Water That Tree!
What's a holiday party or even the traditional Christmas morning
scene itself without a beautifully decorated tree? If your household,
as those of more than 33 million other American homes, includes a
natural tree in its festivities, take to heart the sales person's
suggestion-"Keep the tree watered." That's good advice and not just to
create a fragrant indoor winter wonderland atmosphere. Christmas trees
account for 200 fires annually, resulting in 6 deaths, 25 injuries and
more than $6 million in property damage. Typically shorts in electrical
lights or open flames from candles, lighters or matches start tree
fires. Well-watered trees are not a problem. Dry and neglected trees
can be.
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These clips are in the public domain.
The video clip above from the Building and Fire Research Laboratory
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology illustrates what
happens when fire touches a dry tree. Within three seconds of ignition,
the dry Scotch pine is completely ablaze. At five seconds, the fire
extends up the tree and black smoke with searing gases streaks across
the ceiling. Fresh air near the floor feeds the fire. The sofa, coffee
table and the carpet ignite prior to any flame contact. Within 40
seconds "flashover" occurs - that's when an entire room erupts into
flames, oxygen is depleted and dense, deadly toxic smoke engulfs the
scene.
Wet trees tell a different story. For comparative purposes, the NIST
fire safety engineers selected a green Scotch pine, had it cut in their
presence, had an additional two inches cut from the trunk's bottom, and
placed the tree in a stand with at least a 7.6 liter water capacity.
The researchers maintained the Scotch pine's water on a daily basis. A
single match could not ignite the tree. A second attempt in which an
electric current ignited an entire matchbook failed to fire the tree.
Finally they applied an open flame to the tree using a propane torch.
The branches ignited briefly, but self-extinguished when the
researchers removed the torch from the branches. As NIST fire safety
engineers say: REMEMBER, A WET TREE IS A SAFE TREE!
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Tree Fire Video Clip
Tree Fire Video Clip
Tree Fire Video Clip