1. Do these fires really serve a purpose?

Absolutely. Fires are an important part of the ecology. In a redwood forest, for instance, a good blaze cleans out the understory. It destroys conifers that leech nutrients from the soil (like Douglas firs), while leaving the ground fertile for new growth. If Nature had her way, a fire would occur naturally every 40 years or so in the redwood community. But thanks to fire prevention measures in the 20th century, that cycle has been interrupted, resulting in a greatly reduced amount of “old growth” forests. Even those fires started by natural means, such as lightning strikes, are often squashed before they have a chance to run their course. Many national parks now employ the use of “prescribed burnings” - carefully controlled fires of moderate intensity – in an effort to help restore Nature’s balance.

A recent 60 Minutes segment about “mega-fires” revealed why scientists believe the rash of wildfires in the West will only get worse in the years to come. A one-two punch of over-conservation and climate change has turned the land into a veritable tinderbox. While plant life has grown thick, the lack of moisture (due in part to dwindling snow in the mountains) only works to fan the flames.

2. What’s that red stuff they spray from planes onto raging wildfires?

Believe it or not, water is the key ingredient in the red mixture. It’s also treated with thickeners, to turn the liquid into a “blanket,” and keep it from evaporating. Additionally, those thickeners also help to cover more area. As for the color, that comes from iron oxide (aka rust) and is added to make it clear to firefighters which areas have been treated. Sometimes the mixture includes fertilizer to help spur plant growth as well.

3. How did the San Francisco Earthquake turn into the San Francisco Fire?

In 1906, a huge earthquake in San Francisco caused a considerable amount of damage, but the major devastation came after a fire raged for four days afterward. The quake destroyed most of the underground water pipes, so firefighters had limited resources to work with. On top of that, the tightly packed wooden-frame structures south of Market Street went up like kindling, and broken gas lines throughout the area added fuel to the inferno. In the meantime, thousands of residents realized that their homes were insured against fire damage (earthquake insurance didn’t yet exist). Thus, dwellings that had survived the flames – but had been damaged by the tremors - were deliberately torched by their owners.

Why Dalmatians live in firehouses, how smoke detectors work, and why fire hydrants come in different colors (there’s a reason) all after the jump…

4. What’s the connection between Dalmatians and firehouses?

In the 1800s, fire engines were horse-driven carriages. Unfortunately, horses and other equipment found in a fire station were prime targets for thieves at that time, especially in some of the poorer urban areas (where many fires occurred). Some firefighters tried to combat thievery by sleeping alongside their steeds, but since they were often exhausted from fighting blazes, that idea didn’t always work. Eventually, the solution became clear: a watchdog.

And not just any watchdog. You see, horses are not solitary animals. They prefer the companionship of some other animal; another horse, a dog, a goat or even a chicken. Left alone too long, they grow restless and neurotic. Dalmatians, it was discovered, formed an amazingly close bond with horses once they were introduced. They also became quite protective and possessive of their equine friends, so it became impossible for anyone to try to spirit away a horse under cover of the night. In fact, the spotted pooches were also used by stagecoach drivers for the same purpose, and became colloquially known as “coach dogs.”

5. How do smoke detectors work?

Radioactive material is known for causing burns, but in the case of smoke detectors, it can also prevent them. Most household devices - known as “ion chamber” detectors - contain a very small amount of Americium-241, a radioisotope that is artificially created by bombarding plutonium with neutrons. The material was discovered during the Manhattan Project, and was first offered to industry in the early 1960s. The majority of Americium produced goes into making smoke detectors and one gram of the material is enough to equip some 5,000 detectors.

But back to how it works. The Americium emits alpha particles of radiation, which create ions of oxygen and nitrogen in the detector. A small electrical charge (supplied by DC or AC power) usually catches these ions. But when smoke enters the detector, it absorbs the alpha particles, the ionization rate falls, and the electrical current dips, causing the alarm to sound.

6. Why are fire hydrants painted different colors?

Currently, there is no law regulating the color-coding of fire hydrants, but the National Fire Protection Association has suggested standards that most municipalities follow to some extent. They suggest that the best color for the body of the hydrant is chrome yellow, but if an area has already designated another color, then it should be consistent (no polka dots on one, stripes on another).

Traditionally, hydrants connected to municipal water systems are painted yellow, while those that operate from a private system are red. Hydrants that pump non-potable water are either painted violet or have at least one violet cap. The bonnets and caps on the hydrants should also be painted to indicate the available water pressure. Red indicates the lowest pressure (less than 500 gallons per minute at 20 psi), followed by orange, green and ultimately light blue, which pumps 1500 GPM or more.

7. Did Nero really fiddle while Rome burned?

Sweltering summers were common in Rome, and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, better known as Nero, had traveled to the coastal resort town of Antium to escape the July heat in the year 64 CE. A fire broke out in one of the shops in Circus Maximus on the evening of July 19, and aided by strong winds, quickly raged out of control. When the emperor received word of the conflagration, he rushed back to the city and aided in the rescue efforts.

When the blaze was finally extinguished after six days, Nero opened up his palace to house many of the homeless, and used his personal funds to feed and shelter others. As for the bit about Nero fiddling, that part’s inaccurate as well. Particularly, since the violin wasn’t invented until the Renaissance.

8. What real fire appeared on the most-watched TV show ever?

In October 1982, brush fires on the Fox Studios Ranch set aflame much of the outdoor set of the TV series M*A*S*H. The cast was in the middle of filming the series finale, “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” so producers wrote the fire into the script. The smoldering structures were real parts of the set, and footage of a “bug out” from a previous year’s episode was incorporated to show the movement of the facility. (Remember, the “M” in M*A*S*H stands for Mobile.) The land is now part of Malibu Canyon Creek State Park.

9. How do doctors determine what percentage a victim is burned?

The basic burn assessment relies on two protocols: the rule of nines, and the Lund-Browder chart. The rule of nines, developed in the 1950s, divided the human body into multiples of nine. Each arm is 9%, a leg is 18%, and so on. This method enabled a doctor to quickly examine the patient, see that he had burns on the palm of one hand, up the arm and half the chest, and determine that approximately 20 percent of his body had been burned.

This method proved less accurate when it came to children, however, since their physical proportions are quite different from those of the average adult. Two American doctors, Charles Lund and Newton Browder, came up with a burn chart in 1944 that broke down the human figure into separate, defined sections. It also included a formula for calculating body surface area based on the age of the patient.

10. And what bizarre fire profoundly affected renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright?

On August 15, 1914, Frank Lloyd Wright was working at his Chicago office. To the north, in his famous Taliesin estate in Wisconsin, were his mistress, Mamah Borthwick, her two children, and six servants. For reasons unknown, one of the servants – Julian Carleton – commited a heinous and murderous act of arson. He bolted the doors and windows, poured gasoline around the house, and set it on fire. Carleton then took a hatchet and attacked those who tried to break out of the home. Two of the workers miraculously survived, but everyone else perished. The flames devastated the living quarters, but spared Wright’s studio. Although understandably heartbroken, the architect promised to reconstruct the home and did. It burned again in 1925, but rose once more from the ashes.

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