As you can clearly see in this side by side video of a legacy room fire v. a modern room fire, the rates of fire growth have evolved along with the introduction of newer materials into the American residential and commercial environment. The test and video were done by the Underwriters Laboratory (UL).

The legacy room used natural material in the manufacture of furnishings. Wood, cotton and wool were the basic materials legacy furniture, drapes and carpets were made with. The rate of flame spread was relatively slow.

The modern room uses the furnishings that you probably have in your own modern American home. The increased use of plastics results in hotter fires that spread far more rapidly than the fires of yesteryear. Plastics are made of oil. To keep myself safe in fires, I always thought of plastic items as frozen gasoline.

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