Woman dies after being set on fire on NYC subway; Person of interest taken into custody, police say
Woman dies after being set on fire on NYC subway; Person of interest taken into custody, police say
A woman died after she was set on fire aboard the New York City subway on an F train in Brooklyn, police say.
I've been trying to find out more about this because the story doesn't make any sense:
"he approached the sleeping woman, and then lit her on fire with what was believed to be a lighter. She added the victim's clothes became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds."
Clothing shouldn't just be flammable like that without some kind of accelerant.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Regulations-Laws--Standards/Statutes/Flammable-Fabrics-Act
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It's pretty well known that polyester and other artificial fibers are very flammable, no?
Poly will melt rather than burn and generally self extinguishes. That's what makes this so weird:
Polyester propagates pretty easily if the fire is big enough. It only "self extinguishes" sometimes when the gloop of melted plastic falls off, or if the flame is small. But a large flame will for sure spread, especially if it's a thin and airy fabric or a blend.
(Am fire performer, I frequently light this shit on fire for safety demos)
Maybe something flammable had been spilled on the clothing.
The only problem with making clothing flame retardant is that is usually done with nasty chemicals that give cancer or other conditions.
I believe cotton clothing is flame retardant, even without extra chemicals. Of course, pure cotton clothing is the more expensive alternative...
I know wool is. That may be what you are thinking of.
I found a fiber burn test with wool, cotton, bamboo, and acrylic fibers. The wool singes but doesn't burn up completely while the others do. I can't speak to whatever she says in the video as my speakers don't seem to be working now.
Wool would be extra beneficial for homeless as well as it retains most of its insulating properties when wet and stays cleaner with less washing than other fabrics.
Yes, wool is definitely a flame retardant. I seem to remember that while cotton fibres will burn up, woven cotton textiles will burn only poorly and slowly. That is, they are flame retardant, but not flame resistant. Most synthetic clothes will first melt, and if it's hot enough that the melt burns, they'll burn quite well.
I saw comments about tight woven cotton being flame resistant. It sounds like it helps deprive oxygen from the flame. Any frays and stray thready bits lose that protection.
Textiles are surprisingly interesting!