A fire blanket is a safety device designed to extinguish incipient (starting) fires. It consists of a sheet of a fire retardant material that is placed over a fire in order to smother it.
Small fire blankets, such as for use in kitchens and around the home are usually made of glass fiber and sometimes kevlar, and are folded into a quick-release contraption for ease of storage. Larger fire blankets, for use in laboratory and industrial situations, are often made of wool – sometimes treated with a flame retardant chemical such as hexafluorozirconate and zirconium acetate.[1] These blankets are usually mounted in vertical quick-release containers so that they can be easily pulled out and wrapped round a person whose clothes are on fire.
Fire blankets, along with fire extinguishers, are fire safety items that can be useful in case of a fire. These nonflammable materials are stable in temperatures up to 1300 °C for Nextel ceramic fibres,[2] 1200 °C for glass fibers,[3] Kevlar (480 °C),[4] and wool (570 °C).[5] These are useful in smothering fires by reducing the amount of oxygen available to the fire. Due to its simplicity, a fire blanket may be more helpful for someone who is inexperienced with fire extinguishers.
- ^ Elif Kaynak, Mustafa Erdem Üreyen, Ali Savaş Koparal, Adem Mutlu (May 27, 2020). "Flame-retardant treatment of wool and wool-rich blends: A study of bath composition". Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics. 15. doi:10.1177/1558925020922214. S2CID 219758791.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "3M Nextel ceramic fabrics". Retrieved Dec 24, 2021.
- ^ ASM handbook. ASM International. Handbook Committee. (10th ed.). Materials Park, OH: ASM International. 2001. pp. 27–29. ISBN 978-1-62708-011-8. OCLC 712545628.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "High-performance Materials". Retrieved Dec 24, 2021.
- ^ "Is wool flame retardant?". Retrieved Dec 24, 2021.