BACKGROUND:
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Whereas fire is necessary and can be controlled for useful purposes, uncontrolled and unwanted fires have the potential to cause huge losses.
CHEMISTRY:
The fire triangles is a simple model for understanding fires. The triangle illustrates the three links a fire needs to ignit heat, fuel,
and oxygen. A fire naturally occurs when the elements are present and combined in the right mix, meanin that fire is actually an event. A fire can be prevented or extinguished by removing any of the links in the fire triangle. F example, isolating the heat source from a burning fire will extinguish it.
Fuel: Fuel can be any combustible material -solid, liquid or gas. Oxygen: The air we breathe is about 21 percent oxygen. Fire only needs an atmosphere with at least 16 percent oxygen. Heat: Heat is the energy necessary to increase the temperature of the fuel to a point where ignition occurs
FIRE PREVENTION:
As it is clearly evident that to break the links of a fire, we cannot remove fuel or oxygen as they are present in abundance anywhere and everywhere. We see fuel all around like wood, plastics, paper, cloth, paint, synthetic materials and it is virtually impossible to isolate fuel completely. Oxygen is necessary for organic life, it cannot be isolated. Only link to isolate is heat or
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HEAT SOURCE:
- Anything which has enough energy to initiate combustion
- Electricity: Short circuits, motors, switches, circuit breakers
- Naked Flames: Torch, matches, smoking
- Cutting and Welding
- Friction: Bearing running dry, grinding, chiselling, drilling
- Impact: Steel against steel, steel against concrete
- Static Electricity
FIRE PREVENTION TIPS:
- Keep storage and working areas free of trash
- Place oily rags in covered containers
- Don’t overload electrical sockets
- Store flammable liquids away from spark-producing sources
- Prevent motors from overheating
- Smoking only in designated areas free of combustibles
- Inspect electrical facilities for defective or worn out accessories
- put sensitive breakers in electrical circuits
- Use flammable liquids only in well-ventilated areas
- Investigate the strange odors from electrical appliances
FIRE CONTROL MEASURES:
- Install portable fire extinguishers suitable for the environment
- Train employees on use of portable fire extinguishers
- Regular inspection and maintenance of equipment
- Install early fire detection and alarm systems
- Keep city emergency service contact numbers posted
- Regular firefighting and evacuation drills
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