WHEN THERE'S A FIRE WHAT CAUSES THE FLAME?
Fire comes from a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere
and some sort of fuel, such as wood.
Of course, wood doesn’t spontaneously catch on fire just because
its surrounded by oxygen; for the reaction to happen and make fire,
the fuel must be heated its ignition temperature.
The heat can come from lots of different things — a match, focused light, friction, lightning, or even something else that is already burning.
When the wood reaches about 300 degrees
Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius), the heat quickly decomposes
some of the cellulose material that makes up the wood.
Some of this decomposed material is released as volatile gases,
in the form of smoke.
These chemical reactions create a lot of heat very quickly,
which is why you must always be extremely careful around fire – it will continue to burn as long as it has fuel and oxygen, and it can get out of control really fast!
This is why we learn about fire safety and have fire drills,
so we will know what to do in a fire emergency.
See for yourself: HAVE A FIRE PLAN or, BE A FIRE MARSHALL?
We have all heard of “Stop, drop, & roll” as what you should do if your clothes ever catch fire.
What other fire safety precautions have you learned about at home or in school?
Do you know the quickest and safest way out in case of fire?
Talk to your grownups and make sure they have an emergency plan if there is ever a fire.
