Leo's Guide to Not Becoming a Statistic by Prinsloo Leo;

Author:Prinsloo, Leo;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Published: 2021-09-07T06:46:36+00:00

HANDLING A FIRE

BY LAW, ALL OFFICES NEED to be fitted with smoke detectors and a sprinkler system. While these are integrated within most modern buildings, it’s easy to purchase the necessary equipment from a hardware store if your building does not have them.

Every building should also be equipped with a fire hydrant but unless all employees know how to use one it will be useless. They also need to understand that not all fires can be put out with water. In the case of an electrical fire, for example, powder is best, because water will feed the blaze. That’s why one of the first things to do if a fire breaks out at your premises is to try to establish the cause of the blaze. Your fire extinguisher must be checked regularly, and serviced annually, and you should check that the pressure is optimally maintained – if not, it becomes nothing more than a wall ornament.

Employees should be informed that if there is a fire in the building, they must not open any doors without first touching the door handles to check for heat. This is a sign that the area behind the door is aflame. If you do touch a surface, it must be with the back of your hands, as a burn on the palm will make it almost impossible to use your hands.

While most people worry about burns, one of the greatest threats posed by a fire is, in fact, smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. You can protect yourself from this by keeping as close to the ground as possible, because hot air rises. Try to walk on your knees. Again, even if you aren’t able to keep close to the floor, resist the impulse to run.

Covering your nose and mouth, preferably with a wet cloth, will also protect you from smoke inhalation. You’ll also want to protect your eyes, which will immediately start to burn and tear up, impairing your vision. Ideally, you should know the way from your desk to an exit so well that you can walk it with your eyes closed, but since this probably won’t be the case, try to bring your other senses into play so that you are not relying only on your vision.

There are all kinds of devices that may help to protect you from carbon monoxide, including masks that fit over the mouth and nose and absorb the toxic gas. Even simple devices can be useful, like a set of swimming goggles to protect your eyes by making it possible for you to keep your eyes open. This is a massive benefit, because research has shown that people tend to feel more confident about orientating themselves if they are able to keep their eyes open – but, then again, very few people keep goggles in their workplace!

Without your eyes, you might battle to orientate yourself. One way to overcome this problem is by moving close to a wall and following it all the way to the nearest exit.

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