INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Modern homes and furniture burn much more quickly than those from at least two decades ago.
A Wayne Township Fire Department spokesperson says synthetic materials prevalent in modern furniture and homes make them much more flammable.
With the help of Wayne Township officials, Eyewitness News decided to test it out.
“(Synthetic material) burns faster, it burns hotter,” said Capt. Michael Pruitt. “Fire burns more rapidly depending on what’s in the home, and today, in our modern times, it burns so rapidly that if people don’t have early notification (smoke detectors), people die in home fires.”
“It’s shocking how quick the synthetics burn. It’s almost like pouring gasoline, it’s like furniture with gasoline when it does catch fire,” said Pruitt, a media relations person for Wayne Township Fire.
It's why he stresses the importance of having a smoke detector on every level of a home, including basements and attics.
He also said people should practice how they would escape in the event of a fire.
“Older styles of furniture, back in our grandparent’s day, that was made out of more organic material,” Pruitt said, saying it lacks that "gasoline on furniture" effect.
During the fire demo, it took only 30 seconds for the smoke alarm to sound. At that time, the synthetic furniture room appeared to just have a large fire, primarily in the trash can where it was set.
At three minutes and 47 seconds, the fire was beginning to roar in the synthetic room. But the legacy couch was more of a smoldering burn. It was shocking that it was not ablaze.
“It’s still giving off poisonous gasses,” said Pruitt.
Pruitt said that the synthetic room at around this time was “not going to be survivable for the most part. No one is going to survive a fire like this after a matter of moments.”
Pruitt said it’s not just the homes and the things they’re made of.
“Plastic toys, cleaning solvents, TVs, just the things that they’re made of can accelerate this fire,” Pruitt said.
He said the key to protecting your home is “having an early warning system. Having smoke alarms on every level of the home and practicing escape drills.”
He also suggested looking for fire-protected furniture.
“When you go to buy furniture, read the tags to see if it’s been treated with fire retardant. It doesn’t mean it’s not going to catch fire and burn rapidly, everything does at some point, but it may be a little better quality,” said Pruitt.