Congratulations Texan Insurance, and fans, this is the 200th blog!! We have had many blogs posted to honor firefighters during our Fire Station Contest. From how firefighters combat fires, what different hoses on the fire truck are for, and even traveling out to sea to learn how the NAVY fights fires in the middle of the ocean. All of these blogs are great means to honor the brave men and women who step into the flames as everyone else is running out. But today, let’s talk about fire itself. Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in regards to combustion, the release of heat, light, and various reaction products. Other method of oxidation, slower means, such as rusting or digestion are not included by this definition.
Fire is an important process that affects ecological systems across the globe. The positive effects of fire include stimulating growth and maintaining various ecological systems. Fire has been used by humans for cooking, generating heat, signaling, and propulsion purposes. The negative effects of fire include water contamination, soil erosion, atmospheric pollution and hazard to human and animal life. Along with the ecosystems, humans benefit from the use of fire too. Setting fuel aflame releases usable energy. Wood was a prehistoric fuel, and is still viable today. The use offossil fuels, such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal, in power plants supplies the vast majority of the world’s electricity today; the International Energy Agency states that nearly 80% of the world’s power comes from these sources.[22]
The fire in a power station is used to heat water, creating steam that drives turbines. The turbines then spin an electric generatorto produce electricity. Fire is also used to provide mechanical work directly, in both external and internal combustion engines. The unburnable solid remains of a combustible material left after a fire is called clinker if its melting point is below the flame temperature, so that it fuses and then solidifies as it cools, and ash if its melting point is above the flame temperature. Fire is dangerous, however, we must not misunderstand with useless. If handled properly, and watch how nature allows it to handle itself, we can learn a great deal about the properties of fire and that its existence is a natural part of earth.