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