Why do towels spontaneously combust?SKY News
Thursday, 13 August 2015The fire at Richmond Football club isn't the first time towels have spontaneously combust in a gym.
The spontaneous combustion of a pile of towels at Richmond Football Club has set social media on fire with talk about the towelling inferno.
The towels spontaneously caught fire on Thursday morning at the club's pool and have become a digital water cooler conversation.
'This made me laugh! How does this even happen?' Andrew O'Connell posted on Twitter.
Firefighters say the towels may have had a build-up of massage oil on them, causing an 'exothermic reaction' that ignited a small fire.
Or they may have been used to clean up chemicals, causing them to self combust, the MFB said.
The incident, dubbed 'towelling inferno', has been trending across Facebook and Twitter - with a majority of people using it to sledge the Tigers.
'Looks like the Tigers season is going up in flames,' Nathan Fletcher wrote on Facebook.
Even the MFB got in on the act, posting: 'Nice try Gold Coast Suns'.
But the club was lucky to escape with no damage, given that towel combustion has caused extensive damage to other properties over the years.
Freshly laundered towels with a build-up of oil caught fire and caused a $1 million worth of damage to a Richmond gym in 2013 and an Adelaide day spa went up in flames last year under similar circumstances.
A Victorian woman was treated for smoke inhalation in May after her towels combusted in the dryer, filling her house with smoke when she opened the dryer door.
Why might towels combust?- They are used for drying off after a dip in a pool, wiping off massage oil or cleaning up spilt chemicals and liquids.
- The potentially flammable liquids sometimes stay in towel fibres even after being washed and dried several times, leading to a build up.
- These chemicals then cause an 'exothermic reaction'
How does it happen?- Heat builds up in large piles of towels from fungi, bacteria and outside sources (heater, sunlight).
- After being washed some liquids can self-heat during the drying process and, if temperatures get hot enough, may self-combust.
- Cotton or linen in towels removed from a dryer may become oxidised and can also contain a large amount of static.
- This static can cause a spark which can ignite chemicals which remain in the towels.
- Oxidisation is the process of adding oxygen to a compound, making it more susceptible to catching fire.
How to prevent it?- Understand the causes of spontaneous combustion, take steps to avoid these scenarios, and have a fire plan.
- See more at:
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