LC6 Fire Prevention and Safety

1
LC6 Fire Prevention and Safety

• LC Ewan Galloway
• Edinburgh District
• Northern Area

2
Objectives

• By the end of this lesson you should be able to
• Know what a Fire is
• Types of fire
• Fire Triangle
• Fire Drills

3
What is FIRE

• Fire is a chemical reaction known as combustion
  which occurs when fuel and oxygen are bought
  together with sufficient heat to cause ignition

4
The Elements

• There are three elements, which must be in
  contact beofre a fire can be started.
• Heat
• Fuel
• O2

5
The Fire Triangle

• We use a fire to represent the way in which they
  come together.

O2
HEAT
Chemical Reaction!
FUEL
6
Fuel

• Fuel can be either solid paper, wood, etc or
  liquid petrol, oil which when heated gives of
  flammable vapours.
• Fuel can also be in the form of gas, which starts
  to burn when its ignition temperature is reached.

7
Heat

• Heat can be transferred by
• Radiation from any heating appliance, flames or
  explosion
• Conduction through any suitable material such as
  steel, aluminium or even walls and floors
• Connection through gases, liquids or hot air
  circulating via passages, stairs, wells etc

8
Oxygen

• A supply of this gas, which is essential for
  combustion to take place, is available in the air.

9
Extinguishing a Fire

• There are three main ways we can extuingish a
  fire
• 1) We can put a fire out by starving it of its
  fuel
• 2) Another method is cooling the fire
• 3) To remove the oxygen would be to smother the
  fire.

10
Types of Fire

• Class A Fire
• Freely burning fires fuelled by ordinary
  materials such as cloth, paper and wood.
• These can be found in most places i.e home, work
  and school

11
Types of Fire (cont.)

• Class B Fire
• Fires fuelled by flammable liquids such as oils,
  spirits, petrol, greases and fats.
• Kitchens, boiler houses, and spirit stores are
  among the main danger areas.

12
Types of Fire (cont.)

• Class C Fire
• Fires fuelled by flammable gases such as propane,
  butane and north sea gas.

13
Types of Fire (cont.)

• Class E Fire
• Electrical hazards, it is important that the
  power supply is disconnected before you attempt
  to fight the fire.
• This type of fire can be found in most places.

14
Types of Fire Extinguishers

• 9 Litre Gas/Water
• Coloured Red in writing,
• Holds 9 litres of Water
• Used for fires involving wood,paper,cloth
• Never to be used on electrical fires involving
  flammable liquids

15
Types of Fire Extinguishers (cont.)

• 9 Litre AFFF (Aqueous Film Forming Foam)
• Coloured Red with Cream band, White Writing
• 8.6 litres of Water and 0.4 litres of AFFF
• Used on fires involving flammable liquids, paper,
  wood and cloth
• Works by forming a blanket of foam over the fire
  and starving it of oxygen (smothering)

16
Types of Fire Extinguishers (cont.)

• Dry Powder Extinguisher
• Coloured Red with Blue band, White Writing
• Used on all fires however when used on flammable
  liquid fires it must be backed by a foam
  extinguisher as the dry powder does not have a
  cooling effect!

17
Types of Fire Extinguishers (cont.)

• CO2
• Coloured Red with a Black band,
• used on electrical fires, and gaseous fires and
  flammable liquid fires.
• Never hold the extinguisher on any other part
  except the handle as this can cause dry ice burns.

18
How to use a Fire Extinguisher

• Remember PASS
• Pull the Pin
• Aim the extinguisher nozzle at the base of flames
• Squeeze the trigger while holding the
  extinguisher upright
• Sweep the extinguisher side to side covering the
  area of the fire with the extinguishing agent.

19
Basic Fire Prevention

• Electrical Equipment
• All electrical equipment should be checked
  regularly
• Appliances should be switched off when not in
  use, never leave an iron on etc.
• Smoking
• Smoking should only take place where safe to do
  so.
• Never smoke near a fuel source or in bed
• Do not empty ash trays until 30 minutes after
  smoking has taken place

20
Basic Fire Prevention (cont.)

• Cooking
• Cookers should be positioned well away from any
  combustible materials
• Never leave a cooker unattended, especially if
  frying.
• In General
• Keep all areas tidy, loose gear left laying
  around can catch fire easily.
• All paints, oils etc should be kept away form
  sources of heat
• Do not dry clothes etc on electric heaters or on
  open fires
• DO NOT! Leave matches or lighters where young
  children can get them!

21
Fire Drills

• Discovering a Fire
• Do not tackle the fire unless ordered.
• No Cadet is to be allowed to tackle the fire.
• Leave the room and close all doors behind.
• Raise the Alarm.
• On Hearing the Fire Alarm
• Leave by the nearest exit straight away.
• Do not re-enter to pick up any belongings.
• Do not run.
• Muster at the Muster Point.
• Roll call will be taken.
• Do NOT! Re-enter the building until safe to do so.