Fire Prevention

This training course instructs you in the total concept of fire prevention. Fire prevention encompasses not only knowledge and practical experience of using portable fir fighting equipment and appliances, but covers a wide range of other disciplines.

It includes practicing “good housekeeping” procedures, which are designed to minimize the risks of an outbreak of fire. A checklist of these preventative measures is produced below.

Ensure that:

• When not in use, all electrical appliances are switched off and isolated from the main circuit.
• All electrical motors are clean and free of dust and grime.
• All electrical points, plugs, motors etc are serviced regularly and maintained.
• All electrical points, plugs switches and wiring are checked periodically.
• Electrical leads are renewed at the first sign of wear in the outer covering.
• Electrical points are not overloaded.
• All hazardous materials are stored under lock and key in a safe compound, preferably away from the main building.
• Flammable liquids are marked and identified clearly in the proper containers and stored in safe conditions.
• Flammable chemicals are not kept any longer than necessary.
• If you smell gas, no switches are thrown and no sparks or glowing embers generated.
• All doors are kept closed.
• Smoking materials are carefully discarded.
• Matches and lighters are kept in safe places.
• Waste materials, such as oily cotton waste, rags etc are disposed of correctly.
• Waste paper, carton, etc are cleared away regularly to a proper refuse area, and removed from site each working day.
• Impromptu kitchen arrangement is not set up in offices or workshops.
• The use of portable heaters is discouraged. If they are used, the heaters must be carefully and sensibly positioned.
• An employee is appointed with responsibility for fire safety, no matter how small the company. In multi-level buildings an employee must be nominated on each floor, or section of floor area for larger premises.
• All employees attend a training course annually for tuition in fire prevention and in the theoretical and practical use of portable fire extinguishers. Extinguishers are only as efficient as the people who operate them, and training in fire fighting procedures by qualified personnel builds confidence, which may prevent panic in a real emergency.
• A build-up of dust is to be avoided to prevent possible dust explosions.

Fire is a chemical reaction known as combustion which occurs when fuel and oxygen are brought together with sufficient heat to cause ignition.

A simple representation of this reaction is the “fire triangle” which shows the components required for fire to occur.

• Heat

A critical temperature must be reached for ignition to take place, but once a fire has started it will generally maintain its own heat supply.

Heat can be applied in any number of ways. It may be deliberate (arson is the major cause of fire in industry and commerce), or it may be accidental, for example: heaters being placed too close to furnishings or paper; power points being overloaded, or plugs incorrectly fused, causing wiring to overheat.

Blocked machinery vents on a production line or factory floor, or air inlets on a desktop personal computer covered by memos or cartons, can cause machinery to overheat, becoming a fire risk.

• Fuel

Fuel is best understood as a combustible substance, liquid, solid or gaseous.

Solids, such as a block of wood, may be quite difficult to ignite, but reduce the block to shavings and the shavings will catch fire readily.

A piece of paper can start a major fire. Add heat to paper and it produces vapours which ignite, in turn producing more heat. Oxygen feeds the flames and the combustion cycle continues.

While solid fuels may need an outside source of heat to raise them to a sufficient temperature to give off flammable vapours, there are many flammable liquids which produce such vapours even at temperatures below freezing. Petrol, for example, does so down to 43ºC below zero.

These vapours alone are extremely dangerous. A car petrol tank for example, is far more dangerous when it is empty because it is full of flammable vapours.

Gases, since they are already vapours, ignite instantly. Turn on a gas supply, add heat, and flames appear. Some gases are lighter than air, and others are heavier, so if gas can be smelt it means quite a significant amount is already present.

Extreme care must always be exercised when dealing with flammable gases. LPG is very efficient but highly dangerous if handled incorrectly.

• Oxygen

Oxygen is normally present in the air around us in a sufficient quantity to support fire (approximately 21%).