Fire Safety

Portable Fire Extinguisher

Know Your Limits

In the hands of a properly trained person, a fire extinguisher can save lives and protect property. Extinguishers are designed to extinguish or contain small fires.Even against fires that have limits.

• The extinguisher must be of the proper class.
• Must be large enough. Most extinguishers discharge in seconds.
• The extinguisher must be operable and within reach.
• The operator must know how to use the extinguisher.

Classes of Fire

The extinguisher you use must be matched to the type of the material that's burning. Materials fall into three basic classes:

• Type A: Ordinary combustibles, such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber, and many plastics.
• Type B: Flammable liquids, such as gasoline, oil, grease, tar, oil-based paint, lacquer, and flammable gas
• Type C: Energized electrical equipment, including wiring, fuse box, circuit breakers, machinery, and appliances.

Fight or Flight?

Before you use extinguisher:

1. Make sure the fire alarm has been activated.
2. Know how to properly use the extinguisher.
3. Be sure someone has called 9191.
4. Make sure of the proper type of extinguisher.
5. Keep your backto a safe exit.
6. Remember Safety First.
7. If in doubt close the door and leave.

P.A.S.S the test

• Pull the pin.
• Aim low: Point the extinguisher nozzle (or its horn) at the base of the fire.
• Squeeze the handle: This releases the extinguishing agent.
• Sweep from side to side: Keep the extinguisher aimed at the base of the fire and sweep back and forth until it appears to be out. Watch the fire area. If fire breaks out again, repeat the process.

In Case of Fire:

If fire occurs, your actions can make difference between a minor fire and a disaster.

• Close the door to the fire area.
• Activate the fire alarm.
• Call 9191 and report the fire.
• Evacuate from the building. DO NOT USE TYHE ELEVATOR.
• Stay low in smoke (crawl).
• Use the extinguisher only if you are trained to do so.

Always keep your extinguisher unobstructed. Report discharged, damaged, or missing extinguishers to the Environmental Health and Safety at 6912.

Useful Documents

Learn the National Fire Protection Association's Chemical Hazard Labels

Chemicals are a part of our everyday life, but not all of them are necessarily dangerous or flammable. For those that have the potential to be quite dangerous, however, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has developed a warning label to help inform users of the hazards related to the chemical, especially those with industrial uses. The label is a diamond divided into four colored sections — red, blue, yellow, and white — each section representing a specific aspect of the chemical. Numbers within each section give more information about the chemical’s health, fire, reactivity, and other miscellaneous effects.

Red

The red section of the diamond provides data on the flammability of the chemical. There are certain conditions under which chemicals may burst into flame, and this section of the diamond explains those circumstances in which a chemical may burn. Within this section is a number between zero and four.

0-Zero indicates that the material will not burn in any circumstance.

1-One means that the temperature must be above two hundred degrees Fahrenheit for the substance to burst into flame.

2-Two says it might burst into flame between one hundred and two hundred degrees.

3-Three says it can ignite between seventy-three and one hundred degrees.

4-Four means that temperatures under seventy-three degrees can be sufficient to make it burst into flame.

As long as the chemical is kept out of the temperature range indicated in the red section of the diamond, the danger of fire should be low.

Blue

Blue informs people as to the potential health hazard of the chemical and its toxicity in the short-term. Toxicity is measured with the numbers zero through four.

0-Zero indicating that the chemical poses no short-term health threat. It should be noted, however, that such a chemical could still pose a long-term health threat if a person is exposed to it consistently.

1-The number one in the blue section of the diamond says the chemical is slightly hazardous.

2-Two means it is hazardous.

3-Three indicates the chemical is an extreme danger.

4-Four says short-term exposure can be deadly.

These numbers are especially beneficial for EMT personnel who are called upon to treat chemical accident victims as they can reveal what kind of gear these rescuers need to wear when treating victims.

Yellow

On the NFPA diamond, the yellow section measures reactivity or the likelihood of the material exploding or detonating. Again, the rating is somewhere between zero and four.

0-Zero indicating that the chemical is stable.

1-One says the chemical becomes unstable when it is heated.

2-Number two indicates it can be very chemically reactive and explode if water contacts it.

3-The number three means it can detonate under heat or vibration.

4-Four meaning that it is very likely to detonate.

Those who pay close attention to this aspect of the rating are not likely to have an unexpected explosion occur on their watch.

White

The white section of the NFPA diamond is used to identify chemicals that are especially water reactive or that will respond with greater combustion when fuel is added to a fire in which they are involved.

W-An unusually water-reactive chemical will be identified with a "w" that has a line drawn through.

OX-An OX will identify those chemicals that can increase a fire’s intensity.