What You Should Know About Fires

More than 3,500 deaths are caused each year by fires in the United States. Sadly, some of these tragic deaths could have been prevented if people had been adequately educated about the true nature of fires and how to properly react to them. Fires can happen in almost any building for a variety of reasons, but most fires occur in the home. For this reason, everyone should understand the nature of fires and how to escape from them quickly and safely.

It is important to understand what to expect if you are ever caught in a fire:

• Fires spread very quickly. A fire can expand from a small flame into a large blaze in thirty seconds, and can fill an entire building with black smoke in minutes.

• Smoke is more dangerous than flames. Injuries from inhaling smoke and toxic fumes are more dangerous and cause more deaths than do injuries from the flames themselves.

• Heat is more dangerous than flames. The heat inside a burning building can reach temperatures hot enough to melt clothing to the body, scorch lungs, or cause objects to catch fire without touching a flame.

• Fires are dark. The thick black smoke produced by fires quickly obscures any light produced by the flames.

Children are especially vulnerable to the dangers of fires, as they may not understand the importance of evacuation. Many children who are caught in fires attempt to hide from the fires and may even try to hide from firefighters.

Contact Us

By understanding the true nature of fires, people may be more prepared to evacuate quickly and safely in the event of one. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a fire, contact the fire victims lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ® by calling 800-242-2874.