By: Edrol Napitupulu
Recently, I have tried to reconcile memories and knowledge about fire and fire insurance.
Digging this, say by fast reading about scientific articles and videos about fire and fire simulation in the house
The surprising facts that I learned that I need to share with the reader’s trial about the importance of science about fire and understanding fire at home.
In my view, the story of science is sometimes quite complex, it can also be confusing.
How not, there is a true story of how the fire perpetrators were decided with the death penalty by a court in the United States in 2004 to case of death by fire or arson that convicted in 1992. The story about Cameron Todd Willingham when authorities determined that the fire which killed his three little daughters was an arson. Willingham was executed in 2004, and in his wake is a firestorm of controversy over whether the science was accurate, and whether Texas executed an innocent man. The fire investigator mindset is different with the fire scientist. The fire scientist proved that the flash over fire in collected from the documents definitely shown there was no arson. Cameron Todd William was free from the conviction.
Michael Faraday interest in candle was his simple way to introduce the simple science of fire. His lecture in the Christmas day in Royal Institution known as “The Chemical History of a Candle”. As he said that I may quoted
“There is not a law under which any part of this universe is governed which does not come into play and is touched upon in these phenomena. There is no better, there is no more open door by which you can enter into the study of natural philosophy than by considering the physical phenomena of a candle.”
— Michael Faraday, The Chemical History of a Candle
The candle flame is able to introduce the student of how fire really work where a hundred of chemical reactions contributed in different colours including cold air and hot air affected. As long as there is fuel and oxygen, the heat as a form energy will last and created new molecule and new bonds. Faraday sets a beautiful word regarding the candle flame as follows:
“As the air comes to the candle, it moves upward by the force of the current which the heat of the candle produces, and it so cools all the sides of the wax, tallow, or fuel as to keep the edge much cooler than the part within; the part within melts by the flame that runs down the wick as far as it can go before it is extinguished, but the part on the outside does not melt. If I made a current in one direction, my cup would be lop-sided, and the fluid would consequently run over; for the same force of gravity which holds worlds together holds this fluid in a horizontal position, and if the cup be not horizontal, of course the fluid will run away in guttering. You see, therefore, that the cup is formed by this beautifully.”
Learning from many fire events and the development of the world of building construction and culture, many standards and knowledge about fire developed and changed over time.
A study and simulation show that thirty years ago you have a maximum time of thirty minutes to get out of the house fire. Currently in the modern world, you only have less than four minutes to get out of the burning house. The research tells that a flashback to the ’70s or ’80s with real wood and many natural materials, and the other a modern one with a lot of synthetic fibres, from the curtains to the couch to even the coffee table. Today, the vast majority of home fires that involve upholstered furniture are ignited by a smoldering source.
The simulation video I watched shown a fire set to a sofa pillow in the modern room quickly spread across the sofa and jumped to other furniture: a lamp, an end table, a chair and coffee table. Within 3 minutes, flames were going through the roof. The backing of your carpet is synthetic, your drapes are synthetic, the couch, the pillows are synthetic. They burn hotter and faster than natural materials do. “When your smoke alarm goes off you don’t have time to look around, get your wedding pictures. You get out as quickly as you can.” Said the fire investigator in the video.
A similar fire set to the sofa pillow in the room simulating an older home burned for several minutes without even catching the rest of the sofa. At 15 minutes the room was still intact; it wound up taking 30 minutes for the room to burn.
My finding relates with fire sciences compares to the fire insurance nowadays especially in Indonesia with household or furniture mostly from synthetics. Moreover, the steel truss become common for ceiling or roof structure that allows fire convection easier to transfer from origin of fire to other rooms.
Perhaps, through my story the insurance underwriters of fire insurance may sit together with regulator and building construction institution and furniture makers to implement fire safety or fire-proof materials. This may reduce higher premium rate for safe household/ furniture and standard electrical installation of the home owner policy holders rather than rely on the building construction class alone.
Edrol Napitupulu
Insurance Storyteller
Jakarta, Indonesia
Fire situation in the Factory (Illustration by Dylan Richard)
