Fire Safety Signs – Writings on the Wall Or Not

Fire Safety Signs – Writings on the Wall Or Not

Posting fire safety signs in highly visible, high traffic locations is not aimed to give people a fright. The main objective of these signs is to inform the general public on the wisest action to take in case a crisis takes place. It is a fact that crises do take place, whether it is favoured or not. It is always wise to understand the message of safety signs especially in unfamiliar or new places, and an unwanted incident is unlikely to happen. If they do, that’s the time regrets set in.

There are aspects of fire regulations that are common wherever one goes or ends up. But this is not an excuse to neglect learning the rules and guidelines the locals comply with. Regulations are usually based on the premise of preventing the most likely hazards to happen in a given place or location. The local fire authority is the best person to consult for the details and questions that may not be covered by the guidelines.

The type of firefighting equipment and techniques follow suit since they have to deal with any potential dangers that may be unique to a place.

One set of guideline that clearly applies anywhere in the UK is the information about fire classes. These fire classes provide pertinent information about classes of fires, what fuels them and the chemical reaction that takes place in each, and the corresponding type of fire extinguisher that stops each class of fire.

Class A consists of ordinary combustible and freely burning materials commonly found in plain sight. Such materials are wood, paper products, cloth, rubber, and some plastics. Campfires and fires built to incinerate ordinary household rubbish, lighted match, and wood-burning stove are under this class.

Water is the most common and most ordinary substance that can extinguish Class A fire. Other extinguisher types are foam, dry powder, and wet chemical fire extinguishers.

Petrol, kerosene, grease, and oil are examples of flammable liquids that fuel Class B fires. Water is not a wise choice for putting out this fire class, but instead, may even help spread the fire as these flammable liquids, being lighter, float on water. Foam, dry powder, and carbon dioxide extinguishers are the most effective in combating this fire class.

Fires involving flammable gases like propane and butane are Class C fires. Only the dry powder extinguisher can effectively deal with this fire class.

Fires caused by flammable or combustible metals are designated Class D fires. Examples of such metals include sodium, titanium, magnesium, potassium, steel, uranium, lithium, plutonium, and calcium. Magnesium and titanium fires are the most common. Dry powder extinguisher is the only type that is right and effective in dealing with this fire class. Water and other common firefighting materials can excite metals fires and make them worse.

Class E consists of electrical fires or fires involving potentially energised electrical equipment. This sort of fire may be caused by short-circuiting machinery or overloaded electrical cables. This makes water not only ineffective, but definitely fatal to anyone who will use it to extinguish fires under this class. Powder and carbon dioxide extinguishers are the only electrical fire extinguishers that can be safely used.

Fires involving cooking oil and fat such as olive oil, maize oil, lard and butter are designated under Class F. It can be argued that this class can be a sub-class of Class B and Class C. But the special characteristics of this fire class are considered distinct and special enough to be recognised separately. Saponification, the process that refers to the reaction of a metallic alkali with a fat or oil to form soap, is the means to extinguish this fire class. Wet chemical extinguishers fits that description.

Taking these guidelines to heart leads to being conscious about preventing fires rather than choosing to fight them when they break out. The guidelines presented above can be used as part of a fire risk assessment for anyone in any given business and industry. The Government has taken measures to transfer the responsibilities of fire prevention to the person best suited to deal with it. In the case of business entities, that person is the business owner or employer.

A fire risk assessment can loosely start with determining the materials that are commonly found in the workplace of a company. From this information, the employer can quickly determine the type of fire extinguishers and other fire prevention equipment that are needed to be distributed and installed in his office. The dimensions and physical set-up of his office can provide insights in the best locations to install a fire extinguisher on.

Consider a petrol station as the workplace that an employer wants to prepare and equip with fire extinguishers. Petrol falls under Class B, which, if it catches fire, can be effectively suppressed by a foam fire extinguisher.

The basic provision and siting of extinguishers for Class B is that at least one extinguisher be provided to deal with a given area of fire risk. Another area that is 25 metres away from the first area must be provided its own extinguisher. This provision actually requires the accessibility to an extinguisher that is no more than 25 metres away from the area of potential fire risk. Escape routes, near room exits, corridors, stairways, landings, and lobbies are locations where there must be an extinguisher in each location. But an extinguisher must not be located in areas where extreme temperatures are generated.

The information presented above is not meant to make a professional firefighter out of anyone. But fire fighting is not an exclusive responsibility of firefighters. It takes a good grasp of fire prevention guidelines, knowledge in Government mandates and law regarding fire prevention and a dash of common sense can help everyone deal effectively with accidental fires. Taking action to extinguish accidental fires is not always the best choice. Backing away from blazing and raging fires is also a wise alternative when the situation calls for it. Fighting raging fires is best left to those professionally trained to deal with such. But anyone can still contribute in such crisis by helping people in evacuation, physical support, and administration of first aid to the injured.

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