subject: Fire Blankets, Protection From the Red Monster [print this page] Fire Blankets, Protection From the Red Monster
When an oil fire is out of control and dynamite is detonated, or a person is on fire and they jump into water, these are technically types of fire blankets. Fire is like a living being because it needs food to eat and air to breathe to live, so when they are cut off it expires. Fire blankets work on the latter, smothering the flames so that it cannot continue to burn. Here is a short history of these devices in their many forms.
The earliest blankets were made primarily with mud, wet or green foliage, sand and water. In ancient times if a fire started in a storeroom or house that couldn't be extinguished after a few minutes, then it was a total loss. These spot fires are what specific devices were invented to put out so that they were not allowed to grow into devastating monsters.
Fire blankets as we know them did not come into being until the twentieth century. Polymers with a much higher resistance to heat than natural materials started being used at this point. A polymer is a natural or synthetic compound of chemically bonded molecules such as starch and nylon. Fiberglass is one such substance that is woven into blankets typically found for home use.
During the evolution of the fire blanket some substances were used that were hazardous. One such substance was woven asbestos fiber, which despite its superior heat retardant properties, is hazardous to health. For a period of time there were many blankets made from this material but they have generally been phased out.
Modern fire blankets are made with not only with traditional materials but with cutting edge materials as well. There are ones made of just wool or a hybrid of wool and another material as well as purely synthetic ones for kitchen use. As the fires for the blanket to quench change so will the blanket adapt to meet the need.
