Proposal: Importance of Cause
Often when fires are discussed, the impact, events, and repercussions are key topics. Lessons are learned about how to escape a fire and how to avoid a similar situation in the future. Examining what went wrong during the fire allows one to reflect on current safety measures involving architecture, building design, and warning systems. Among the lessons learned is how to prevent a fire from starting in the first place. A fire can be started by many things from an electrical issue to the careless tossing of a cigarette. The proposed essay will dive into the importance of discovering the cause of a fire including the methods used to do so, common causes of structure fires, and changes that have been made to prevent the starts of fires.
The proposed essay will discuss the importance of learning the cause of a fire in regards to modern fire safety and loss prevention, as well as through the lens of historic preservation. Finding the cause of a fire allows architects and engineers to know what went wrong and how building codes need to be adjusted to ensure that it does not happen again. The proposed essay will examine laws and regulations that help keep buildings safe from fire. In determining common causes in historic buildings and learning from past disaster, American history can be preserved. “Basic fire science establishes that if it is possible to completely remove sources of ignition then the risk of fire can be reduced to zero. However, this is rarely practicable and the best approach is to reduce these as far as possible and at the same time to limit the impact of a potential ignition by reducing fire loading” The proposed essay will use information from Simon Kincaid’s article about preventative measures that can be used to keep historic buildings from catching fire, as well as comparing and contrasting with modern safety implements.
There are many methods to detect the cause of a fire. As technology has advanced, these methods have also become more advanced, reliable, and scientifically complex. The proposed essay will explore a few of these methods, including how they work, where they are most effective, and the patterns they uncover about fires. Fire Investigation, edited by Professor Niamh Nic Daeid is one source to be used in the proposed essay. This book is a compilation of fire investigative techniques including laboratory reconstruction, debris analysis, and ignitable liquid composition.
The proposed essay will dive into the most common causes of structure fires and discuss if and how they can be prevented. A study by the U.S. Fire Administration found that the most common causes for residential building fires in America where cooking fires, unintentional fires, heating fires, and electrical malfunction. Is there a way to limit malfunction in household appliances? How can electrical fires be prevented? The proposed essay will discuss how home and building owners can ensure their safety and if there is a way to greatly reduce or eliminate the risk of accidental fires, as well as the logistics of such. The book Fire & Smoke Understanding the Hazards, By the National Research Council Committee on Fire will be used in the proposed essay. This book defines what makes something a fire hazard as well as the most common ones.
By tracing a fire back to its cause, analyzing it, and learning from it, could structure fires from preventable causes be eliminated all together? The proposed essay will study how through learning from a fire’s cause and applying the information it provides, risk can me minimized and safety ensured.
Annotated Bibliography
Herekson, Ebba, Rebecka Anderson, Kenny Turesson, and Finn Nilson. “Fire Safety Disparities in Sweden: Sociodemographic influences and the Impact of Societal Protection on Personal Fire Prevention Measures.” Fire Technology, September, 9, 2024
This is a study done in Sweeden that researched how factors like age influence a person’s likelihood to know and practice fire safety.
Simon Kincaid. “Fire prevention in historic buildings – approaches for safe practice.” The Historic Environment: Policy and Practice, (July, 2022): 1-20
This article talks about how historic buildings can be preserved from fire due to their outdated technology
Niamh Nic Daeid, ed., Fire Investigation (CRC Press, 2005)
This is a compilation of fire investigative techniques.
National Research Council. Committee on Fire Toxicology. Fire and Smoke: Understanding the Hazards. 1st ed. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press, 1986.
This book highlights common fire hazards and how they are classified
“Residential Building Fire Causes.” 2022. U.S. Fire Administration. August 22, 2022 https://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/residential-fires/causes.html.
Shares statistics regarding common household fire causes in recent years.
“Examining Fire Hazards: Lithium Ion Batteries and Other Threats to Fire Safety before the Subcommittee on Emergency Management and technology of the Committee on Homeland Security House Representatives One Hundred Eighteenth Congress Second Session” https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg57374/pdf/CHRG-118hhrg57374.pdf.
This is a pdf of a hearing that examined fire safety hazards such as lithium batteries.
“Common Causes of Fires” 1902. The American Architect and Building News, January, 18, 1902 COMMON CAUSES OF FIRES. – ProQuest
This in an old article that can be used to compare current, and historic fire prevention.
Protecting Our Heritage; a Discourse on Fire Protection and Prevention in Historic Buildings and Landmarks. [2d ed.]. Boston: National Fire Protection Association, 1970.
This book outlines ways to save historic buildings from catching fire
Marty Ahrens, “Most Home Fires Result from 5 General Causes.” NFPA, December, 17, 2020 5 Top Causes of Home Fires | NFPA
Details the most common causes of house hold fires and why they might be.