I had never seen a house on fire before. So, one evening when I heard fire engines with loud alarm bells rushing past my house, I quickly ran out and, a few streets away, joined a large crowd of people ; but we could see the fire only From a distance because the police would not allow anyone near the building on fire.
What a terrible scene I saw that day ! Huge flame of fire were coming out of each floor, and black and thick smoke spread all around. Occasionally, Now and then tongues of fire would shoot up almost sky-high, sending huge sparks of fire round-about.
Three fire engines were busily engaged, and the firemen in their dark uniform were playing the hose on various parts of the building. The rushing water from several hoses soaked the building, but it did not seem to have any effect on the flames. Then the tall red ladders of the fire engine were stretched upwards, and I could see some firemen climbing up with hoses in their hands. On reaching almost the top of the ladder, they began to pour floods of water on the topmost part of the building. This continuous flooding brought the fire under control, but the building was completely destroyed.
While fire is a blessing in many ways, it can also be a great danger to human life and property.
Fire is the result of a chemical reaction called combustion. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are produced. Flame consists, of hot gases.
Fire emits heat and light because the chemical reaction that produces flames is exothermic. In other words, combustion releases more energy than is needed to ignite or sustain it. In order for combustion to occur and flames to form, three things must be present: fuel, oxygen, and energy. Once energy starts the reaction, it continues so long as fuel and oxygen are present. In a candle flame or small fire, most of the matter in a flame consists of hot gases. A very hot fire releases enough energy to ionize the gaseous atoms, forming the state of matter called plasma. Examples of flames that contain plasma include those produced by plasma torches and the termite reaction.
On Earth, something is always burning. Wildfires are started by lightning or accidentally by people, and people use controlled fires to manage farmland and pasture and clear natural vegetation for farmland. Fires can generate large amounts of smoke pollution, release greenhouse gases, and unintentionally degrade ecosystems.
Fire removes low-growing underbrush, cleans the forest floor of debris, opens it up to sunlight, and nourishes the soil. Reducing this competition for nutrients allows established trees to grow stronger and healthier. History teaches us that hundreds of years ago the forest had fewer, yet larger, healthier trees. Forest today have more trees than in the past, but they are not as large or healthy. Fire clears the weaker trees and debris and returns health to the forest. Fire kills diseases and insects that prey on trees and provides valuable nutrients that enrich the soil. More trees die each year from insect infestation and disease than from fire. Wild lands provide habitat and shelter to forest animal and birds. Fire clears wild lands of heavy brush, leaving room for new grasses, herbs and regenerated shrubs that provide food and habitat for many wildlife species. When fire removes a thick stand of shrubs, the water supply is increased. With fewer plants absorbing water, streams are fuller, benefiting other types of plants and animals
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