Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 152, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1918 — How Dust Causes Fires. [ARTICLE]

How Dust Causes Fires.

Spontaneous combustion, is caused, so the chemists tell us, by floating particles of co&l dust or other inflammable material jostling and clashing against one another until the friction they set up raises their temperature to the ignition point, says Popular Science Monthly. If this explanation is correct, it would appear as if such fires could be prevented by perfect ventilation. Such, however, is not the case, for ventilation may actually help to bring about fire by spontaneous combustion. Air facilitates oxidation, really fanning the warm dust into a blaze. Keep air damp and quiet *•