T
I� a fire occur, family member hould be
trained to crawl to a door and touch it to ee if it i
hot. If it i , they should be told to leave by an al­
ternate e cap route. If people are unable to leave
their room or apartment, they hould try to, eal
the crack around the door with wet towel and
open the window for fre hair. Family member
hould al 0 b told that if their clothe catch fire,
th y hould top, drop to the ground and roll to ex­
tingui h the flames.
"Mo t fire af ty behavior i common en e, yet
thousand of American are injured or killed in
fir each year becau e they cann t remember
what to do," aid former U FA Administrator Olin
L. Greene. " urviving can be as simple a devi ing
a home e cape plan, but it mu t b practic d."
ntial that
hav two
ling their way through each room
clo d.
o that fam-
F c S.
ut
By Jo E. Zaydik
Fire extingui h­
er can ave live
and fire by putting
out mall fires or
containing them
until the Fire De­
partment arrives.
How ver, they are
not designed to
fight a large or
preading fire.
These safety de­
virps can he 11. d
under limited conditions. They are
useful if they are rated for the type
of fire at hand. Not all extinguish­
ers can be used for grease fires, for
instance, or for chemical fires.
They are also useful if they are
large enough to put out the fire.
Most portable extingui hers dis­
charge all of their extinguishing
agent in as little as eight seconds.
They can be used if they are
within easy reach, fully charged and
in working ord r. The operator
mu t know how to use the extin­
guisher, as there is no time to read
direction during an emergency.
The operator mu t also be strong
enough to lift and use the extin­
guisher properly.
When choo ing a fire extin­
guisher, make ure that it bear the
eal of an ind pend nt te ting labo­
_ ratory. It should also be labeled for
the typ of fire it i meant to extin­
guish. It is very important to note
that using the wrong kind of extin­
guish r may make the fire wor e.
There are thre ba ic types of port­
able fire extingui h r :
urns
urce and call th lo­
cal fir d partrn nt or
mergency numb r for
hlp.
Ch ck to if th
victim i br athing--if
not, p rform cardio-pul-
at
Pa e 4 Fire Prev ntion We Ie Supplement 1994
Ire
tinguis en
Almo t 6,000 American di
in home fire each year, ac­
cording to the United State
Fire Admini tration. Fire
cause injury to ten of thou-
I ands more. There is al 0 a fi-
I nancial co t--fire de troy
more than 7,400 worth of
I damag every minute.
. Although the movi Back
. .. Draft did much to glorify fire-
fighter , It did not give much information on how
to prev nt fires. However, it did help op n th
door for public information sp ciali ts at fire de­
partment .
"There wa no educational value for kids, and
the movie glamorized fire to som degre ," aid
Don Porth, a public information officer at th
Portland, Ore. Fire Bureau. IIBut, we have lot of
people ask u questions about the movie, and it
give u an .oi>p�rtuni.ty to educate people on the
hazards of fire. Anytime we can mcrea e our in­
teraction with the public, we'r all for that."
Porth i one of ix public information sp cial­
ists at the Portland Fire Bureau. Each concen­
trate on a different area, but all are aware of th
importance of reaching the public, And one of
the major areas of empha I fire departments
a ro. s the country want to empha ize i pre­
venting fire .
Fire prevention begins at home. It i impor­
tant for. all horne to. have a fire escape plan and
to practice It, according to the United tates Fire
Administration .. Details on d vi ing fire e cape
plan are found in another article in thi issue.
It is al 0 very important for parent to educate
them Ive and their children on the hazards and
danger of fire, on smoke detector on the .
prop r u � of fire extinguisher , on wha't to do in
ca e of a fir , on first aid, on how to spot fireset­
ting tendencies in children and what to do if uch
tendencies exist.
"Par nts can provide the information and edu­
cation them elves," Porth said. "I{ they feel they
are not effective, then they can contact us and we
will help in any way possible."
Another way people can prevent fire is to do a
home fire safety tour to determine whether there
are fire hazards in their home that they may not
be aware of.
Parents can also educate themselves and' their
children on fire safety outside of the home--such
�s when building fires at �amp ite , when mok­
ing cigarette or playing With fireworks.
All the information needed to prevent fires or
to lessen the death , injuries and damage they
cause is available at local. fir department
throughout the country.
The United States uffers from one of the high­
e, t fire rat.e in the world. Every day, 13 peopl
die I� their own homes because of fires. Fire
does not discriminate, and everyone has the po­
tential to b a victim.
People hould find out as much information a
possible on. fire. and should encourag the
chools their childr n att nd to pre ent fir
afety and prevention cla e from time to time
in order to make students aware of the danger
that fire can cau .
- Type A i used for ordinary com­
bu tible such as wood, cloth, paper,
rubber, any pla tics and other com­
mon materials.
- Type B hould be used for flam­
mable liquids such a gasoline, oil,
grea e, tar, oil-ba ed paint, lacquer
and flammable gas.
- Type C extingui hers should be
used on energized electrical wiring,
fu e boxes, circuit breakers, ma­
chinery and appliances.
Portable fire extinguisher are
al 0 rat d for the ize of fire they
can handle. The larger the number
is, the larger the fire the' cani ter
can put out. Higher-rated models
are usually heavi r, so buyers
hould make ure they can hold and
operate the extinguishers they are
buying.
Once bought, extinguishers need
routine care. As oon as it is pur­
chased, read the operator's manual.
Ask the dealer how to get your ex­
tinguisher in p cted and serviced.
Reusable models must be recharged
after every use. A partially dis­
charged unit might as well be
empty.
Di posable extinguisher can be
used only once. They must be re­
placed after one use.
Extinguishers hould be in tailed
in plain vi w near an escape route
and away from potential fire hazards
uch as heating appliances. If un­
ure about where to in tall a fir ex­
tinguisher, call the fire department
for advic. Many fire department
aero s th country al 0 offer train­
ing and practice in the u e of port­
abl fir extingui her .
•
equlr
"
eir 0
n
ci 'I
ir t
id
monary re u cita­
tion (CPR classes
are available
through Am rican
Red Cro and other
organization , and it
i a good id a for
everal family mern-
b r to take th
cla ).
Small burn hould
b c oled with cold
wat r. Th burn ar a
hould b cov r d
with a cl an h t r
any cl an lin n, and
th victim h uld b
k �pt warm.
Ch mical burn
hould b tr at d dif­
f r ntly from thermal
burn. Th burnt ar a
hould be flu hed with
water for at least 20
minute. All contami­
nated clothing hould
be carefully removed.
If the ey are aff cted,
flu h th m lib rally
with water.
It i important to
look for information on
"th ch mical and if it i
id ntifi d, call the I al
pion control cent r
r m rg ncy numb r.
The burnt ar a hould
al b cov r d with a
cl an h t, and th
Victim hould b k pt
warm and c mf rtabI .
M di al att ntion
h uld bought right
away.