Fire

Fire– General Precautions

Preparedness and Preventive Measures

• Always remember—heat, Oxygen, and fuel are three critical materials that cause fire. Precautionary measures to avoid contact between these three materials significantly help reduce the risk of fire.

• Get your house, building, commercial complexes and premises fire audited by concerned authorities for their compliance with fire safety standards.

• Check your house, building, and premises regularly for possible hazards and fire-risk-causing circumstances. If any potential hazards or risks are observed, report them immediately to the concerned authorities so that necessary actions can be taken in advance.

• Ensure you are trained to face different emergencies, provide first aid, and use a fire extinguisher according to the type of fire.

• If possible, ensure smoke alarms are fitted in the house or buildings. Keep checking to see if they are functional.

• Try to make your residential building, office premises, etc. ‘No Smoking’ zones. If necessary, create a separate smoking area.

• Be familiar with the exit routes in public and common buildings. Ensure that the exit routes /staircases are free of any obstructions.

• Ensure that there is enough open space and wide roads available in and around your home and office premises to facilitate the easy access and movement of emergency vehicles.

• Mark exit routes in the residential area and office premises and keep fire-fighting equipment available according to the fire risk.

• Ensure your house and office premises have a first aid kit and fire extinguishers are placed at every segment.

• Do not leave any open fire unattended. It may spread widely if not extinguished immediately.

• Do not accumulate old newspapers or combustible materials in your house or office.

• Do not burn waste, dry leaves or vegetation. Always dispose of through appropriate municipal channels.

• Do not unnecessarily store flammable liquids or any other combustible material in the house, especially near loose electric wires.

• Always keep matches and lighters locked away from children.

• Do not keep papers, clothes and flammable liquids near heaters/stoves/open chulhas.

• Keep LPG gas stoves on a raised platform; do not keep them on the floor.

• Turn off the gas cylinder valve and knob of the gas stove after cooking.

• Don’t throw matches, cigarette butts, etc., in wastebaskets, in dry grass or near wood material.

• Don’t place oil lamps, agarbattis or candles on wooden floors or near combustible material.

• Don’t wear loose, flowing and synthetic clothes while cooking.

• Never reach for any article over a fire. It can immediately catch fire.

• Constantly evaluate your premises’ electric load requirement and ensure that the power company supplies electricity accordingly. This will help avoid heating due to overload.

• Use standard electrical appliances, switches, fuses, etc., to prevent fire from electrical short circuits. Also, ensure enough Earth-leakage Circuit Breakers (ELCBs) to prevent short circuits.

• Check for loose electrical connections regularly. Do not run electric wires or cords under carpets or in congested areas.

• Switch off electrical appliances after use and remove plugs from the socket.

• Switch off the ‘Mains’ electric switch of the house when leaving home for a long duration.

• Don’t plug too many electrical appliances into one socket.

• Ensure that there are no major electrical installations near day-to-day usage areas.

In Case of a fire:

• Do not panic. Stay calm. Do not shout and run in fear.

• In case of fire, dial 101 to call the Fire Service department. Raise emergency alarms to inform people in
  the surrounding area.

• Immediately unplug all electrical appliances.

• Try to extinguish the fire with available equipment.

• Exit immediately towards a safer place if the fire is out of control.

• Do not go back to collect your possessions.

• Keep watching the fire from a safer distance until help arrives from the fire service department and brief
  the fire response team once they arrive at the site.

If you are trapped by a fire:

• Stay close to the floor if smoke permeates your location.

• Before opening the door, check it for heat.

• Use the back of your hand to test the temperature at the top of the door, the knob and the frame before opening. If it is hot, do not open it.

• If you are unable to escape through a door, use a window. However, if it is too high to jump from a window, try to attract attention by waving something.

• If you can leave the room, Crawl low along the floor.

• If your clothes catch fire, drop to the ground and roll to extinguish flames.

• If trapped, lie down or sit near the floor. Curtail smoke’s entry into the room; look for the exit.

• Place a wet cloth under the doors to stop the smoke from spreading.

• Use a damp cloth to cover your mouth to filter inhalation. Breathe through a wet cloth.

• If clothes catch fire, STOP, DROP and ROLL.

• In case of an uncontrolled fire, wrap the victim in a blanket till the fire ceases.

• In case of burn injuries due to fire, pour water over the burn until the pain subsides.

In case you Hear the Fire Alarm:

• Immediately leave the premises using the nearest available exit.

• Close all doors and windows behind you only if it confirms that no person is left behind.

• Do not use lifts. Use staircases.

• On arrival of the fire service, help them to help you.

• Give way to fire engines to enable them to reach the spot quickly.

• Don’t Park your vehicles close to fire hydrants/underground static water tanks.

• Guide firemen to water sources nearby you i.e. tube wells, ponds, static tanks, etc.

Don’ts

• Don’t burn crackers in crowded, congested places, narrow lanes or inside the house.

• Don’t cover crackers with tin containers or glass bottles for extra sound effects.

• Avoid long loose clothes, as they can quickly catch fire.

• Don’t dispose of lighted cigarette ends carelessly.

• Don’t remove burnt clothing unless it comes off easily.

• Don’t apply adhesive dressing on the burnt area.