Why are properties becoming more flammable?
In this podcast episode, Rob Broadhead is being interviewed on why fire safety is becoming more and more important. Rob has been in the fire protection industry since 1992, and has contributed to Australian Standards and helped draft fire protection training for Strata and Facility Managers.
Podcast excerpt:
Rob: “There’s a whole lot of studies on how long it takes from ignition to a standard room flashing over. By flashing over, I mean, a room becoming totally engulfed in fire.
“In the 1950s, they did tests on a lounge room that was decked out like your grandparents would have lived in. Back then, flashover generally took about 25 minutes. This was from the point that you dropped your cigarette down the side of the lounge and it ignited, through to the entire room flashing over. It’s not that long, really.
“But if you think that’s scary, they did the same tests on a modern fitted out lounge room with polyester and polyethylene and all the other solid fuels. We effectively make our furniture out of solid fuel these days. Going by memory, it was somewhere around the three minutes and 20 seconds for a modern furnished room to go from ignition to flashover.”