Take precautions, avoid fire mishaps in summer

Follow certain norms and tips to avert damage to life and property from fire accidents

Hyderabad: With summer around, it is time to remain alert and take adequate timely precautions to avert damage to property and human life resulting from fire mishaps.

The foremost thing to do for the occupants of any property is to clean up all unnecessary combustible material and garbage kept within and outside the house.

“Combustible material like paper, cloth, wood, paints, LPG cylinders and plastic is usually stocked in buildings and it poses a higher risk. As a first priority, it should be discarded since it poses the risk of fire spreading rapidly,” said V Papaiah, Regional Fire Officer, Telangana.

Another point to be remembered is that one should see that mounds of garbage is cleared from the premises and vicinities as a carelessly thrown cigarette butt could cause fire unexpectedly and spread to the neighbouring premises. “Care must be taken to see that cars and motorcycles are not parked near the trash bins or garbage dumps in the localities or commercial areas,” the official added.

The fire officials point out that these days, many multi-storeyed buildings have a high ‘fire load” — meaning a lot of wooden material in the form of furniture, furnishings and other inflammable material. “To handle any crisis, all the building floors should have firefighting equipment and in the run up to the summer, fire extinguishers, heat detectors, fire hydrant pipeline and other equipment should be thoroughly examined to avoid failure when they are needed the most,” explained K Sreenivas Reddy, District Fire Officer, Hyderabad.

It is also important to check the electrical switch boards/ applicances in the buildings to prevent overheating and short circuits in the switch boards leading to fire.

“Generally, several appliances are plugged on to the same electrical outlet. This leads to heating up of the outlet and increasing the possibility of starting a fire. More often than not, electrical short-circuiting leads to a fire and feeds the inflammable materials stored nearby,” he said.

Security personnel in the establishments play a vital role in containing fire at the initial stage so it is necessary for occupants of any buildings to have security personnel trained in basic firefighting techniques. Otherwise, the building owners can ask the Fire Department personnel to visit the buildings, and show and explain to them the basics of firefighting to be done before the fire personnel reach the spot.

This apart, the fire officials suggest that the staircases should be cleared off furniture, paper or other blockages so as to facilitate quick exit of people in case of a fire mishap.

Tips for fire safety

1. Learn to use a fire extinguisher.
2. Educate residents/ staff on fire safety and be aware of the fire station near your premises. Post stickers on emergency numbers.
3. Never block the fire exits, sprinklers or any fire equipment.
4. Prohibit smoking in storerooms and ensure there is a separate smoking zone.
5. Practice good housekeeping in order to avoid proper disposal of waste.
6. Ensure the machinery is properly maintained to avoid overheating.
7. Report electrical hazards and attend to any malfunctioning machinery quickly.

Common causes of fire at offices/industries

• Non-compliance of safety norms and non-renewal of safety licences
• Poor infrastructure with obsolete fire safety equipment
• Lack of preparation including non-up gradation of skills by firemen
• Stocking of combustible dust and flammable liquids and gasses
• Faulty equipment and heating
• Electrical fire due to short circuit

Evacuation plan

• All buildings must have an evacuation plan
• All escape routes should be clear without any clutter
• All fire exits must be clearly marked
• Ensure enough exits to safely evacuate all people inside the premises
• A safe meeting point for all the staff
• Ensure fire exits are friendly for the differently-abled

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