Encountering a fire can be a scary situation. Fires have the potential to do a lot of damage and can cause serious injury or even death if you don’t follow the correct procedures. While it’s rare to experience an outbreak of fire at home or in the workplace, preparation is important. Knowing what to do can mean the difference between life and death, and there are many steps you can take to improve the outcome for yourself and those around you. While you should also take precautions to ensure fires are less likely, knowing what to do in the event of a fire is critical.
Sounding the Alarm
Your first step when encountering a fire is to let others know of its presence. If you just leave without alerting anyone else or try to tackle it alone, you could put your own and other lives in danger. If you’re in the workplace or a public building of some kind, there should be a fire alarm you can trigger by breaking the glass and pushing the panel. This will sound fire bells loudly to alert anyone both inside and outside the building of a fire.
When hearing the fire alarm, others will immediately know that there’s a fire. Ideally, they should be trained on how to respond to this situation, carrying out a fire evacuation to leave the premises quickly and safely.
If you’re at home, you may have a smoke alarm or fire detection system that will trigger automatically. Still, it’s a good idea to let others in the house know about the fire. Otherwise, they could think it’s a false alarm. Shout fire loudly and clearly, making sure everyone can hear you before you proceed to the next step.
Tackling the Fire
While it’s not usually advised, it’s sometimes possible to attempt to put out a fire if its small enough. Fires can spread quickly if in the presence of flammable materials, so be mindful of your surroundings when choosing whether or not to put it out. Ideally, you want to contain the fire as best you can, removing anything that could be flammable from the area and using a suitable method to extinguish it.
Most public buildings follow building codes and contain fire safety measures such as sprinkler systems which will automatically trigger to douse the flames in water and put them out. However, you may also use devices such as fire extinguishers or fire blankets, depending on the type of fire. Bear in mind that different types of extinguishers may be unsafe to use on specific fires. For example, using a water extinguisher on an electrical fire can create a risk of electric shock.
Evacuating the Premises
If the fire has already spread or your efforts to put it out are in vain, you should ensure you and anyone else in the building follow evacuation procedures. While it can be tempting to stay behind and fight the fire, you’re putting your safety at risk. The main danger in house fires is of smoke inhalation, which can quickly cause dizziness and cause you to pass out from a lack of oxygen.
You should have an evacuation procedure in place, allowing you to safely and calmly leave the building. However, if your exit is blocked due to the fire, you may have to take another route. Don’t waste time bringing your belongings, as they can be replaced while you can’t. Once outside, you can contact the emergency services to give them the address of the fire and inform them of anyone else who is trapped in the building.
