SAS Urban Survival Handbook (55 page)

Fitting

A minimum of TWO smoke detectors are recommended for a small house. The centre of the ceiling of the downstairs hallway is a good place to fit a detector—if a fire breaks out at night in the kitchen or living room, the smoke will be detected before the actual fire reaches the upstairs bedrooms. A detector on an upper landing ceiling will alert people downstairs if a fire breaks out in a bedroom. The best precaution is to fit a detector in EVERY room, particularly if there are young children, elderly or disabled people who will need extra help to be evacuated in the event of a fire.

It is VITAL that any detector can be heard, even when the occupants of the house are asleep. Some models can be interconnected, so if one detector is triggered the others in the house will also sound.

• ◑
  DON’T
  fit detectors by walls or in corners where the free flow of smoke will be hampered
  
• ◑
  DON’T
  fit detectors in poorly-ventilated kitchens, where fumes and steam may trigger false alarms
  
• ◑
  DON’T
  position detectors in hard-to-reach places, this may make testing difficult
  

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS

Many fire experts are sceptical about fire extinguishers, because they may encourage untrained people to ‘have a go’ when they should be evacuating a burning building. You should only consider trying to put out a fire when it is small and containable (see EMERGENCY! panels). It is safer to raise the alarm and evacuate. There is an added risk that you may use the wrong type of extinguisher on the fire.

TYPES OF EXTINGUISHER

In Britain and elsewhere fire extinguishers are labelled with relevant information concerning the type of fire they are designed to be used against, their capacity and their contents. There are three main categories of fire:

• A
  Burning materials like furniture, cloth and wood
  
• B
  Burning liquids like oil
  
• C
  Burning gases
  

A number, in front of the letter code which indicates the type of fire, shows the capacity of the extinguisher – what size of fire it can cope with. Finally the label will tell you what the contents of the extinguisher actually are (the colour of the tank should also indicate this):

• ■
  WATER (red) Cools fire. Heavy, difficult to handle. Suitable only for A fires. Must NOT be used on liquid or electrical fires.
  
• ■
  MULTI-PURPOSE FOAM (cream) Cools fire. Suitable for class A and B fires. Must NOT be used on electrical fires.
  
• ■
  DRY POWDER (blue) Smothers fire. Poor for cooling. Suitable for class A and B. Safe for use on live electrical appliances.
  
• ■
  CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2) (black) Good for burning liquids and electrical fires. Poor for cooling.
  
• ■
  HALON (BCF) (green) Good for burning liquids, small fires, solid fuels, electrical fires. The agent BCF can cause nervous disorders if it exceeds five per cent concentration in confined spaces.
  

REMEMBER

At home, dry powder extinguishers are recommended. Avoid those with less than 1kg capacity. Have your extinguishers serviced regularly and recharged if used. Do NOT test by discharging. Position them prominently around the house. NEVER store out of sight. When you use a fire extinguisher follow the PASS rule:

Pull – or otherwise release any lock
Aim – at the base of the fire
Squeeze – or press the handle/trigger
Sweep – from side to side

FIRE BLANKETS

Made from non-flammable cloth (usually glass fibre), fire blankets are placed over a burning object or small fire, starving it of oxygen and smothering the flames. Domestic fire blankets are usually about 1 m (over 3 ft) square which is adequate for dealing with fires in the kitchen like fat fires. They MUST be easily accessible in case of emergency. Choose one that has a wall-mounted storage tube and fix it within easy reach of your cooker, but not so that you have to reach across the hob!

WARNING

Older fire blankets were made of asbestos. It is very likely that, by now, they are unsafe to use. Asbestos in this form is particularly dangerous and safe disposal should be arranged (see SAFETY FIRST: Asbestos).

FIRE ESCAPES

If you live on the first floor or higher in a multi-occupied building, your home should conform to national fire safety laws, depending on how old the building is or when a conversion was done. Doors to communal staircases MUST be fire-resisting and self-closing. A flat should be designed so that you do not need to go from the bedroom through the living room or kitchen to reach the exit.

In purpose-built office blocks, workplaces, schools, hotels and other public buildings, strict laws apply concerning fire exits and escapes. If a building has designated fire escapes then they should be safe, regularly maintained, kept clear and should not pose a security risk. It’s up to YOU to know where fire escapes are and how to use them (see
Drills
).

Fire ladders

If your home does not have adequate fire escape routes, you can position a rope, rope ladder or fold-away escape ladder by a window or balcony that will allow safe escape. Do NOT leave ladders anywhere where they might be a security risk (see DIY/ CRAFT HAZARDS and SECURITY).

FIREPROOFING

Much of the risk of fire comes from flammable materials that are a part of our daily lives—in many cases there are steps we can take to reduce these risks. Some items can be treated to make them fire-resistant or flameproof, and recently furniture manufacturers have developed safer, fire-resistant foams. When buying furniture always check to see if it is fire-resistant (see
Combustion-modified foam
).

Architects and interior designers are also more aware of fire risks in public buildings and are required to incorporate safer materials and fire-resistant features. At home, however, it is up to YOU to keep to a minimum the amount of dangerous flammable materials.

Fire-retardant treatment

There are various spray treatments designed for upholstered furniture and other flammable household fittings, such as curtains and carpets. Some must be applied by specialists who visit your home—others are available as a DIY spray. All spray-on treatments are water based, which has drawbacks: they will be partly removed by washing, sponging or even when liquids are spilt on them.

DIY sprays can be difficult to use effectively. It’s not always easy to judge whether your furniture is suitable for treatment and it is difficult to estimate the correct rate of application. It is advisable to get treatment done professionally, with a respray at regular intervals.

Nightwear

Most fires in the home happen at night. One precaution worth considering, particularly for children and the elderly, is to wear nightclothes with low flammability (some synthetics—including nylon—will melt onto the skin!). These are either made from low-flammability materials or treated with fire-retardant chemicals. Take notice of any special washing instructions.

COMBUSTION-MODIFIED (CM) FOAM

In some countries, including Britain, recent legislation means that furniture manufacturers must use only fire-resistant or flameproof foam in their products. CM foam is the most commonly used ‘safer’ foam and unlike normal PVC foam, which will flame and produce smoke and toxic fumes, it melts away or chars – preventing fire from spreading rapidly inside furniture.

New furniture should also be covered in fire-resistant fabrics. Depending on the age of furniture and legislation, both these features should be clearly labelled. If you are buying new furniture ask about fire-resistant features and inspect products for fire safety information.

REMEMBER

If you have had furniture for some years it is unlikely to contain CM foam or meet current safety standards. Furniture made within the last 30 years is likely to be dangerous – anything older will probably be made of traditional materials, such as horse hair, which may produce less toxic fumes but may still burn at a surprising rate.

DRILLS

No smoke- or fire-detecting device/alarm is going to help you unless you have planned and rehearsed what you would do in the event of fire—BEFORE A FIRE HAPPENS. Preplanning is essential and it’s up to YOU!

Think!

No matter how clear and well-rehearsed fire drills and procedures are—you are most likely to be involved in them in workplaces and schools—they are only helpful if you think yourself into a fire situation. Imagine your surroundings under the sort of conditions a fire can create in seconds: darkness, thick choking smoke and fumes, intense heat and panic. Ask yourself questions, like: How would I get to the fire assembly point from here? What are the obstacles in my way? What if I am in an unusual part of the building?

These considerations are VITAL, but very often you will only have the vaguest knowledge of escape routes from a public building. In a hotel, department store, theatre or sports stadium, for instance, the last thing you may be thinking of is the threat of fire. But you must go through a mental fire drill WHEREVER YOU ARE. Make yourself aware of fire instructions. Look for fire exits. Take note of where staff or stewards are located.

AT HOME

YOU are responsible for thinking through fire risks and escape drills in your home. If children, elderly or disabled people live with you, then YOU are responsible for them too. YOU must plan and rehearse a fire drill with all the members of your household. Could you completely evacuate your home in the middle of the night—in the two minutes it could take for a fire to get out of control?

Walk around your home

If you live in a house with more than one floor, start on the ground floor. This is where your principal escape routes will be—the front and back doors and windows. Make a note of any ground floor windows that have bars on the outside—these will be useless for escape unless they have a release mechanism. Fires are most likely to start in the kitchen or living room—if you have to go through these rooms to get to an exit, you will need to consider which windows you can use instead. Make sure that everyone in the house—including children—is able to unlock doors and windows from the inside and knows where keys are kept.