Safety Fire Precaution You Should Know.

 

Fire is the composition of heat, fuel, and oxygen in their rightful proportions. Heat refers to anything hot, fuel refers to anything solid, liquid, or gas that can catch fire, whereas oxygen refers to the air we breathe in. According to the Ghana National FireService, fire can only occur when these three components mentioned above are in their rightful propositions.

To know what kind of fire extinguisher to use during a fire outbreak, you should know the classes of fires. Below are the five classes of fires;

Class A fires; are known as combustible solids. Anything solid that can catch fire. For example, houses, books, dresses, etc.

Class B fires; are known as combustible liquids. Anything liquid that can catch fire. For example, diesel, petrol, kerosene, 

Class C fires; are known as combustible gases. Anything gaseous that can catch fire, for example, liquified petroleum gas we use at home every day, methane, propane, etc.

Class D fires; are known as combustible metals. Anything metallic that can burn though, metal fires are rare, but it is still important to know it. Metals that can catch fire include aluminum, copper, and zinc. 

Class E fires; are known as electric fires. For example, fires from faulty electrical appliances, poor wiring, etc.

CAUSES OF FIRE OUTBREAK

The Ghana National Fire Service has categorized causes of fire outbreaks into four main acts and they include;

Logo of the Ghana National Fire Service

Carelessness: careless behaviors which cause fire outbreaks include illegal connections, the use of faulty electrical gadgets, and the use of old and rusty cylinders…etc. We need to take to run regular checks on our appliances to make sure they are in good condition before we use them.

Ignorance: There is a saying that ignorance is bigger than knowledge which means that what we don’t know is always bigger than what we know. This is why we have to take every opportunity we get to learn something new. For instance,knowing that overloading an electrical socket, cooking while making calls, and filling your gas cylinder to the brim among others can cause fire will save you and your household from fireaccidents.

Accidents: accidents are part of our daily lives, even though we cannot decide when and how they occur, we can control their effects with the necessary knowledge. Fires are one of the daily accidents we can control if one knows what to do at the early stage. For instance, if two moving vehicles collide, they might catch fire if heat, fuel, and oxygen are in their rightful propositions so it is advisable that all drivers should have at least a 3kg/4kg fire distinguisher in their cars. Households should also have fire alarms and extinguishers in case of emergencies. 

Arson: this refers to an intentional act to cause a fire outbreak.

SOME TYPES OF FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AND WHEN TO USE THEM      

         

  This is how a fire extinguisher looks like

CO2: the CO2 fire extinguisher normally has a black color around the whole colored red extinguisher or the whole extinguisher is black in color. It is usually used in the kitchen or bedrooms because its content is not harmful as compared to other types. This can be used for Class A, B, and C fires.

Dry Chemical Powder: this type of fire extinguisher contains a powder-like substance that is used to fight fire however, the substance is harmful so precautionary measures like wearing a nose mask are advised when using it. This can be used for class A, B, and C fires.

Water: This type of fire extinguisher contains water and can be used to fight class A fires

Form: the content in this type of fire extinguisher is foamy and used to fight class A, B, C, and D fires. Note that all kinds of fire extinguishers are used at the early stages of fire to mitigate the source however, call the emergency number of the Ghana National Fire Service.