How long does it take to die from ash inhalation from a volcano?

Question

In the mockumentary Supervolcano, they were saying that ash combined with liquid in your lungs turns to cement and suffocates you to death. Just curious of how long this process would take.

Answer 1

a few minutes if that.  It also depends on how much ash you are inhaling or how close you are to the site

Answer 2

I don't know how long it would take.  In the case of a supervolcano eruption, there might not be any place to escape to.

"The most devastating effect of volcanic ash comes from pyroclastic flows. These occur when a volcanic eruption creates an "avalanche" of hot ash, gases, and rocks that flow at high speed down the flanks of the volcano. These flows can be impossible to outrun.  As well as being impossible to outrun, they are almost as difficult to predict. In many cases prediction has been based on the topography of a region, only to see a valley fill and overflow. In 1902, the city of St. Pierre in Martinique was destroyed by a pyroclastic flow which killed over 29,000 people.

Volcanic ash (by itself) is not poisonous, but inhaling it may cause problems for people whose respiratory system is already compromised by disorders such as asthma or emphysema. The abrasive texture can cause irritation and scratching of the surface of the eyes. People who wear contact lenses should wear glasses during an ashfall, to prevent eye damage.  Furthermore, the combination of volcanic ash with moisture in the lungs can create a substance akin to liquid cement."  If you inhaled enough for that to happen, my guess is that you would die of suffocation in about 2 minutes.

"Therefore, people should take caution to filter the air they breathe with a damp cloth or a face mask when facing an ashfall. Ash is very dense, as only 100 millimetres (3.9 in) of ash leads to the collapse of weaker roofs. A fall of 300 millimetres (12 in) leads to the death of most vegetation, livestock, the wiping out of aquatic life in nearby lakes and rivers, and unusable roads.  Accompanied by rain and lightning, ashfall leads to power outages, prevents communication, and disorients people."

I should add that the USGS expects any eruption of Yellowstone in the near future to be steam jets, rather than a super eruption.