FIRE & SAFETY

Fire

Fire starts when a combustible material is ignited in the presence of air or O2.

Fuel + Air + Temperature = FIRE

Take one factor away and there will be no fire.

Ways of Extinguishing fire

Starvation - Removal of fuel

   By removing fuel from the neighborhood of fire

   By removing fire from the neighborhood of fuel

   By subdividing the burning materials

Smothering - Removal of O2 or air

   By completely cutting off the supply of O2 or air to the fire (Blanketing)

   By reducing the contents of O2

   By sudden blast (use of explosives)

Cooling

   Removal of temperature Use of water

Different agents to fight fire

1. Foam

2. Dry Powder

3. Carbon dioxide

4. Carbon Tetrachloride

5. Methyl Bromide

6. Steam

7. Sand

8. Blanketing

9. Cooling (Water)

Types of Fire and the Extinguishing agents

1. A Class (Wood, Cotton etc.)   -  Water

2. Liquid Fire

    Heavier than water and non-miscible with water ex. oils   -  Water, Powder & Steam

    Miscible with water ex. alcohol   -   Special type of water resistant foam, Dry powder

3. Gas Fire  -  Dry powder, Steam, CO2

4. Electrical Fire  -  Dry powder, CO2, CCl4

Fire Extinguishers

1. Soda Acid type   -  for A Class fire

2. Foam type  -  for oil fire

3. CO2 type  -  for electrical fire

4. Dry Powder type  -  for all fires

5. CTC type  -  for automobile, electrical fires

The general principles of prevention Regulation 5(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 1993 provides that where employers are taking the measures necessary to protect employees, they must take into account the nine General Principles of Prevention specified in the First Schedule to the Regulations. These nine General Principles have been taken directly from the 1989 ‘Framework’ EC Directive on safety and health at work. Since they are the basis for the approach in the many detailed EC Directives on safety and health at work, they provide a useful checklist by which an organisation can judge its approach.

The nine principles are as follows:

1. Avoid risks - not all risks can be avoided, but avoidance should be aimed for.

2. Evaluate unavoidable risks - this is clearly central to an effective Safety Statement.

3. Combat risks at source - an example would be engineering out high noise levels as a solution to the risk of noise-induced hearing loss.

4. Adapt work to the individual with a view to alleviating monotonous work and work at a predetermined rate - the need to combat stress and the detailed requirements on VDU work are an example of how this can be implemented.

5. Adapt to technical progress - employers must keep up to date with published information on safety and health, including complying with new Regulations as well as new technical standards and information in trade publications.

6. Replace the dangerous by the non-dangerous, for example, in relation to chemicals.

7. Develop a policy which takes account of technology, organisation of work, working conditions, social factors and the influence of the overall working environment

8. Give collective protective measures priority over individual protective measures, e.g. PPE as a last resort only.

9. Give appropriate training and instruction to employees - traditionally, training has been seen as primarily for the lowest levels of an organisation. However, it has been shown that, as in other areas, training in safety and health issues needs to be aimed at all levels of an organisation, from senior management down.

GENERAL SAFETY RULES

Safety Signs

The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 explain the minimum requirements for the provision of safety signs at work. The regulations also standardise signs so that workers are not confused by different signs denoting different hazards on different worksites. Signs are intended to supplement proper risk assessment and control NOT to replace it.

Signboards should be sufficiently large and clear so that they can be easily seen and understood. You should not use too many signboards in close proximity as there is a danger that important information will be overlooked or confused.