Fire Requires 4 Components—Here’s What They Are | SERVPRO® of Hayward

2/17/2022 (Permalink)

Let’s take a look back to your golden years and see if you can remember what a tetrahedron is? Since your golden years were a few years ago, it might be tough to remember.

So let us help you out…a tetrahedron is another name for a pyramid—a three-dimensional, triangular shape with four equal sides.

You may be really curious as to how this pertains to fire and fire safety! Well, a fire needs four components, which are known as the fire tetrahedron. Without these elements working together, a fire won’t start or survive.

The 4 Things a Fire Needs to Live

Fuel—something to ignite. This is a pretty common thing, but the type of fuel can be organic or inorganic material. Things like wood and plastic can be the perfect fuel source for fire.

Heat—enough to cause combustion. Everything has a combustion point where it will either ignite or melt. The amount of heat necessary can vary for every type of substance, but it will eventually happen.

Oxygen. Without oxygen, just like most everything else, a fire won’t survive long. Oxygen helps produce an expanding series of chemical reactions and will produce things like smoke and carbon monoxide in the process.

Chemical Chain Reaction. The continual cycle and feeding of heat, fuel and oxygen combine to produce a chain reaction. And as long as this chain reaction isn’t disturbed, the fire will continue to burn.

The 4 Ways to Stop a Fire

Cool it. While this may be the first thing most people think of, it’s still an important step that must be recognized. Whether you’re using buckets, hoses or anything else, the point is to cool the fuel to a point that combustion is no longer possible. You will want to cool the heat to a thermal balance so that the heat generated can’t compete with the rate that heat is lost.

Smother it. If you can take the oxygen out of a fire, then it won’t live. If you smother a fire, you have deprive it from one necessity that it really needs, oxygen. This is the principle behind the “stop, drop and roll” practice.

Starve it. As long as a fire has adequate fuel such as grass, wood or other materials, it will continue to grow and burn. You can stop a fire by removing its fuel source while it’s still trying to consume it.

Interrupt the chain reaction. Certain chemical agents can help chemically disrupt a fire. The chemical halon is very effective, but it has an elevated potential for ozone depletion. Because of this, it can become an environmental threat, which has now caused production to be stopped.

If the fire tetrahedron makes a wreck of your home or business, we’re ready around the clock to help you recover. Contact SERVPRO anytime for fast, thorough cleanup and recovery after a fire.