A burn cell flashes over during an Oak Ridge Fire Department open house on Thursday. (Submitted photo)

A Thursday evening open house at Fire Station No. 3 in Oak Ridge included a live fire demonstration of a typical living room fire, which allowed those who attended to watch a fire progress from start to “flashover” at 1,150 degrees.

The burn cells constructed for these type of demonstrations are located at Fire Station No. 3 and were built under a partnership agreement with the University of Tennessee’s National Forensic Academy and the Oak Ridge Fire Department as a teaching tool for fire development studies. The live fire demonstration allowed attendees to see firsthand how quickly a fire develops and the tremendous amount of heat released from a burning sofa and chair. The live fire demonstration illustrated the need for smoke alarms and exit drills to save lives when every second counts, a press release said. [Read more…]