SCIENCE and technology working together to improve the fire protection

The fire was always a real threat to the human species, disasters caused by fires were recorded throughout history, if it mentioned only the most famous, as the fire of Rome under Emperor Nero or the one in Moscow in 1812, under the Napoleon occupation. In both cases, as in others less known, buildings have suffered, and whole cities were practically razed to the ground. If in the near or more distant past could not speak of coherent methods of prevention and firefighting, nor about materials that thwart or at least limit the spread of flames, the current situation is entirely different. The various discoveries in chemistry have made it possible to create an unprecedented trend in this direction, the first time in the struggle between man and fire, the chances of success of the first one increasing decisively. However, accidents still happen, whether it is negligence, misuse of materials, protection equipment malfunction, violation of the relevant legislation etc. Of course, reasons to excuse such an unfortunate event can be invoked endlessly, but this is not a solution and cannot compensate the tragic effects of a devastating fire. If such problems still exist in contemporary society, it is clear that somewhere the mechanism is defective and must be remedied. Contribution of materials and advanced technologies in an effort to prevent disasters in that category is major and undeniable, and experts working in the R&D departments are making real efforts to improve the proposed solutions, which, however, are characterized by diversity, flexibility, adaptability to every demand in terms of performance characteristic reaction to fire etc. Of course, how one material or another enter into interaction with the flames is different and demands are highly personalized: a type of requirement should be considered in the insulation of a façade and completely different in terms of, for example, the burning of a ceiling made of polymeric membrane.