Top 5 Devastating House Fire Facts
Top 10, viral, Top 5, lists, facts, history, house fires, what to do when your house is burning down, what causes house fires, house fire causes, house fire statistics, fires, the sun, alcohol, national fire protection association, top 5, chris masson,
Written by Q.V. Hough
Before you stop, drop and roll, you’ve got to be in the know. Actually, scratch that, if you’re on fire, stop, drop and roll whether you’re in the know or not. Welcome to WatchMojo’s Top 5 Facts. In this installment, we’re taking a look at the most interesting facts we could find about house fires.
A dried out christmas tree can go from festive glow to uncontrollable inferno in about 10 seconds. According to the National Fire Protection Association, holiday trees were the first item to ignite in 210 home fires from 2009-2013... which actually doesn’t seem like that many. However, 1 in 31 of those fires cause at least one death, compared to an average of 1 death in 141 fires for other home fires. And then there’s turkey fryers fires. In case you didn’t know, lots of Americans in recent years have been deep frying their Thanksgiving turkeys, sometimes with less-than-fire-free results. Meanwhile, although Hanukkah celebrations involve both lighting candles and frying latkes in oil, there don’t seem to be a lot of menorah fires reported. It’s still a good idea to keep a close eye on them and keep them a reasonable size.
Look up in the sky and you will see the greatest of all fire hazards. In 2014, a London house briefly went up in flames when a robe caught fire by way of refracted rays from a glass doorknob. Another English home caught on fire because of an empty nutella jar on a sunny windowsill. And just as kids play around with magnifying glasses and fire in their early years, adults too can inadvertently play a game with Mother Nature, but one they’re not always prepared for. From 2009 to 2014, the London Fire Brigade alone reported 33 such cases of house fires. So, maybe place glass objects somewhere else so that refracted rays don’t light up your home.
When a house fire begins, you need to be quick on your feet, right? The answer is yes. And, well, heavy drinkers have been known to be a bit slow. An Australian study looked at the 95 people who had died house fires in the state of Victoria in a certain period, and found that 58 percent of those people had enough alcohol in their system to be intoxicated. Since the sober people actually had more obstacles to avoid, the researchers figure that the drunks probably could have escaped if they’d been woken sooner. The authors of that study also recommended that since drunk people are harder to wake up in case of a fire, one person in the house should remain sober, which sounds like a pretty fun night, doesn’t it?
The open floor plans and high ceilings of many new constructions can give you a majestic, expansive feeling. But all that open space means more oxygen to feed fire and huge spaces for smoke to pool. In contrast, older homes typically have smaller spaces. Many new homes are built using lightweight construction and decorated with combustible synthetic materials, in contrast to slower-burning solid lumber and natural materials of previous generations. All the petroleum-based fabrics in your couches, curtains and pillows will burn hot and fast. When a house fire does begin in a home like this, it’s been reported that people have only a few minutes to escape – a significant decrease from the estimated 17 minutes of old construction styles..
There’s only so much one can do to prevent house fires. And blazes can begin in bizarre ways. It makes sense, of course, that a lit cigarette can start a fire. But it’s difficult to predict when a pigeon will drop one down the chimney and inadvertently spark up a bird’s nest. This happened in London. And even an air conditioner can transform a cool setting into Dante’s Inferno thanks to a simple mechanical failure. Discarded 9-volt batteries– the same kind that power most smoke detectors– can spark a fire if their contacts touch metal. An unattended shorty can burn the roof to the ground on a dance floor. Whether it’s a leaky, short circuiting dishwasher or the sun beaming in on glass objects, fire often finds a way. Exit plans, sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers are all worthy investments.
So, what’s the weirdest way you’ve seen a fire start? For more delicious latke Top 10s and leaky dishwasher Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
Top 5 Facts About House Fires
Before you stop, drop and roll, you’ve got to be in the know. Actually, scratch that, if you’re on fire, stop, drop and roll whether you’re in the know or not. Welcome to WatchMojo’s Top 5 Facts. In this installment, we’re taking a look at the most interesting facts we could find about house fires.
#5: The Holidays Bring Fun and Fire Hazards
A dried out christmas tree can go from festive glow to uncontrollable inferno in about 10 seconds. According to the National Fire Protection Association, holiday trees were the first item to ignite in 210 home fires from 2009-2013... which actually doesn’t seem like that many. However, 1 in 31 of those fires cause at least one death, compared to an average of 1 death in 141 fires for other home fires. And then there’s turkey fryers fires. In case you didn’t know, lots of Americans in recent years have been deep frying their Thanksgiving turkeys, sometimes with less-than-fire-free results. Meanwhile, although Hanukkah celebrations involve both lighting candles and frying latkes in oil, there don’t seem to be a lot of menorah fires reported. It’s still a good idea to keep a close eye on them and keep them a reasonable size.
#4: The Sun Can “Light Up” Your Home
Look up in the sky and you will see the greatest of all fire hazards. In 2014, a London house briefly went up in flames when a robe caught fire by way of refracted rays from a glass doorknob. Another English home caught on fire because of an empty nutella jar on a sunny windowsill. And just as kids play around with magnifying glasses and fire in their early years, adults too can inadvertently play a game with Mother Nature, but one they’re not always prepared for. From 2009 to 2014, the London Fire Brigade alone reported 33 such cases of house fires. So, maybe place glass objects somewhere else so that refracted rays don’t light up your home.
#3: Heavy Drinkers Don’t Fare Well in House Fires
When a house fire begins, you need to be quick on your feet, right? The answer is yes. And, well, heavy drinkers have been known to be a bit slow. An Australian study looked at the 95 people who had died house fires in the state of Victoria in a certain period, and found that 58 percent of those people had enough alcohol in their system to be intoxicated. Since the sober people actually had more obstacles to avoid, the researchers figure that the drunks probably could have escaped if they’d been woken sooner. The authors of that study also recommended that since drunk people are harder to wake up in case of a fire, one person in the house should remain sober, which sounds like a pretty fun night, doesn’t it?
#2: New Homes Burn Better
The open floor plans and high ceilings of many new constructions can give you a majestic, expansive feeling. But all that open space means more oxygen to feed fire and huge spaces for smoke to pool. In contrast, older homes typically have smaller spaces. Many new homes are built using lightweight construction and decorated with combustible synthetic materials, in contrast to slower-burning solid lumber and natural materials of previous generations. All the petroleum-based fabrics in your couches, curtains and pillows will burn hot and fast. When a house fire does begin in a home like this, it’s been reported that people have only a few minutes to escape – a significant decrease from the estimated 17 minutes of old construction styles..
#1: Fire Finds a Way
There’s only so much one can do to prevent house fires. And blazes can begin in bizarre ways. It makes sense, of course, that a lit cigarette can start a fire. But it’s difficult to predict when a pigeon will drop one down the chimney and inadvertently spark up a bird’s nest. This happened in London. And even an air conditioner can transform a cool setting into Dante’s Inferno thanks to a simple mechanical failure. Discarded 9-volt batteries– the same kind that power most smoke detectors– can spark a fire if their contacts touch metal. An unattended shorty can burn the roof to the ground on a dance floor. Whether it’s a leaky, short circuiting dishwasher or the sun beaming in on glass objects, fire often finds a way. Exit plans, sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers are all worthy investments.
So, what’s the weirdest way you’ve seen a fire start? For more delicious latke Top 10s and leaky dishwasher Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
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