The WORST Thing To Do In A Fire

Fire is fascinating and dangerous from cozy campfires, kitchen accidents, and yes, fire experiments that go wrong. Not all fires can be put out with a fire extinguisher. One wrong move can make things a lot worse. So today, I'm showing you exactly how to make five of the coolest fire experiments, but most importantly, safely. And stick around to the end because I'm going to show you how fire extinguishers actually work, the science behind fire blankets, and what makes something fireproof. So let's get started because things are about to heat up. All right, let's kick things off with one of the coolest fire experiments out there, the fire tornado. You need a small flame, like a candle, something fireproof to hold it, and a metal mesh or a spinning container. This laser can actually start a fire. Check this out. I'm going to light the lighter fluid in there. This is just a standard fire. However, when we rotate it, the spinning motion pulls in oxygen, making the fire burn hotter and stronger. A fire starts when we have three things, fuel, oxygen, and heat. And that's what we call a fire triangle. The fire tornado shows off all parts of the fire triangle, heat, which is the flame itself, oxygen, the spinning air, and fuel, whatever is burning. This is the first fire on our list, which we call class A fire. This fire comes from everyday objects such as wood, paper, old fabric, and clothing. As we go further on our list, class B, C, D, and yes, even class K fires, the objects get a lot more complicated. And yes, the fires get a lot harder to put out. But here's the tricky part. Once the fire tornado is going, how do you stop it without getting burned? It's actually a class A fire. Class A fires are the easiest to put out. You just have to take away the heat, the oxygen, or both. I just cut off the oxygen by placing this other metal container over it, just like that. Or the way I like to put out a fire in a much cooler way is, yes, with liquid nitrogen. And it's just the cloud, the actual nitrogen, is putting out the fire because it's taking away the oxygen. No oxygen, no fire. But let's say you don't have any of those. Well, you can put it out with a fire blanket. Just like water, a fire blanket can help put out a class A fire, and it does it well. But unlike water, it doesn't do it by removing the heat. It does it by cutting off the oxygen. Fire blankets are generally made with fire-resistant materials, such as wool and fiberglass fibers, and then treated with a fire retardant. This is why fire blankets are a lot better to use than water, because they'll put out a class A fire. But unlike water, they won't interact with the fire, which is why you should never use water to put out our next type of fire, a class B fire. Now, class B fires are what happens when flammable liquids, such as oil, gasoline, alcohol, catch on fire. Want to see just how crazy powerful flammable liquids can be? Check this out. The whoosh bottle experiment. You take a big bottle, pour a little rubbing alcohol inside, and swirl it around to coat the walls. And once that fuel source is gone, the fire goes out, and it happens so quickly. Keep this turning, keep this turning. Three, two, one. In a fire like this, you have to be careful not to be anywhere near that flame coming out. And I put my hand on it, actually. It creates a vacuum, and the pressure from outside and the vacuum from the inside actually crushes the bottle. As soon as I take my hand out, air rushes in, pops it back out. You saw that fire went out so fast because there was no fuel source left. It ate up all of the vapor. Nothing left to burn. Fire's out. By now, you realize not all fires are created equal. But what about class C fires? What about class D and K? We're going to go through all of them. But one thing in common you must have realized. Every time I talk about a fire, I mention a fire extinguisher. The first fire extinguisher was patented in the year 1723. More than 300 years later, that same design is saving millions of lives every year. Along the years, the colors change, going from the brownish copper to the bright red that we see today. But here's the problem. Each fire is so different from one another, you can't put out each fire the same way. So that's why they came up with the letter classification system. The letter will determine what type of fire it can put out. If you're following along, you know our next type of fire is class C. And let me tell you, this fire is charged with energy. Class C fires are dangerous because they happen with electrical equipment, such as outlets, wires, and machines that are still powered with electricity. This plasma ball can show how class C fires works because it shows what electricity can do. When you touch the plasma ball, the electricity, the plasma inside, follows your hand. Sort of like how it might jump to other things in a real electrical fire. Imagine if the ball were broken and the electricity escaped. It could cause sparks that set on fire. This is similar to how class C fire starts, often from overloaded circuits or faulty wiring. And this plasma ball can also show us why water can't be used to put out an electrical fire. Since water can carry electricity, that would make things a lot more dangerous. While class C fires brings its own dangers of electricity, there's another class of fires that brings its own unique challenges. And those are class D fires. Now, burning magnesium strips is a great way to learn about class D fires. Those happen when certain metals catch fire. When these burn, they get super hot and super bright. Now, the key is you can't put this out with water. Water is just going to spread it out and make the fire worse. Which is why you need a special fire extinguisher called a dry chemical fire extinguisher. Very few materials can withstand the heat and reactivity like magnesium or titanium can. But here's the thought. If some materials burn so easily, what makes others resist the heat? What makes others fireproof? Now, what makes something fireproof comes down to a few key factors. Fireproof materials don't burn that easily, such as bricks, concrete, and ceramics. Metals don't burn easily as well, but they can melt. Some materials absorb or spread out the heat to avoid burning, like a ceramic tile. And certain chemicals can coat materials like wood or fabrics so that it blocks the oxygen and stops flames. Well, most flames. This last fire is the most dangerous one of all. I'm talking about kitchen fires, class K. And I was determined to demonstrate this type of fire on camera. I got my hot plate. I got my oil. I set it up. It was going for a good 20-30 minutes and nothing. I waited another half hour. There was no fire. That's when I knew I needed to change a variable. Smaller amount of oil in a smaller frying pan on an actual flame in my house. Opened all the windows and let me tell you the smell from that burning oil. I still smell it a little bit now. It was bad. I waited 10 minutes, 20 minutes. Nothing was happening. Like, what's wrong with my fire? Why can't I accidentally get a fire going? So many people have this happen by accident with disastrous results, and I can't force it to happen. It didn't make sense to me. It was just a matter of time. I waited another 20 minutes, about a half hour with the oil on the flame. I saw the thick smoke coming up. I figured now's the time. All right, we finally got our flame. I couldn't believe it. I had my spray of water ready in my hand, went to the fire, squirted it. We got the perfect fireball, the perfect footage for this experiment that will show you guys exactly what happens when you put water on an oil fire. So many times you'll see a fire in the kitchen. You'll panic, run to grab water, pour it on the fire. Game over. Disastrous results. If you see a kitchen fire that has oil in a pot or a pan, do not throw water on it. Put baking soda over it. That'll put it out. Fire extinguisher. Or cover it if you can without hurting yourself with the cover of the pan or pot. Because remember, there's no oxygen. There is no fire. Understanding how fire works, how dangerous it is, and most importantly, how to control it allows me to do cool experiments like this. Now, this powder right here called lycopodium powder is one of the most flammable powders around. Three, two, one. Nothing's happening. Why? Because there's not enough oxygen in between each particle. We need to spread it out in the air. So take a tube. Fill it up with lycopodium powder. Attach it to a lighter using zip ties. And then I blow it out. As the flame is lit, the lycopodium is going to come out of the tube and create a massive fireball. The lycopodium is now in the air. There's oxygen in between each and every particle of lycopodium. Stay incredible, guys. Subscribe and I'll see you in the fire department.