It doesn’t matter if you are at work, home, school, or any other area – fire safety is incredibly important. This is an issue that can crop up anywhere and if you don’t know how to react in that situation you could end up badly hurt or worse. Here are the top tips that you should keep in mind:
Practice Using Safety Equipment
Like most people you will have probably seen your fair share of fire safety equipment. However, do you really know how to use them? Sure, you may understand the basic mechanisms behind the equipment but have you ever given it a try?
The first time that you handle Ansul CO2 extinguishers shouldn’t be during a real fire. Rather, you should have had some practice before. Speak to your local fire department to see if they have any courses that you can take to show you what to do. Perhaps you can get them to give you a quick demonstration so that you know what to do in an emergency.
Know How to Tackle Various Fires
Most people don’t realize that there are different types of fires as they are caused by a variety of elements. Class A fires are caused by wood, paper, or fabric. These can be put out with a steady stream of water.
Class B fires are the result of flammable gases or liquids and Class C fires are caused by an electric element. These fires can be put out with BC fire extinguishers, although most extinguishers are designed to work. Class D fires are caused by flammable metals and need to be extinguished with dry powder agents. These fires are most likely in laboratories, however.
Make a Note of Equipment and Exits
Get into the habit of taking note of the fire exits and equipment every time that you enter a building. You can even jot down these details on your phone. This way, in the event of an emergency, you won’t waste any time and know exactly where to head to.
Now, this can seem like overkill but you can never know when such a precaution can save your life. You may want to do this when entering older buildings or an arena that will be filled with a lot of people. Fires are most likely to start in such areas.
Pay Attention to Alarms
When it comes to fire alarms, there can be plenty of false alarms. At times, you may not want to respond as you are tired of heading outside every time you hear them. Nevertheless, you should always pay attention to the alarms. You can never tell when the alarm is genuine and you shouldn’t take the chance to assume that it isn’t.
If you are with a group of people, encourage them to respond to the alarms each time as well. One day you will be glad that you took this precaution.
These are the top tips that you should follow to ensure proper fire safety. Once you know how to handle yourself you can have peace of mind wherever you go.
