The dangers of smoke, heat, and flames in a fire outbreak

Smoke spreads fast, much faster than flames and it is harder to contain than flames as well as being incredibly toxic. Smoke can easily create hazardous health conditions and will kill those that are exposed to it for too long.

The smoke that is generated when a building catches fire will most likely be visibly dark, thick as well as dense, making it extremely difficult to breath as well as navigate your way through the building and escape to safety.

Visibility will only become increasingly impaired as the thick black smoke builds up. This due largely to the materials that the fire is consuming and being fueled by. Materials such as fabrics, coated woods, plastic, rubber, as well as artificial materials like styrofoam.

A building can be totally consumed by flames in little less than 4 or 5 minutes. Fire that may start out as tiny, often initially undetected, can rise and grow to quickly become uncontrollable in under 30 seconds. When dealing with fire it is important to understand that time really isn’t on your side, you must be decisive and quick in everything that you do.

Like smoke, heat from a fire can kill before the flames do. The difference between temperatures at head height and floor level can be stark, and can ultimately be the difference between life and death. Temperatures 5 feet from the floor can reach heat of over 300 °C whilst floor level temperatures may be as low as 32 °C!

If you require any support or advice with the electrical and fire safety in your building, contact - 01604 696113 today.

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