For safety's sake
PAROMITA PAIN
|
Saving a life is teamwork and to combat fire hazards effectively we must understand the elemental principles of fire.
|
N. Balaji
Understand the principals of fire.
The "Teach The Teachers Workshop On Life Saving Skills, Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Drill", conducted by Mr.K. Jagadish Adapa of the Lifesavers Club, organised at the Padma Sheshadri Bala Bhavan school in Chennai was aimed to teach life saving skills to teachers. A school block, no matter how sturdily built, is susceptible to dangers. In a school, a kitchen is not the only source of fire, as it can happen even in a lab. Adapa began the session saying life saving is teamwork.
Combat fire
Life saving skills remove fear and have no gender or age bias. To combat fire hazards effectively we must understand the elemental principles of fire. Fire spreads because of heated smoke and air travelling upwards and through slid particles in its way. Fire has two stages — the initial and the blaze stages. We must heed the warnings given by natural sensors the skin, which can feel the heat, eyes, which can see it spread, and ears that can hear the sounds it makes. Fire is sustained by fuel, oxygen and heat. So prevention will depend on minimising or eliminating any of these risk factors.
Safety management includes maintenance, knowledge and quality safety products. In a simple demonstration, Adapa showed that fire covered with a thick newspaper goes out since the oxygen supply is cut off. Schools must stock up and keep within reach fire-fighting equipment of quality.
Using the extinguisher
Since stringent government rules now mean that every school must have a fire extinguisher, it is also important to know how to use it. Water Co2 fire extinguishers have water as the agent discharged in the form of long jets for durations of two minutes each. They are for fires involving organic materials like wood, paper and cloth. Meant for one time use only, it has to be recharged for use again. Tilt it and release the safety clip and strike the knob hard. The ISO mark for the Soda Acid Model has been removed because of the operational risks involved. Mechanical foam fire extinguishers has foam as the fire extinguishing agent which puts out fire by cutting off the flow of oxygen and is useful for fires involving petrol, kerosene and paint. This thin and watery foam cools surfaces fast and can be used in organic fires also. At home simple things like switching off computers after use and fans after use prevent outbreaks of fire due to overheating. Fire prevention is everyone's job. The workshop also demonstrated basic first aid techniques. Mr. Adapa believes, trained people will know what to do in a situation while those untrained will run away.
The Lifesavers Club can be contacted at 044 26356112 and 044 26252328
Visit ushafire.com for more information.
* * *
When clothes catch fire:
Do not run. Stop, drop and roll on the ground.
Cover the eyes to protect them from the heat.
* * *
Basic safety rules
Detection
Warning
Communication
Evacuation
Escaping
Security
Do not panic.
* * *
Remember
Water isn't the solution for all fires. If the fire is an oil fire or one which has happened because of petrol, then water should not be used as the oil simply rises to the water surface and continues to burn.
Water is a good conductor of electricity so we cannot use it on electrical fires.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Quest
