The following three (3) elements must be present in order for fire to prosper.
1. Fuel: is any material that can burn
- solids such as paper wood, plastic, etc
- liquids like paint, thinner, gasoline, etc
- gases like propane, natural gas butane
2. Heat: needed to raise the temperature of fuel to the point where the fuel burns
- chemical (gas fuel cooking, open flames)
- mechanical (friction sparks from grinding material)
- electrical (static electricity, defective switches and appliances, heating and lighting systems)
3. Oxygen: approximately 16% required
- atmosphere (normal air contains 21% oxygen)
- chemical such as pure oxygen used in hospitals and in some industries
