by David Paulo on 04/20/12
FIRES, Help
prevent them, PLEASE take preventative measurements NOW !!!!!
August 2001 Uncleared Brush May Have Stoked
Fire
Many homes near San Clemente blaze lacked buffer zone between structures
and vegetation
February 2003 Codes, Scrutiny, Technology Key to Club Safety
No fire code can protect a club from the unauthorized use
of fireworks, such as the display that appears to have caused the Thursday fire
in West Warwick, R.I., that has killed 96 people.
July 2008 Roof Fire Danger : Different Laws on Wood Shake, Fire Retardants Crisscross
An Anaheim apartment building, where illegal fireworks
sparked a fire in its wood-shake roof and displaced 12 families, was built
before a 1982 city ordinance requiring newly built wood roofs to be fire
retardant.
June 2005 Cities Urged to Update Skyscraper Fire Codes
A federal engineering agency that investigated the World
Trade Center collapse recommended that cities raise the fire standards for
skyscrapers and develop new materials that could better protect tall buildings
in an inferno.
May 2008 National Geographic: Wildfires, Dry, Hot and Windy
On average, more
than 100,000 wildfires, also called wildland fires or forest fires, clear 4
million to 5 million acres (1.6 million to 2 million hectares) of land in the
U.S. every year. In recent years, wildfires have burned up to 9 million acres
(3.6 million hectares) of land.
A wildfire moves at speeds of up to 14 miles an hour (23
kilometers an hour), consuming everything—trees, brush, homes, even humans—in
its path.
There are three conditions that
need to be present in order for a wildfire to burn, which firefighters refer to
as the fire triangle: fuel, oxygen, and a heat source. Fuel is any flammable
material surrounding a fire, including trees, grasses, brush, even homes. The
greater an area's fuel load, the more intense the fire. Air supplies the oxygen
a fire needs to burn. Heat sources help spark the wildfire and bring fuel to
temperatures hot enough to ignite. Lightning, burning campfires or cigarettes,
hot winds, and even the sun can all provide sufficient heat to spark a
wildfire.
These violent infernos occur
around the world and in most of the 50 states, but they are most common in the
U.S. West, where heat, drought, and frequent thunderstorms create perfect
wildfire conditions. Montana, Idaho,
Wyoming, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and California experience some
of the worst conflagrations in the U.S. In California wildfires are often made
worse by the hot, dry Santa Ana winds, which can carry a spark for miles.
How to Prevent a Wildfire:
1.
Follow
local ordinances when burning yard waste. Avoid backyard burning in windy
conditions, and keep a shovel, water, and fire retardant nearby
to keep fires in check. Remove all flammables (gasoline, propane bottles,
kerosene, lighter fluid or anything else flammable) from yard when burning.
2.
When
camping, take care when using and fueling lanterns, stoves, and heaters. Make
sure lighting and heating devices are cool before refueling. Avoid spilling
flammable liquids and store fuel away from appliances.
3.
Do
not discard cigarettes, matches, and smoking materials from moving vehicles, or
anywhere on park grounds. Be certain to completely extinguish cigarettes before
disposing of them.
4.
Remove
combustibles, including firewood, yard waste, dried weeds, leaves, brush,
wooden lawn furniture and anything else that can burn from around buildings, including
fencing, decks, patios, cabanas, arbors, gazebos, sheds, storage buildings,
workshops, propane tanks, mulch area, grills, smokers and other areas that may accumulate
combustible materials.
These are just some of the types of fires that can happen
Fire Retardant Coatings
of Texas, wants you to be
safe this year from fire, whether or not you buy fire retardant coatings from
us or another company.
Please, help cut down the national average of 100,000
wildfires a year.
