ground by a fire.Fires know no bounds. We | | | | |
| hear so much of this happening in the | | | | who want to adopt fire prevention measures |
| | | | to look carefully.Sometimes, people do not |
| news. Small children and aged persons | | | | realize that all the three are present until |
| getting trapped inside | | | | |
| | | | it becomes too late. For example, a tiny |
| while a house is on fire. We see live | | | | electrical spark that can |
| footage on television | | | | |
| | | | become a source of heat often cannot be seen |
| showing people jumping out from 3-storey | | | | at all. Sometimes, even |
| buildings and getting | | | | |
| | | | when the three conditions are present, the |
| injured. We see the terror in their eyes as | | | | energy of the heat may not |
| they make a desperate | | | | |
| | | | be sufficient to cause a fire.As with all |
| effort to avoid being burnt alive.We come | | | | accidents, when nothing terrible happens, |
| across stories of people being suffocated by | | | | people tend to |
| the thick | | | | |
| | | | get careless. Why worry? It did not happen |
| smoke from a fire.Death, injury and material | | | | the last time, it will not |
| loss is the result of fires in homes. | | | | |
| | | | happen now. What they do not realize is that |
| It is a matter for everyone to take | | | | sometimes there is not |
| seriously.Yes, the home is as safe as you | | | | |
| make it to be - if you take steps | | | | sufficient heat to vaporize the fuel.And |
| | | | fuel does not have to be petrol or kerosene. |
| to prevent fires from occurring in the first | | | | A piece of wood is |
| place.Fire can also be a friend or a foe to | | | | |
| mankind. Fires have been | | | | combustible when it becomes heated enough. |
| | | | Cloth and paper are also |
| used for keeping warm, for cooking, for | | | | |
| lighting, and so on. If | | | | fuels for a fire. The plastic chair in your |
| | | | dining room can be a fuel. |
| it were not for the discovery and | | | | |
| utilization of fire, mankind | | | | In fact all organic materials can burn if it |
| | | | is hot enough.Oxygen is always present in our |
| will have a very hard time surviving in the | | | | atmosphere. In fact we thrive on the |
| cold reaches of the | | | | |
| | | | oxygen in the air to live. Oxygen occupies |
| Earth. Our early ancestors used fires to | | | | about 21 percent by volume |
| ward away wild animals.Food tastes better | | | | |
| when cooked or warmed up on a fire. Farmers | | | | in air, the rest being nitrogen. So in |
| | | | normal conditions, this part of |
| clearing fields of weeds have also used | | | | |
| fire. Many scientific | | | | the Fire Triangle will always be present and |
| | | | is very difficult to avoid |
| discoveries are obtained by using the heat | | | | |
| from fires.Internal combustion engines, steam | | | | having when we plan our fire prevention |
| boilers, make use of | | | | measures in our homes. It will |
| | | | |
| engineering principles of combustion. | | | | be more relevant when we want to stop a fire |
| Engineers and scientists | | | | that has already started. |
| | | | |
| have studied how to harness the heat from | | | | In this case, one of the ways to break the |
| fires for energy | | | | Fire Triangle is to remove |
| | | | |
| generation.Fire is a true friend if you know | | | | oxygen. There are ways to do this, one of |
| how to use it well. The benefits | | | | them is by blanketing or |
| | | | |
| to mankind are many. Sometimes we forget | | | | smoldering.However, in our planning for fire |
| that it can also be very | | | | prevention, we can look at ways of |
| | | | |
| dangerous.There is a saying, "It takes a | | | | reducing the chances of oxygen rich |
| tree to produce one million matches, | | | | atmosphere forming anywhere around |
| | | | |
| but it takes a match to destroy a million | | | | the fuel and the heat. This has been known |
| trees". That's the power | | | | to start fires rapidly.Everybody knows that |
| | | | heating can cause fires. However, we must not |
| of a fire. It can also destroy tremendously. | | | | be |
| It can go out of | | | | |
| | | | unduly alarmed if there are sources of heat |
| control. Efforts must be made to tame | | | | around us. We simply cannot |
| it.There should not be any doubt in the minds | | | | |
| of people. Fire is a boon | | | | avoid the heat. In fact we use heating for |
| | | | our own benefit. Simply put, |
| to mankind. But it needs to be controlled | | | | |
| well in order to use it.People who makes use | | | | we must treat heat and fire with respect. We |
| of fire, (that includes all of us), must know | | | | should also study the |
| | | | |
| | | | mechanism of a fire.The Mechanism of |
| the nature of a fire, and how a fire can | | | | Starting a FireIf you put the flame of a |
| start. It is a fundamental | | | | lighted match under a piece of wood, you can |
| | | | |
| rule to understand what we are dealing | | | | be sure that most of the time the wood will |
| with.In order for us to use fire properly, we | | | | not catch fire. Even if |
| should know something | | | | |
| | | | you dip a lighted cigarette into a pan of |
| about how a fire can occur. People who have | | | | lubrication oil, it is very |
| a natural fear of fire | | | | |
| | | | unlikely that the pan of oil will catch |
| usually do not know much about fires. If | | | | fire.So how does a fire actually start?To |
| they know how a fire can | | | | answer this question, we must know how a fuel |
| | | | burns. A piece of wood |
| start, they will not fear it as much, but | | | | |
| rather treat it with | | | | can be considered a fuel. The carpet fabric |
| | | | on the floor of your house |
| respect. The more you find out about fires, | | | | |
| the better you will be | | | | is also a fuel. But why does some fuel burn |
| | | | so easily while others do |
| at preventing it from going out of | | | | |
| hand.Starting a FireHow a fire can start?In | | | | not? How does a fuel burn?Taking a piece of |
| order for a fire to start, three conditions | | | | wood as an example, below is the sequence of |
| must be met, and they | | | | events |
| | | | |
| must be present together. The conditions are | | | | that happen when a fire occurs. |