Bad News from Canada

Canadians tend to be reserved, modest, optimistic people. But here's a case where they have unleashed bad news on everybody. From canoe.ca:

New homes burn faster

It's never been more dangerous to be a firefighter.

Our homes and the stuff inside them are nearly six times more flammable than they were 30 years ago.

What that means for firefighters is the amount of time they can safely be inside a house on fire has dropped from about 17 minutes to three minutes or less.

That's when flashover happens — the moment when a room or building is fully engulfed in flames.

"It's true,” said Ottawa Fire spokesman Marc Messier of the unprecedented danger facing firefighters. "It's mostly because of the products being used in construction and furniture fabrication."

He said unlike 30 years ago, when homes, furniture and appliances were made of solid wood and steel, modern day versions are made with glue, plastics and synthetic materials.

Such synthetics not only burn faster but produce carcinogenic emissions as they burn.

I bolded the key bit. There's more bad news. Go read the original.