Although knowing how to fight fires and use fire extinguishers is important, the best tool in fighting fires is fire prevention. If you can take the right steps to avoid the dangers of fire and spot the signs early, you’re much less likely to be involved in a serious incident.
Fire prevention ranges from knowing how to install smoke alarms to calling emergency services and knowing emergency numbers. It also includes knowing where particular fire hazards are and how to minimize these hazards so that fires can be prevented.
Here’s a guide to the best fire prevention tools and techniques to protect your home and workplace.
Smoke alarms and smoke detectors
Smoke alarms (or smoke detectors) are one of the best ways to detect fires early, thus preventing serious fires from occurring. They are particularly good for fires that can break out at night, which can be silent killers with deadly smoke and gases.
Make sure you have smoke detectors installed on all floors of your home and in regular locations at work in accordance with accepted national safety standards (BS 5839 in the UK).
You should also install a carbon monoxide detector, which can detect the deadly gas produced by fires and hidden electrical burns, and more commonly, gas leaks from boilers and equipment.
All detectors should be tested regularly to make sure they are working and the batteries in the cheaper standard detectors should be replaced once a year. Better yet would be detectors powered by the mains or with a 10-year lithium battery.
kitchens and garages
Although you might think that smoke alarms should be in places where fires are likely to start, such as kitchens, it’s actually a bad idea to have “smoke” alarms in the kitchen or garage, as they can easily be activated by cooking and fumes because exhausted.
Instead, install heat detectors in these two areas, as they respond to rapid increases in temperature and will stop nuisance alarms.
Always make sure you can hear alarms where you sleep; if you can’t, install more and use other interconnectable ones. Also, locate ceiling-mounted alarms away from any walls or vertexes, as wall-mounted alarms will not adequately detect smoke or fumes.
Keep flammable materials and products safe
Keeping hazardous or flammable materials safe is extremely important, especially when children are around. Matches and lighters should be completely out of the reach of children, and flammable liquids or materials should not be near open flames or places where heat could catch fire.
Also, never leave appliances on while you’re away from home, such as stoves, stoves, or heaters, as they could start a fire.
Fire prevention is a constant concern and you should be aware of potential fire hazards in your home or at work. If you see something that could be a risk, address it immediately, as you never know when that potential hazard could become a real problem.
As long as you are aware of potential hazards, you will help prevent fires from starting and keep people safe.
Have all the necessary fire fighting equipment
Not all fire prevention is about stopping fires before they start. Fire prevention can also mean dealing with problems quickly before they become major incidents. With this in mind, it’s important to have a variety of firefighting equipment to use.
This includes fire extinguishers and fire blankets and also having an escape plan so that people can get to safety and call the emergency services for help before things get out of control.
And when considering fire extinguishers, do you really think businesses need big extinguishers and homes need small extinguishers? Be royal and be as big as you can afford and make sure they are on every floor.
Fire prevention is perhaps even more important than fire suppression, especially within the domestic environment. If you can prevent serious fires from happening in the first place by having proper detection devices and staying alert, then your home or workplace will remain safe for everyone who occupies it.