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Deal with a fire

MANAGEMENT

Fires in Buildings
During a fire the occupants of a building are exposed to two main hazards; one is the exposure to the flames and radiant heat from the fire itself.  This hazard is confined to a small area in the vicinity of the fire and the danger decreases rapidly as the distance from the fire increases.  The second hazard, and the more dangerous of the two, comes from the smoke and toxic gases given off by the fire.  Most fire deaths are caused by the inhalation of hot smoke or toxic gases, or both, and the danger from this hazard is present at considerable distances from the fire itself.

Even relatively small fires produce large quantities of smoke and gases.  These products of combustion obscure the vision, often to the point that visibility is reduced to practically zero.  In this situation, occupants familiar with their surroundings often experience great difficulty in locating means of egress.  This problem is compounded for occasional visitors to the premises.

Although the modern building is constructed largely from incombustible materials, there is a tendency to divide floor areas with partitions of light construction which may be highly combustible.  Added to this, most of the furnishings are combustible and when burning will give off large quantities of smoke and toxic gases.

An appreciation of fire safety awareness should be developed by all personnel.  All personnel should take part in training in the following fire prevention and fire safety procedures at least once a year.

• Procedure in the event of fire.
• Uses and methods of operation of all installed fire equipment, including portable fire extinguishers.
• Common causes of fire and the factors necessary for combustion.
• Fire exit drill procedure and emergency evacuation action.

Gases
The term gas describes the physical state of a substance which has no shape or volume of its own but will take the shape and occupy the entire volume of the container or confined space it occupies.  The properties and behaviour of gases can be understood only with the knowledge that gas is composed of extremely minute particles in constant motion.  The higher the temperature the more violent is this motion.

The toxicity of a gas may be a serious hazard if released into the atmosphere and, more particularly, in a confined space a severe life hazard may develop.  The main hazard of allowing the escape of flammable gases into the atmosphere is that a flammable or explosive mixture with air may be produced.  This flammable mixture may be carried away from the original release point for quite considerable distances, creating a severe fire or explosion risk over a large area.  For this reason it is important that a fire involving a flammable gas should not be extinguished unless the flow of a gas can be shut off either by closing the cylinder valve or by plugging the leak.  Cylinders involved in a fire should be kept cool by the application of water sprays by personnel behind cover.  Gas fires can be extinguished by excluding the air with a suitable extinguisher, ie. CO 2, dry powder or fire blanket.

All cylinders, whether containing a flammable gas or not, should be removed promptly to a safe place if threatened by fire.  On arrival of the brigade the officer-in-charge must be notified of the position, nature and number of cylinders that have not been removed.   Do not move any cylinder that is involved with fire or that has been heated.

Plastics
Plastics is a general term embracing a large range of  materials which, at some stage of their manufacture, are plastic, or pliable, and can be shaped by the application of heat or pressure or both.  These materials retain a stable shape and form at normal temperatures.

Some of the hazards associated with plastics manufacture are - the solvents and intermediates, which are quite often flammable liquids or gases; moulding powders, which may be highly flammable; and process risks, which include static electricity, flammable dust generation, catalytic reactions, heating and high-pressure moulding.

Whilst most plastics fires can be extinguished by using water in the form of a fog or spray, some raw materials, eg styrene, aniline and chloroethylene, can only be extinguished by carbon dioxide, dry powder, or foam.  Cellulose nitrate (celluloid) may be hard to extinguish because of high oxygen content of the celluloid material.

Certain plastics, particularly the foamed plastics, ie polystyrene and the whole of the acrylic group, will burn readily and give off dense toxic smoke in large quantities.  Therefore, with a fire involving plastics, it is essential that unless the fire can be extinguished quickly, evacuation of the whole area must be carried out immediately.

Rubber
Rubber ignites fairly easily and burns readily, emitting intense heat and giving off quantities of dense smoke.  The formation of gas bubbles in the resultant molten mass, and the fact that in stacks of tyres or stacks of bulk rubber there is much air space that is difficult to reach, make rubber fires hard to extinguish.  The most satisfactory method of extinguishment is to use high-pressure water jets or fog, attacking the fire from as many directions as possible.  Fires involving small quantities of rubber can be extinguished more easily by smothering with sand or earth, water spray or the use of a suitable fire extinguisher.

Radio Active Materials
Radio-active substances have many uses today for industrial, medical and research purposes and it is essential that personnel are thoroughly familiar with the requirements set down by various state and local authorities in order to promote safe working conditions for personnel using radio-active materials.

Since radio-activity is not detectible by any of the human senses, special instruments and techniques are required to identify and evaluate any potential hazard.  Therefore, fire control must be thoroughly planned.

Protection against fire of the article containing the radio-active source is essential and extreme care must be exercised to prevent the release or loss of control of these materials due to a fire or during fire fighting operations.

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storage and handling of compressed gas cylinders

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