Being Prepared for a Natural Disaster

June 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A residential smoke detector is the most famil... 

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Natural disasters, such as a fire, can occur without warning and cause injury to your family along with extensive damage to your personal property. Preventing them is the first step to protecting you and your family.

One of the most essential things to do in your home is to have a smoke alarm in each room of your home that is occupied. They should be checked annually to make sure they are working and have the batteries switched out. The next step is to lay out an emergency evacuation plan in case of a home fire. Each family member should know the proper escape routes out of the room, have a set meeting area and know how to contact emergency authorities. Practice evacuating your home periodically to keep it fresh in everyone’s mind.

Keep a working fire extinguisher in your kitchen in an easy to locate spot and teach everyone how to use it. It is also smart to keep a container of baking soda nearby in case of a grease fire on the stove. Small appliances should only be plugged into GFCI outlets, which are designed to cut off in case of an overload.

Throughout your home, limit the use of extension cords and make sure that they are not overloaded. Too many appliances plugged into an extension cord can cause it to overheat and possible start a fire. They also should never be placed under furniture or carpeting. When you use one, make sure to position it out of the way where people could fall and trip over it. By keeping safety in mind, you can prevent a home fire.

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Fire Alarm – Things To Know

January 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The safety and security of the people in different parts of the world is the responsibility of the government of respective nations. With this notion under consideration, many rules have been established in regard to fire safety, especially. There is a rule that every building should have an inbuilt fire alarm system which should work effectively at the time of emergency fire accidents. Also, provisions for fire exit and installation of fire extinguishers at different parts of the building and inside every separate flat in case of residential apartments should be made without fail.

If, by chance you will have to face a situation of accidental fire in a building, there are some immediate actions to be taken. If fire occurs, the sensor will detect smoke and the fire alarm will ring. After confirming the situation, the first thing to do is to evacuate the building immediately. In case of multi-storeyed buildings, the lift should never be used when there is a fire alarm. This is because the functioning of any electric device is dangerous in case of fire and the lift can get stuck. Local fires inside house or uncontrollable fire in the corridor can be handled with the help of fire extinguishers. Even though water is cheaper, mostly carbon dioxide fire extinguishers are used in buildings because this can be used in case of all types of fire.

To escape from the building, emergency fire exits can be used. To find the fire exits, directions will be marked on the walls with symbols indicating where to find the nearby fire exit. In most cases, the fire exit symbols will be luminescent, that can show way even in darkness. Air, oxygen or any combustible gases should never come in contact with fire. And while fire fighting, care should be taken that the fire does not reach any explosives or fuel sources like oil or petroleum, as this can cause huge explosion.

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Emergency Fire Alert

January 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Fire is a very useful, but equally dangerous tool which can cause severe damage to man and material, causing to loose not only the lives of people, but also a lot of money. Every individual, irrespective of their direct involvement with anything concerning fire, should be aware of the preventive safety measures and most importantly one should know the steps to take in case of a fire emergency. Quick and clever response is needed to control the fire, avoid its spread, to minimize the loss and damage, and to rescue the lives involved. People across the world should be educated about this to avoid a disastrous accident.

If fire starts at a place accidentally, the first thing to do is to inform the local fire force team and gather people to work against the spread of fire. Fire burns in the presence of oxygen or any other supporting medium like petroleum, oil, etc. So, the first thing to do, to put out the fire, is to cut off the oxygen supply. In normal cases, forcing water or water spray to the burning area is effective. But in cases where oil is burning, water is not the solution. There we require some other medium like foam or carbon dioxide gas to extinguish the fire. This depends on what material is burning.

Now, every building, be it a residential, office, shopping mall, theatre or factory. Every contained space is given provisions for fighting accidental fire. Fire alarms are placed in every room, which turns on when the sensor detects smoke. Fire extinguishers are placed at regular spacing and special fire exits are provided at different parts of the building. The only thing is that the people should know how to use these safety measures, which otherwise is of no use however.

Fire education should be freely provided to make people more careful and to ensure a quick response if a situation of emergency arises.

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It is better to be safe than sorry

December 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

No one is actually safe. Businesses and homes are always under the threat of a fire mishap, a security lapse, and so on. Emergency safety is often an underestimated aspect of a working or living environment. The common sentiment is that It cannot happen to me. Well, actually even the most secure of places had a fire outbreak. Even the well-guarded places were attacked. Anything can happen anytime. It is better to be safe than sorry.

You might have seen breakout areas in office buildings. These spaces are scientifically chosen spaces where people can stand during fires or security issues. One might ask why the same is not present for condominiums and apartment complexes. Most community housing complexes do have breakout areas. But they are still not established as a required thing.

Knowledge is power. Without which the whole enterprise of emergency safety would go futile. It is important for resident associations to know what to do in an emergency situation. Most of them wouldn’t know the numbers to call on. Most of them would have forgotten it. Just remembering an important number can save time and lives.

People have to be educated on things like using fire extinguishers, navigating through burning surroundings and so on. Regular fire drills have to be conducted to make people get up and be ready and running through the fire exit stairs. Although many people might claim to know, the disturbing fact is that during fires, people have been seen taking the lift, instead of the fire exit.

Companies ought to draw up emergency plans. In spite of so many hurricanes and tornadoes, people have not learnt to be cautious. It is not wrong for companies to have special booths in their facilities from where communication can be made to emergency response departments. The world is fraught with risks. Man made risks are under control. But the natural ones aren’t. That is one thing that needs the most caution.

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Protect Your Family From Fire – Have Fire Extinguishers In Every Room

November 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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What steps should you take to prevent the risk of fire in your house? Make it a point to have a fire extinguisher in each and every room of your house. It may not be the most aesthetically attractive thing but it is one of the most important safety tools you can have in your house.

Do not to stop there. Make sure that each and every child knows how to use the device. Make sure you conduct formal training sessions and give each and every member of the family a chance to use the fire extinguisher. Make sure you have the trial exercise out in the open where each and every family member will be required to direct the extinguisher at the fire and extinguish the same.

Secondly, check out interior design options that you have installed in each and every room and find out whether it increases the risk of fire. If yes, then you should make sure that the size of the fire extinguisher in the room is big enough to take care of the problem. Capacity and weight must be balanced. It is possible to have an industrial sized fire extinguisher in your house.

However, it would probably require 5 hefty men to lift and use. If you are a family of four with two kids, it is obvious that having such a device in the house will be of no use whatsoever.

Thirdly, have a clear plan of what should be done in the event of a fire. The emergency response should not be that of panic and mindless shouting. Rather, each and every person should know where the fire escape is and how to access the same.

People should be told not to run on the fire escape and should not complicate the problem by falling off from a height. Once the individual is on the fire escape, he or she should relax and move out.

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How To Tackle Risk Of Fire In Your House? Focus On Safety And Use Technology

November 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Why do fires occur? In most cases, it is caused by carelessness. If you leave your cigar smoldering on your bed, chances are high that your bed will catch fire and you will end up with the house burning down. In the same way, letting kids to handle fire without teaching them basic precautions and protection measures can be very dangerous.

In other cases, the fire is caused by short circuit due to poor quality electrical equipment. You should take steps to protect your house from fire. You should not just focus on preventing the fire and teaching your kids how to handle fire. You should also take steps to reduce spread of fire after it breaks out.

You can opt for fire resistant insulation in the walls to stop the spread of the fire. You can opt for fire resistant wiring that will ensure that the fire does not spread all over the house very quickly.

Further, you should have sufficient protective equipment like an axe to chop the burning object and separate it from the rest of the house, sand buckets that can be used to douse electrical fires and fire extinguishers that use foam and carbon dioxide to extinguish any and every fire without difficulty.

Do not rely on water alone. Alternatives are better and can be setup very easily. In most cases, it only serves to increase the problem. Rather, you can rely on technology and make use of good quality extinguishers to reduce risk of spread of fire in an efficient manner.

If you focus on technological innovations, there is a possibility that you may end up with a serious problem due to lack of planning. The plan will help you use the technological aids to get your family out to safety without any difficulty.

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Protecting Your Home From Fire

October 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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If you’re a homeowner, you want to make sure that your house and your family are protected from harm. One of the ways you can do that is to be sure that you aren’t putting them in any kind of danger from a fire. You can’t always prevent fires, although there are a lot of things you can do to reduce the chances of having one. If a fire does get started, it’s a good idea to have a fire extinguisher in your home. You should also have smoke alarms, and some homes also have sprinkler systems installed, just in case.

Most people don’t go that far, but there are plenty of other things you can do in order to enjoy your home and feel safe in it. It’s a good idea, for example, to keep matches and lighters away from children. You should also be careful that you don’t use your outdoor grill too close to your home, or you can put yourself at risk for fire. Common sense things like that will go a long way toward making sure you don’t have a fire in your home. Sometimes, though, you can’t avoid it. There could be a fire elsewhere, that makes its way to your home. There could also be a lightning strike that could cause a fire.

If you find yourself in a situation like that, make sure you have a plan for getting everyone out safely. Also be sure that you have an agreed-upon spot to meet up, so you won’t get lost – and that’s even more important if you have small children. Don’t go back in the home to retrieve something. You could end up losing your life. It’s better to wait for the fire department to arrive then risk your life over a material item that can be replaced.

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Three Basic Elements of Using Fire Extinguishers

September 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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To many homeowners and renters fire prevention starts and stops with the fire extinguisher. The fact of the matter is that not many people know much about fire extinguishers. In fact, one of the leading causes of house fires and fire damage is contributed to the owner not knowing how to use the fire extinguisher properly. For proper emergency response in case of a fire homeowners and renters should know how to use their extinguishers, what classes of extinguishers there are, and what type of extinguishers there are.

Using a fire extinguisher is actually fairly simple. Many fire safety instructors teach students how to use a fire extinguisher based on the PASS method. Pull the pin, aim at the base of the fire, squeeze slowly, side to side sweeps to put the flame out. The trick with using a fire extinguisher is to practice control during difficult and stressful situations. If the person can remember the simple method of PASS then using the extinguisher will be a piece of cake.

There are several classes of fire extinguishers available. The classes are noted by the letters A,B,C, and D. Class A extinguishers are for wood, paper, and plastic based fires. Class B extinguishers are for liquids like gasoline. Class C fire extinguishers are for use with electrical related fires and D class extinguishers are for chemicals. Knowing which extinguisher is right for the job will also make putting out a fire and using the extinguisher easy.

Finally, fire extinguishers also have a type. There are three main types and they are water, dry chemical, and carbon dioxide extinguishers. Water extinguishers are for only one type of fire. They are only geared for use with Class A fires which are the wood, paper, and plastic based fires. Dry chemical types can be used for either B and C combination classes or ABC combination fires. Carbon Dioxide extinguishers are used for either B or C fires. Knowing how to use the extinguisher, what type, and what class can help save lives during fire emergencies.

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