Click to watch When Candles Go Bad Video
By Jennifer Huberdeau
Posted: 04/28/2009 02:41:30 AM EDT
NORTH ADAMS -- The potential danger of a single, unattended lit candle is the subject of a new video being produced by the MCLA Department of Public Safety and the North Adams Fire Department.
"Most dorm fires are started by a candle or by a careless smoker," Joseph Charron, MCLA director of public safety, said Monday morning as firefighters set up a "mock dorm room" at the college’s athletic complex. "Just last year we had a fire in a townhouse [dorm room] that was started by a candle. I think fires on campuses remain a concern nationwide. That’s the reason we’re developing a fire safety video and education plan."
The video and Monday’s fire simulation were funded through an Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant awarded to the college by the United States Department of Homeland Security. "The room we’re using here today in the simulation is obviously a dorm room, but it could be any bedroom in the city, especially that of a teenager," North Adams Public Safety Commissioner E. John Morocco said. "We had a fire just up the road from here, on West Shaft Road that was accidentally started by a candle. We’re hoping to use this video for our fire safety programs as well."
For the simulation, the college’s Facilities Department built an 8-foot by 10-foot room. The room, which sported three walls made from sheetrock and a tile floor, was filled with a desk, dresser, and a dorm bed that had a metal
frame and fire-resistant mattress. Posters were hung on the walls and a cloth tapestry hung from the ceiling. A flat-screen computer monitor along with a nylon scarf, papers and a plastic St. Patrick’s Day party favor hat sat on the desk with a lit pillar candle.
"We tried to make this as realistic as possible," Charron said. "One of the reasons for the tapestry hanging from the ceiling is that it’s something we see in the dorm rooms all of the time. The students either hang them on the walls or from the ceiling, often covering their smoke detectors."
After several false starts, firefighters were able to ignite the papers and a nylon scarf on the desk with the heat generated by the pillar candle. "We’re trying to push it," Fire Director Stephen Meranti said. "In reality, we’re simulating a room where a candle was left lit and unattended while a student went to class. I don’t think any fire like this would start immediately, like we want it to in front on the candles." Within minutes of starting, the fire crept along the top of the student desk and began devouring the computer monitor, which began melting and sending out thick plumes of toxic smoke.
"The smoke will actually kill people before the fire gets to them," Meranti said. "Almost everything is made with plastic and those fumes are toxic."
As thick black smoke poured out of the open side of the room, flames began licking the walls and curtains, which immediately began disintegrating as the fire jumped to the ceiling tapestry and walls. Within seconds, the flame resistant mattress was smoldering and eventually caught fire.
Meranti said a real room, with four solid walls, would burn much faster because both the smoke and heat would be trapped.
"The fire would have escalated much faster and the furniture would have ignited much quicker," he said. "A smoke detector would alert us to a fire like this one early, we’d be able to contain it to just the contents of the room." Charron said he thinks "anyone would be surprised to see how fast a fire can spread."
"It would have been even worse if we had paint on the walls or some kind of paneling or wood finish," he said.
Meranti said he hopes the video, which was filmed by Peter Gentile, director of the college’s television studio, and his senior intern, Coady Ward, will not only be used at the college but also as part of his department’s fire and smoke detector safety programs.
To reach Jennifer Huberdeau, e-mail jhuberdeau@thetranscript.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment