Peoria Fire Department holds live burn event [Video]

PEORIA (25News Now) – After a month of preparation, the Peoria Fire Department held a live burn event on Friday to demonstrate how and why things burn.

Over the last month, the fire department has been collaborating with its private partners in the insurance, restoration and investigation industries on hosting this public demonstration.

Friday’s demonstration focused on car and building fires.

Brad Pierson, an arson investigator with the department, says building fires can grow quickly because most building materials today are hydrocarbon-based. That means they have petroleum products in them.

“All that does is increase the speed of the fire once it gets going. But the worst part about this is the black smoke that gets put off, which is what kills probably 80 or 90-percent of our victims,” said Pierson. “Not from the fire itself or from the heat itself; it’s the smoke.”

Fire officials are reminding everyone to have working smoke alarms and detectors in every …