Building fires spread faster than people imagine
If you’ve ever tried to start a campfire and had trouble getting it going, you may feel like a fire is a slow-moving event, something that struggles to spread and sustain itself. If there is a fire in your home or apartment, you assume you’ll be able to see it in time to take action -- maybe dousing the flames yourself or at least getting out of the building.
This is a dangerous assumption. Building fires spread far faster than many people assume. In a matter of minutes, it can be all through your entire home. You don’t have as much time as you think. If the fire alarm wakes you up, you need to hurry to get you and your family out.
In fact, some studies have found that modern buildings burn even faster than they did for previous generations. They found that it only took 166 seconds -- just over two minutes -- for a fire to fill an entire room.
The difference is what we have in our homes. There is an abundance of cheap materials -- particle board, synthetic materials, extra soft couches, plastic. While your grandparents may have had an armchair made of varnished hardwood that takes a long time to burn, yours may burn in seconds.
On top of that, people have so much. Rooms are just stuffed with items, and all of those items help the fire spread faster than it would in an empty room. The more you own, the greater than danger when a fire breaks out.
The risks of injury in a fire are very real, and it can lead to disfigurements and serious issues. Make sure you are well aware of your legal options for the financial recovery that you need to move forward.