Understanding Flashover and How to Protect Your Family

The National Fire Protection Association has released a demonstration of what happens during a home fire and how smoke detectors and fire sprinklers save lives. Watch the full video here.

Here are some highlights from the video and accompanying narration.  The home does have a smoke detector, but since there are no sprinklers installed, much of the home will be destroyed before firefighters are able to get to the home and extinguish it.

You are about to witness the awesome, deadly power of a fire and the incredible speed with which a home fire can spread. This fire has been planned:  a demonstration to show you how quickly a home fire can reach the point when everything in a room combusts and no one can survive:  Flashover.

This fire begins in the living room, where many fatal house fires start:

30 seconds after the first flame, the sofa ignites.

From this point, the fire grows rapidly.  1 minute 4 seconds from the first flame, smoke begins to fill the room and then descends rapidly.  At 1 minute 35 seconds, gases flowing out of this room exceed 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

1 minute 50 seconds the smoke alarm at the foot of the stairs sounds an alarm providing a warning before exits are blocked:

2 minutes 48 seconds, smoke pours into the dining room.  Thick black smoke moves rapidly upstairs.

Before 4 minutes have passed, the temperature 3 feet above the floor in the living room is over 500 degrees Fahrenheit.  No one could survive.

Home fires are typically reported several minutes after the flames start.  Once a fire is reported, it takes time for the fire department to be notified and dispatched.

3 minutes 41 seconds, the energy in the room suddenly ignites everything.  Within 1 minute, the temperature has risen to over 1400 degrees:  Flashover!!

At this point, the firefighters are en route to the blaze.  Only 2 minutes after the smoke alarm sounded, the downstairs and upstairs hallways have become impassable.

The firefighters typically arrive about 7 minutes after a fire has been reported.

The fire grows so fast, the firefighters may not be able to rescue anyone inside:

The message is simple:  you cannot survive flashover. If a fire starts in your home, get out immediately and stay out.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPweBlXNfxo