Fire accidents and Fire Control steps

In my earlier post dated 25.5.2012 , I have written about the origin and effects of Earthquakes and the Steps to be taken during earthquakes with the link given below:

http://svsaibaba.blogspot.in/2012/05/safety-steps-to-be-taken-during.html

In this post, I have covered about Fire accidents and steps to be taken to control fire:

Fire in another disaster which occurs every day in some place and causes severe consequences  in respect of loss of life and loss of properties etc. In many Fire disaster cases, it is always reported that the fire has occurred due to negligence of the occupants of the building in strictly following the steps required to avoid such disasters. In many cases , the Fire disaster takes place in high raised Apartments, Buildings without fire fighting equipment, buildings with improper/damaged electric wire connections etc and by the time the Fire men arrives most of the materials in the building is either completely or partly bunt out and in many cases loss of life of human beings and animals also happen.  


In this post, I have covered  about the causes of fire disasters and the steps to be taken to avoid to control the fire for creating awareness among the public especially for persons living in high raised apartments and persons working in Computerised environment.

Causes of fire accidents

•   Carelessly discarded smoking materials
•   Faulty electrical equipment/wiring
•   Misuse of different types of heaters
•   Over heating of equipment
•   Spontaneous combustion (Direct Heat)
•   Welding and cutting equipment
•   Careless disposal of waste papers, combustible material etc.
•   Casual attitude of workers & employees in the pantry and canteens
•   Ignorance of Fire safety/Prevention.

Steps to be taken for avoid/control Fire accidents:

• Ø  Functioning and operation of fire safety devices like Fire Extinguisher has to be explained to the residents of high raised buildings/employees  in offices through periodical training.

                                           

                                                    Fire Extinguisher

• Ø  Comprehensive fire & emergency instructions have to be displayed at a prominent location.

Ø  Fire alarm system is to be installed.

Ø  Smoke detectors are to be provided in the server room and other areas of computer installations and are tested regularly to ensure their working condition.

                                  

                                              Smoke Detector

Ø  An evacuation plan is to be documented and rehearsed at regular intervals for taking immediate action in case of outbreak of fire for e.g., in multi storied buildings and commercial complexes.

Ø  Emergency exits have to be provided in the building with prominent sign boards above the exits for e.g., in multi storied buildings and commercial complexes.

   Preventive Measures to protect the Computer Systems from fire:

a.  Combustible materials and computer supplies such as stationery should not be kept inside the server room – should be kept at a safe distance.


b.   Electricity supply to systems must be wired with standard cabling, sealed with proper grounding / earthing. All loose ends in wires should be covered with seals or with insulated tapes. All electrical cables should be housed in conduits duly fastened and loose wires should not be hanging. Temporary wiring is prone to hazards and should not be allowed. Electrical cables used for wiring to be fire proof or fire retardant.

     All Electrical Installations, fittings, cables etc. have to be tested for preventing electrical short circuits once in three months. To confirm the same, the services of a qualified electrician can be availed. Use of extension boards must be avoided. Only three pin plugs should be used. Electrical components should be with BIS certification.

c. Electrical installations / plug points intended for computer systems should not be used for other electrical equipments / devices like fans, emergency lights etc and no extra load over the capacity should be added in UPS connections.

                                                   

 d.UPS and batteries must be kept outside the server rooms in a separate enclosure.     

                                                                                                       

   


   Power supply must be routed through UPS with necessary arrangement for automatic switchover to UPS in the case of power failure. Where there is a three-phase connection, UPS with Automatic Phase Selector is to be provided. 
     
     Supply to UPS must be direct from the main supply. The power supply through UPS must be tested periodically for input, output, voltage and load.

e.    Wherever systems are exposed to high voltage fluctuations, suitable voltage stabilizers may be installed. The use of spike busters or circuit breakers may also be explored depending upon the nature of voltage fluctuation

f.      System rooms must have only essential computer items like servers, routers, modems. Peripheral devices such as printers etc should not be kept inside the server room. Inflammable materials must not be kept near the computer site. 

g.     Portable Fire Extinguishers must be installed at proximate places in the branch and all the staff members must be trained to operate the same.  The fire extinguishers must be serviced at periodical intervals and the date on which the last servicing activity was carried out indicated suitably on the equipment.

h.   All systems including computers, accessories, networking equipments, AC, UPS etc must be properly insured for full value covering all natural events and theft and must include the Electronic Equipment Policy clauses also. Wherever the systems are under warranty or AMC, the terms of contract must be properly complied with. 

i.      Periodic Fire fighting drills must be conducted at all strategic locations and teams to handle such occurrences must be formed besides imparting general knowledge and awareness to the people present.

j.      Contact numbers of staff must be made available with important customers in the neighbourhood for contact in case of exigency. The contact numbers of important service personnel viz., Fire Service Station, Police Station, Electricity Helpline, hospitals must be prominently displayed . 

Training

All residents in the buildings/staff in offices to  be trained in taking appropriate action to be taken for emergencies like a fire breakout.  


The training will cover areas like:

• Raising alarm;
• Emergency measures;
• Using fire-fighting equipment;
• Evacuation procedures etc.
• Periodic drills (at least once every year) to  be conducted to maintain the state of readiness among the staff in fighting emergencies and disasters and the details of the training conducted along with list of participants to be kept.

Fire safety checklist

• Keep the area clean
• Watch the storing systems
• Ensure no inflammable fuel around the switch boards
• Proper and identifiable circuit breakers
• Proper marking of exit routes and doors
• Unobstructed exit routes and doors
• Proper size of exit points
• Opening system of emergency/fire exists
• Location of fire extinguishers

Do’s & don’ts

 Do’s

ü  Raise alarm (short fire-fire).  Inform one and all

ü  Press fire alarm button by breaking the glass

ü  Call administration, reception and security

ü  Keep to the right hand of staircases and in passageways

ü  Move any obstructions to one side

ü  Shut off power

ü  Use fire extinguisher if time permits

ü  Work as per the Evacuation plan.

ü  Crawl and evacuate heat smoke and gas will be less at lower levels

ü  Use wet handkerchief to cover face and nose

ü  Report to assembly area for head count

ü  Make sure the door closes tightly behind you

ü  If you need assistance with children, disabled elderly people. Please advise security personnel.

ü  Continue to leave the building even if the fire alarm stops

ü  Once outside the building give any information about those still inside to the fire fighting staff/security staff

ü  In case trapped – shout for help

 Don’ts

ý  Do not panic – keep cool – think.

ý  Do not exert – you will inhale excessive smoke

ý  Do not go to washroom/cloak room

ý  Do not use elevator/lifts on the event of a fire.  Proceed to the Staircase and move down

ý  Do not waste valuable time by gathering personal belongings/valuables

ý  Avoid touching any lights, fans or electrical fittings

ý  Do not congregate in the lobby areas or just outside of the exit doors

ý  Do not obstruct the entrance of the building

ý  Do not attempt to jump out of a window or to climb onto ledges

ý  Do not break windows on upper floors unless vital for survival because glass may injure those below

ý  The lift doors should not be opened by force