Fire-blocking chemicals promise safer buildings
42 minutes ago Share Save Chris Baraniuk Technology Reporter Share Save
Getty Images Fire resistant materials can buy time for fire fighters
I'm peering into a large vat containing a perfectly clear liquid – a special kind of flame retardant for wood products. "You can drink it. I have," says Stephen McCann, general & technical manager at Halt, a wood treatment company in Belfast. "I wouldn't recommend it," he adds, however. It's very salty, apparently. But this liquid, containing a substance called Burnblock, has been shown to prevent fire taking hold of wood in tests. In a video the firm has shared online, two small model houses are blasted with a blow torch.
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