Generic Fire Essay
Everyone
in the world has written a fire safety essay.
Remember those horrible elementary-school assignments? The ones
where you did absolutely no research, but used the same basic "fire
survival tips" the average fetus knows? Well, I had to write one in the
11th grade. Yes, the 11th grade. Since approximately 47 bajillion fire
safety essays have been written, it is impossible to be original. So I
present to you, UL Lafayette, a generic fire essay I wrote in 11th
grade that I found recently on my computer:
Fire. Perhaps fire is mankind's greatest discovery. We
have come
to know survival, as well as pleasure and comfort under the wing of
this wonder known as fire. Although fire helps mankind in many ways,
fire can also hurt humans. Fire is very hot. If fire touches the skin
it could leave burns. Because of this, it is important for man to be
careful and try to avoid, in some cases, the presence of fire. One of
the situations in which man should avoid fire is when he is sleeping.
One way to avoid fire spreading in your home while you are
asleep
is to have smoke detectors in your home. These devices detect smoke.
The detectors then give a distinctive ring alerting the owner of said
detector of the presence of smoke. Smoke is one of the warning signs
of the presence of fire. Another way to avoid a fire during the night
is to refrain from smoking in the bed. Although smoking is an
addictive habit, one must try to refrain from smoking in the bed. If
the smoker is very tired, he or she may fall asleep with the cigarette
still burning. Sheets are indeed flammable and will instantly burst
into flames if touched by a cigarette.
Another way to prevent your family from
bodily harm from
the
relentless flames is to encourage children not to play with fire. You
must sit your children down and explain to them that fire is not a
toy, but a chemical reaction which results in heat and occasional
harmful
combustion, while ironically maintaining its role as "savior
of mankind." Give them stuffed animals and toy trucks as opposed to
lighters and matches.
When working in the garage, it may be tempting to toss
those oily
rags into the garbage can. This would be a huge mistake. Think ahead.
What would possibly happen if you forgot about those oily rags and
tossed some lit matches into the very same trash receptacle?
Spontaneous unquenchable flames, that's what. Don't let this happen to
you. Dispose of your oily rags immediately in a place that will never
be exposed to flames. Dispose of your lit matches in a separate
container.
If you choose to ignore any of the tips listed above, then
odds
are you will have a fire in your home in the next six to eight weeks.
The best thing to do in this case is have an escape route planned for
you and your family. Many people do not know all the exits to their
homes so they must plan it out on a sheet of paper and place it in a
room which everyone will remember. In the case of a fire, have
everyone check this paper and then exit in a calm manner.
Unfortunately, if the paper was destroyed in the fire, you will die.
An important tip one must remember is to "stop, drop, and
roll" in
case you suddenly burst into flames. This will immediately extinguish
all the flames on your body. Fire requires oxygen in order to eat away
at your flesh. Rolling will force all oxygen to exit a small region
around your body and will therefore put out the flames instantly every
time.
I hope that this essay helped everyone who read it. I am
sure that
many people did not know these rules of thumb about fire safety!
©2004 Tim Landry
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