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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration

How Quickly a Fire Can Spread in your Poughkeepsie Home

2/14/2020 (Permalink)

A home completely engulfed in flames. Fires in your home can spread in under 3 minutes, make sure your family is prepared to evacuate quickly!

We all know that house fires are an extremely dangerous thing to encounter, but that can be difficult to grasp without knowing exactly what goes into the making of a house fire. To help provide some context for how house fires spread so rapidly and how important it is to be able to execute an efficient fire escape plan, we have put together a guide to what fire is, how it spreads and how quickly it can tear through your home.

What Is Fire?

Put simply, fire comes from a chemical reaction between air and a fuel source when it becomes hot enough to ignite. Once this occurs, the fire starts and begins to release the decomposed material (in the form of smoke), char (a pure carbon substance) and ash (which is all of the materials of the fuel source that are not able to burn).

How Does Fire Spread?

All fire needs to sustain itself are heat, fuel and oxygen—commonly referred to as the fire triangle. The oxygen is a given and the fire is producing its own heat, so the flames will begin to search for more fuel throughout the home. This is why a fire can spread so rapidly once the flames begin.

What Is the Typical Timeline of a House Fire?

The general rule of thumb is that you are supposed to be able to execute the entirety of your fire escape plan in under three minutes, but have you ever wondered why that is? Fires spread remarkably fast, making a quick escape plan necessary. Here is the typical timeline of a house fire:

0:00 to 0:30: The fire begins and flames immediately start to grow.

0:30 to 1:00: Flames begin to spread through the room and smoke starts to pollute the air.

1:00 to 1:30: Smoke becomes thicker and the temperature starts to rise.

1:00 to 1:30: The fire alarm sounds and everyone should evacuate immediately.

1:30 to 2:00: Smoke begins to pour into other rooms of the house.

2:00 to 2:30: The temperature in the source room will reach 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

3:00 to 4:00: Flames will continue to spread through the house and engulf the exterior walls.

The numbers speak for themselves, be preparedness with an evacuation plan, make sure your whole family understands and make sure yto include your pets!
If your home has been impacted by a house fire, we are here to help you 24/7. Contact us any time to start your restoration process today!

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