nature of fire

Feeling slightly ill today. Took in a bit of smoke at a call last night. The fire was teeny tiny (electrical fire) but produced a ton of thick acrid smoke. We were all coughing and gagging a bit. The plastic coating on the wires was the culprit. Unfortunately, these days housefires no longer smell like campfires because the combustibles are all plastic now. Which makes it far more dangerous for everyone because the smoke and fumes are so toxic. Fires are now burning hotter than ever with the petroleum by-product, and flashovers and backdrafts are an even greater threat than ever before. I have been in a house fire where there was a rollover that thankfully did not develop into a flashover. Although I've been to post-explosion fires, I have not witnessed a backdraft and hope to never come across one apart from what I've seen in training videos. And in the videos the house looks like it is an alive being, huffing and puffing and breathing angrily which is one of the first warning signs of backdraft (along with greyish, yellowish smoke). So I guess in the scheme of things a bit of smoke in the lungs is nothing.

Again, another one of those posts where there is no real beginning or end. The warm summer-like weather has me frolicking outside with the kids rather than wanting to be tied to the computer. But I'll try to make a point of blogging to at least capture this amazing time I've been having with both my real life and fire families.... xo