Modern Furniture Contributing to Hotter, More Dangerous Fires

There are many advantages to modern furniture: It is typically easier to clean, more environmentally responsible and more comfortable. But there are also some drawbacks to certain trends in furniture making these days, including the fact that these pieces are often more flammable than they used to be.

Modern furniture is typically made from synthetic materials, which are often cheaper than non-synthetics such as cotton, natural wood and linen. But the disadvantage is that these materials will burn much faster and ignite quicker.

A recent article by local affiliate CBS Miami describes in detail some of the problems with modern furnishings. Typically, when a fire begins, the smoke that collects on the ceiling will act as insulation and raise the temperature of the room. When it becomes hot enough, a sofa, table or chair can ignite without even having touched flames. This is called the “flashover”, and it makes fighting fires even more difficult.

With the synthetic materials in modern furniture, the flash point will sometimes occur twice as quickly as it would with pieces made from traditional components. This means that occupants will have less time to vacate the premises, and firefighters will have to be more aggressive in using water hoses, which poses a threat to anyone inside as steam from the water can cause burns.

Given that there are advantages to buying this kind of furniture, fire fighters recommend that people make sure they have operational smoke alarms installed throughout their home. In addition, residents should consider investing in a fire alarm system from an Atlanta alarm company, which can warn occupants and first responders to the presence of smoke and flames in the event of a fire.