NEWER HOMES ARE ACTUALLY
BURNING FASTER THAN OLD HOMES
WITH OFTEN DEADLY CONSEQUENCE.
EXPERTS SAY 30 YEARS AGO YOU
WOULD HAVE HAD 17 MINUTES TO
GET YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY
OUT OF YOUR HOME WHEN A FIRE
STARTED.
NOW THE TEST THE SAYS YOU HAVE
ABOUT 3 MINUTES.
THEY BLAME NEWER FURNITURE AND
BUILDING MATERIAL.
VIC DESIGNED HIS OWN EXPERIMENT
TO SEE HOW MUCH YOUR FAMILY
WOULD BE AT RISK WITH YOUR
FURNITURE AND THOUSAND STAY
SAFE.
VIC?
Reporter: CERTAINLY SOME
VERY SCARY STUFF.
IT WAS EYE OPENING NOT JUST FOR
US HERE AT NEWS 4 JAX BUT ALSO
FOR VETERAN FIREFIGHTERS WHO
HAVE WORKED IN THIS INDUSTRY
FOR DECADES.
SO THESE ARE THE TWO STRUCTURES
THAT WE BUILT FROM SCRATCH FOR
THIS EXPERIMENT.
YOU CAN SEE INSIDE NOT A LOT
LEFT.
THAT USED TO HAVE THE OLDER --
OR THE NEWER FURNITURE INSIDE
TALKING ABOUT
TALKING ABOUT SYNTHETIC
TEVRMENTS MICRO FIBER AND FOAM
THIS ONE OVER HERE USED TO HAVE
THE OLDER FURNITURE FROM
NATURAL TEVRMENTS REAL WOOD.
AND WOOL.
AND JUST STUFF THAT YOU USED TO
GET 70 IN THE 1970'S AND
1980'S.
WINS AGAIN, VERY SCARY AND EYE
OPENING.
WATCH THE RESULTS OF OUR
EXPERIMENT.
IN JUST MINUTES.
APARTMENT BUILDING IS
BURNING.
LIKE REAL BAD RIGHT NO, FIRE
RIPPED THROUGH THIS COMPLEX ON
JACKSONVILLE SOUTH SIDE.
AS I AM RUNNING THE WINDOW S
ARE BUSTING.
EVERYTHING IS JUST LIKE A BIG
CHAOS.
PEOPLE YELLING.
PEOPLE IN THE HOUSES.
Reporter: SHE'S ONE OF 33
PEOPLE WHO LOST IT ALL LAST
MONTH.
EVERYTHING BUT THEIR LIVES.
I'M LITERALLY WATCHING
TESTIFYING IN MY HOUSE AND
EVERYBODY HOUSE BURN UP.
I CAN'T DO ANYTHING.
Reporter: IT'S A PERFECT
EXAMPLE THAT FLAMES CAN SPREAD
SO FAST.
SCIENTIST AT UNDERWRITER
LABORATORY DISCOVERED THAT NEW
HOMES BURN 8 TIMES FASTER THAN
OLDER ONES LIKE MANY OF US GREW
UP IN.
LOOK WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE
BURNED NEW WOOD BEAM AND OLD
ONES.
THE MODERN MATERIAL MADE FROM
WOOD CHIP AND GLUE GOES MUCH
QUICKER.
NEW FURNISH FEWER IS EVEN MORE
DANGEROUS.
DESIGNED TO BE LIGHT WEIGHT
AND MANUFACTURED INEXPENSIVE TO
BE AFFORDABLE WHICH IS ALL GOOD
AND WELL UNTIL THEY START TO
BURN.
Reporter: SO WE SET UP AN
EXPERIMENT IN LISTING THE JING
FIREFIGHTERS UNION.
INSTRUCTOR AT THE FIRE ACADEMY
OF THE SOUTH THE AND PAUL DAVIS
RESTORATION.
TOGETHER WE BUILT TWO IDENTICAL
ROOMS.
WE FILLED ONE WITH OLD
FURNITURE FROM ABOUT 30 YEARS
AGO.
MADE FROM NATURAL MATERIAL LIKE
WOOL BEINGS COTTON AND REAL
WOOD.
THIS ONE IS MODERN.
BRAND NEW COUCH IS MICRO FIBER
FILLED WITH FOAM, PLASTIC AND
ALL KIND OF SYNTHETIC
CHEMICALS.
STARTED A SMALL FIRE IN A TRASH
CAN NEXT TO EACH COUCH.
WATCH AND WAITED.
SO THIS IS THE OLDER ROOM.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A 70'S TO
80'S STYLE LIVING ROOM HERE.
YOU CAN SEE THE SMOKE STARTING
TO BILLOW OUT BUT FOR THE MOST
PART IT IS STILL CONTAINED OVER
THERE IN THE CORNER.
THAT IS ABOUT 5 MINUTES IN.
AS TIME GOES ON THINGS GET
WORSE.
NOT A LOT OF FLAME THERE
AGAIN IT'S NOT A BUNCH OF FIRE
BUT IT'S A HEAVY, HEAVY DENSE
SMOKE STARTING TO COME THROUGH.
Reporter: HERE'S WHAT IT
LOOKS LIKE AFTER 8 MINUTES.
NOW 10.
AND AFTER NEARLY 13 MINUTES THE
WHOLE ROOM IS ON FIRE.
THIS IS BAD.
L NOT SURVIVE
L NOT SURVIVABLE.
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
WE WILL HOSE IT OFF BUST IT
OUT.
Reporter: NEXT UP THE NEWER
LIVING ROOM.
WE LIT ANOTHER SPARK IN THE
TRASH CAN AND WITHIN TWO
MINUTES AND 40 SECONDS THE
CHAIR IS ON FIRE.
4 AND A HALF MINUTES.
THIS IS HEAVIER ONE BREATH
AND THIS IS TOXIC TYPE SMOKE.
Reporter: TWO MINUTE AFTER
THAT THE FLAMES RUN THROUGH THE
COUCH.
YOU CAN SEE BEHIND THE COUCH
IT'S TAKING OFF. IT WILL ROLL
ACROSS AND.
Reporter: NOW THAT IT IS LIT
IT'SED ABOUT.
SECONDS LATER THIS.
GAS EXPLODE AND FIRE SWALLOW
THE WHOLE BUILDING.
IT'S CALLED FLASH OVER.
OBVIOUSLY NOBODY SURVIVES IN
THAT ROOM.
Reporter: CAN'T ESCAPE THAT.
CAN'T ESCAPE THAT.
Reporter: GOODNESS GRACIOUS.
THAT IS WARM.
THERE YOU GO.
Reporter: WOW! BACK UP BACK
UP.
GO AHEAD AND TAKE IT.
ALL RIGHT WE ARE DONE.
Reporter: IN OUR TEST THE
ROOM WITH NEWER FURNITURE
BURNED TWICE AS FAST.
THAT MEANS THE PEOPLE IN THE
HOME HAVE HALF THE TIME TO
ESCAPE.
IT'S CONCERNING FOR FIRE UNION
PRESIDENT RANDY THE WHITE.
SEE IT HAPPEN THAT QUICK
RELATEED TO THAT ONE WAS
SHOCKING.
Reporter: HE SAYS SMOKE
KILLS MORE PEOPLE THAN FLAMES
AND IT WAS MUCH WORSE WITH THE
NEWER ROOM.
THAT MUCH MORE BAD STUFF IN
THAT SMOKE HURT A PERSON
QUICKER.
Reporter: AT THE ACADEMY
LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS ARE TRAINING
TO GET TO YOUR HOME QUICKER.
AND LEARNING THE BEST
WASHINGTON I TO ATTACK FAST
SPREADING FLAMES.
BUT BEFORE THEY ARRIVE IT'S UP
TO YOU TO STAY ALIVE.
FIRST AND FOREMOST IS
CALLING 911.
HAVING A PLAN AND GETTING OUT
OF THE HOUSE.
Reporter: LIFE OR DEATH.
YES.
ABSOLUTELY THE.
Reporter: SO ABSOLUTELY SOME
SHOCKING RESULTS THERE FROM OUR
EXPERIMENT THEY SAY YOU
WASHINGTON WANT TO MAKE SURE
YOU GATHER ALL OF THE FAMILY
MEMBERS AND YOUR PETS.
GET OUT.
CALL 911.
GIVE RESCUERS TIME TO GET THERE
BUT GET TO A SAFE DISTANCE.
DOWNTOWN WANT TO WORRY ABOUT
YOUR BELONGINGS BECAUSE THAT IS
JUST STUFF.
NOW WHAT CAN YOU DO BEFOREHAND
TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR HOME IS
SAFE.
WELL, THEY ARE NOT ASKING TO
YOU THROW OUT ALL OF YOUR BRAND
NEW FURNITURE THAT YOU PROBABLY
SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON.
BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO IS CUT DOWN
ON THE CLUTTER.
THIS INNINGS THAT MIGHT START
THE FIRE AND HELP IT SPREAD
QUICKER SOW MIGHT WANT TO MOVE
THE CHAIRS AND COUCHES APART.
MIGHT WANT TO GIVE THEM A
LITTLE DISTANCE FROM THE WALL
AND MAKE SURE THE CURTAINS AND
THE COUCH AND EVERYTHING IS NOT
ALL TOUCHING.
ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT THINK
THAT YOU CAN DO MAYBE 1520
DOLLARS GET ONE OF THESE.
NOT JUST ONE.
THIS IS A SMOKE DETECT TOVRMENT
IT'S ALSO A CARBON MONOXIDE
ALARGE.
BUT FIREFIGHTERS SAY GET
MULTIPLE BECAUSE IT MIGHT
MALFUNCTION SO GET MULTIPLE.
PUT THEM AROUND THE HOUSE.
I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE A LOT MORE
QUESTIONS.
THAT'S WHY WE HAVE GOT FOLKS
WITH THE JACKSONVILLE
ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS
ALSO THE FIRE ACADEMY OF THE
SOUTH, THEY ARE STANDING BY SO
STAY TUCHBILITY AT 5:30 WE ARE
GOING TO BRING YOUR QUESTIONS
TO THEM.
SEND ME YOUR QUESTIONS. I'LL
ASK THE EXPERTS AND WE'LL DO
OUR BEST TO ANSWER THEM AND
MAKE SURE THAT YOU, YOUR FAMILY
AND YOUR FRIEND ARE SAFE.
LIVE ON THE SOUTH SIDE, CHANNEL
4, THE LOCAL STATION.
THANKS VIC.
ON OUR WEB SITE RIGHT NOW YOU
CAN WATCH THAT FIVE TEST WE DID
WITH THE OLD AND NEW FURNITURE
AND ADDED A HOME CHECK LIST TO
DO OR PRINT FOR YOURSELF TO