How Do Fires Start?

“The most tangible of all visible mysteries- fire.” ~ Leigh Hunt

Fire is a visible mystery, as poet Leigh Hunt states. We all love staring at a crackling fire on a brisk summer night, watching as its smoke wisps into disappearance. Many are too entranced by a fire to delve deeper into its creation. How does a fire start? What is its chemical process? How does a small flame at the end of a match expand into a catastrophe so quickly?

The three vital things for a fire to be created are fuel, oxygen, and heat. Fuel can be anything that is combustible, and heat can come from rubbing from a match or any other kind of friction. Oxygen is all around us, and is needed for fire to start. In the process of fire, fire is heated up by fuel to a high temperature. Material of the wood starts burning around 300 degrees farenheight. Then, gas is made from the material; this gas is the same as smoke, and rises from the wood. The rest of the material forms “char”. Char is made from carbon and ash, and a lot of people use it to start their own fires, and commonly known as “charcoal”.

"As long as there is a fuel supply and oxygen to supply it, a fire can burn indefinitely." (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23051367) Finding flammable surfaces is fire’s way of creating a catastrophe, and the element can spread up to 15 miles per hour. This is why forest fires are so disastrous, and basically impossible to stop. In America, approximately five million acres catch fire each year. How do forest fires begin? Is it a careless person throwing their cigarette in a pile of leaves? Perhaps a campfire that was made too close to a tree? While campfires, wandering cigarettes, and even fireworks do cause many wildfires, arson plays a big role. Arson is the act of people setting fire upon forests and homes on purpose, which is illegal. The largest cause of fires is arson, and the second biggest cause for demise.

According to http://www.cdc.gov/, a person died in a fire every 169 minutes in 2010. Also, about 85% of U.S fires occur in homes. How do house fires start? Well, many house fires start in the kitchen. When a pans temperature gets too high, it causes hot grease to spray out, which leads to a horrible fire. Smoking also is a big cause for house fires.