Fire Protection Techniques and Effects to Operational Strategy of Fire Fighting - Case Study Example

Fire Protection Techniques and Effects to Operational Strategy of Fire Fighting Customer’s Name Institution 16th November, 2011 Fire protection techniques and effects to operational strategy of fire fighting Introduction Fire is a good servant when properly handled but a bad master when poorly handled. It is very useful in the day today activities, and we cannot do without it. On the other hand, fire can lead to a great damage, loss of life and costly equipments, loss of irreplaceable data or information and interruption of our routine activities. Devastation from fire is known by every body, and we should be all dedicated to making living places safer. At home and work places, fire remains to be the leading cause of unintentional death and loss of properties. This is a good reason why we should take precautions to minimize loss of properties and lives. Every body is at a high risk of being affected by fire. It is an expected outcome that everybody should try to minimize. Everybody should know what to do in case of fire emergency.  There was a committee that was devoted to finding out the notable fires involving death, “Safety to Life “. It came up with a life safety code. Instructions were given to improve the structures and buildings. That is; construction of fire escapes stairways and exit facilities for safety purposes. This was done in occupancies, schools and factories. In 1942, a disastrous fire at Cocoanut Grove Night Club claimed the lives of 492 persons and later in 1946; followed by another fire that resulted to death of 119 persons. The code was therefore made into a law to ensure that protection measures are adhered to. It is used by some companies in risk management. It is also used by the architects and engineers. IKEA is a large store in Sweden comprising of a large kitchen, restaurant, warehouse, malls etc. It was derived from the initials of the names and town of the founder. It also means a Swedish furniture store. For a long time, fire has caused massive destruction to valuable and expensive properties. This has made people think broadly on the ways of preventing fire damage. Protection Techniques There is a need for using different practices in order to reduce fire tragedies. They include creating fire escapes at homes. Homes with fire escapes have minimum risk of suffering from fire. Each home should have two escape points, either doors or windows. Having an escape is not enough; everybody at home needs to be taught what to do when fire alarm is heard or when smoke alarm starts. People should meet at fire assembly points to find out the immediate measures in order to put off the fire and make sure that everybody is safe. Analysts have stressed out that there only few minutes available for escape in cases of home fire due to confusion and panic. It is also advisable for the family to practice or rehearse the escape plan after every six months. This ensures that family members are aware which safety measures are functional. Similarly, IKEA store workers need to be trained and rehearsed periodically. People should also be made aware that whenever there is fire with smoke and heat rising, there is cooler and cleaner air near the floor. They should crawl on the hand sand knees with the head near the floor in order to go through smoke.   Fire can start any time like in the middle of the night or even when there is nobody around the place. This would prove impossible for a person to start a fire alarm for people to move to the fire assembly points. To avoid such incidences it advisable to have alert smoke alarms. The smoke alarms detect the presence of any potential fire and sends a signal to alert people of the fire. It is very effectively because it detects the fire before it does massive destruction. Another protective measure of fire is cleaning the landscape near the structures. Structures near forests, bushes, and grasslands are at a higher risk of wild fire. Things that can easily catch fire should be kept far from houses. 30 feet around the house should be clean. Dry grass and dead leaves should be removed from the site. For houses or structures on a sloppy area, 100 feet safety zone should be provided. This is because fire spreads quickly on a sloppy or gentle ground (Office Fire Prevention Strategies, 2011). Since an IKEA is a large store with many activities taking place, the electrical system should be properly installed and maintained. It can be the source of fire if not properly checked or if overloaded. Worn out wires should be disposed and replaced with new ones. Electrical gadget should be kept unplugged when not in use. Materials from fire places should be disposed in containers that are not flammable e.g. metallic ones. In connection to these chimneys should be cleaned and inspected regularly and flammable materials kept away from fire sources. Materials that cause fire should be properly handled e.g. matches and lighters. Smoking in houses or IKEA stores should be highly prohibited. It not only initiate fire but its also harmful to one health. They are hazardous if not properly handled. They should be kept away from kitchens and other areas that have high potential of initiating fire. Cigarettes and cigars should be properly extinguished before they are damped (Ansul-Tycol International Company 2011). Fire safety inspections and audits are another way of reducing fire damages and destructions. This is done on premises and areas that are prone to fire. High risk premises can be done annually, medium risk premises done biennially, and low risk areas done triennially. The inspection and audit is done by appointed people who are highly qualified. The fire rescue and safety advisers or safety and health services will carry out frequent visits and inspections and give out the desired techniques to be used by the users of the facilities. Fire safety maintenance is another thing that can be used to prevent fire. There should be estate services stationed somewhere near the structures, in our case near the IKEA stores for quick response of fire signal or fire alarms. They should have planned schedules of inspection and supervision. Fire alarms and Emergency systems used for lighting should be checked after every three months. Fire doors, exit doors and other associated door furniture should be checked and tested after every six months. The appliances used for fire fighting should also be inspected every year. In addition, the fire wardens should be given advanced training of fire fighting and refresh their existing skills and knowledge. They should also be reminded of their duties and responsibilities. New wardens should be properly oriented to ensure that they are competent. Since fire can occur any time, every body who works near the IKEA store should undergo an induction course of fire safety and protection training. These people will be very useful for the fire wardens are not near or present. In case of fire, the fire alarms should not shut until the cause of the auction is known. When everybody is at the assembly point and is confirmed so, those in charge should make a decision and report to people when it is safe to re-enter the building. The best time to think something to do with fire is before it starts. People should therefore consider potential fire hazards. Equipments that produce heat e.g. hot plates, coffee makers, copiers and work processors should be kept away from anything that burns. It is also advisable to use three prong plugs instead of two prong plug in electrical gadgets. If any smell is detected from plugged appliances, it should be immediately unplugged and call the technician for check- up. Extension cords should be kept away from the doorways and any other area where they can be stepped. Around the sources of ignition, make sure there are no flammable materials which can easily cause fire. There should be a responsible person who should walk around to check whether everything is in good condition. In case of fire, people should be willing to give information fire wardens upon their arrival. This information is very vital because it guides the team when putting off the fire. The assistance of the people present (those familiar with the place) is also needed. The victims of fire should be wrapped with blankets or be doused with cold. This can be done with an emergency shower if it is available. Great care should be given to the victim to avoid damage of the burned areas (BSI, 2011). Fire protection tools Various discoveries have been made in fire protection measures which include manufacturing of products and fire protection measures. Many countries have also gone ahead to introducing schools to educate people on fire fighting and protection. A good example of such schools is Ansul Fire Fighting School. The School offers specialized training in fire fighting experiences. They offer classroom training and fire fighting situations where students are taught clear headed decisions during fire emergencies (Ansul-Tycol International Company 2011). Some of the products used in fire protection include; a portable fire extinguisher ensures that you are fully prepared within critical first two minutes of fire. Portable fire extinguisher is very effective where it would prove impossible for fire fighters to arrive quickly. One can be able to put off fire before it spreads at an alarming rate. They are of five types, namely; Sentry Stored Pressure Fire Extinguishers, Clean guard clean – Agent Fire Extinguishers, K- Guard Kitchen- Class Fire extinguisher, Red Line Wheeled Fire Extinguisher and Red Line Cartridge –operated Fire Extinguisher. Red Line Cartridge Fire Extinguisher is highly preferred by directors in high fire risk factories and companies. They use dry chemicals and powders. It is very effective when used in warehouses of the IKEA stores (U.S. Fire Administration, 2011).   Some fire extinguishers use carbon dioxide, dry chemicals and powders. Sentry Stored Pressure Fire Extinguishers are economical and equally important. They use water and carbon dioxide. Clean Guard –Clean Agent Fire Extinguishers are exceptionally efficient and not highly toxic. They are friendly to the environment and not electrically conductive. K-Guard Kitchen –Class Fire Extinguishers contain a liquid called â€کAnsulex’, suppressant to knock down the flames of fire. They form a blanket of secure vapor that cools the grease and surrounding places. Clean Agent Fire Suppression System is another product used in prevention of fire. They protect covered areas where it requires quick action to a fire and where people are present. It is used when fire strikes at night or during the day and where destruction from conventional agents cannot be supported. Sapphire Fire Suppression Systems use fire protection fluid called â€ک3M tm Novec –tm 1230’ for total flooding applications. Another fire product is firefighting foam product. This is an extensive line of form product which has concentrates of class B and class A. the form agents are environmental friendly and biodegradable (Ansul-Tycol International Company 2011). Restaurant fire suppression system is another product used in fire protection. It is very effective in protecting kitchen equipments and facilities. They are the best in protecting food service kitchen compared to other products. They are mostly found in dinners, fast- food chains, sports centers, food courts, hotels, cafeterias, gourmet restaurants and many other food service areas. Restaurant fire suppression systems are of different types. They include; overlapping Appliance Protection which provides a virtual protection zone to protect a range of appliances either protected or arranged under a hood, Interactive Guide to Restaurant Fire Suppression provides a good solution for restaurant industries and F- Class (European) Liquid Agent Fire Extinguisher is used in protection of fires caused by flammable and combustible animal fats and vegetable oils in cooking equipments used for commercial purposes ( Ansul-Tycol International Company 2011). Another fire protection product is Detection and Control Equipment. This is an automatic gadget that is useful throughout the night and during the day. It detects any sign of fire which include heat, flames and smoke. They come in two different products. The Detection control equipment use panel process detection and signals from enclosed areas. They quickly respond to any detection and shut down the equipments, release fire suppression system or produce alarm sound. Detection Equipment is an aspirating fire detection tool which detects smoke. It gives a quick warning to potential fire. Carbon Dioxide Fire Suppression System is another product used for fire protection. It is very effective because it does not leave any foam, dry chemicals or even water which damages equipments. It ensures that one does his or her work efficiently. The products discussed above are very effective in IKEA stores comprising of restaurant, warehouses, showroom and market malls. When the properties are properly protected, security of human life is also guaranteed. It is advisable to protect your properties to reduce unnecessary loss of properties which sometimes leads to loss of life. There are other wide ranges of products and equipments used in fire protection. Trace Tek liquid leak detection system is an accurate liquid which provides protection to commercial, factory and general equipments and appliances. They consist of sensor cables used to monitor computer rooms. It has the ability to locate a spill as well as fire potential. It stands as the unique brand of thermal control. Trace Tek Liquid Leak Detection System have a wide range of applications. It is in charge of raised floors and wet areas. It also provides protection to food preparation areas, transformers, rooms with switch gears and overhead pipes. The BMS Integration provides protection to raised floors, fuel and oil systems, and pipes in the building as well as mechanical areas. The IKEA stores have warehouses which may have mechanical tools and equipments. TraceTek Leak Detection Systems provides protection to mechanical equipment rooms. For small equipment rooms, less than 800 sf, few probes are laid over the area covered. Individual alarms may not be used to reduce system costs. Large Mechanical equipment rooms with more than 800 sf use 1200MR model. Here about 50 sensors are distributed over the area and may use alarms. Mechanical Equipment rooms with fuel oil use 1300MR model which must have fuel oil detection. The system has fuel sensing cables and water sensing probes covering the area. It also has alarms that use remote for audible and visible signals. Since the IKEA store is large, they may have more than one floor. This means that there will be raised floors. TraceTek Leak Detection Systems provides fire protection for raised floors of different measurements (Ansul-Tycol International Company, 2011). I would recommend the use of this tools and equipments because they detect the existence of potential fire where it would be impossible for humans to detect. References Ansul-Tycol International Company(2011). Fire safety tools. Available at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/safety/fire/documents/fire_safety_strategy.pdf. ( Accessed on 16 November 2011). Ansul-Tycol International Company (2011). Fire safety tools. Available at https://www.ansul.com/en/Products/foam_prod/foamfaq.asp. (Accessed on 16 November 2011). Ansul-Tycol International Company (2011). Fire safety tools. Available at https://www.ansul.com/en/Products/kitchen_sys/kitchen_list.asp. (Accessed on 16 November 2011). Ansul-Tycol International Company (2011). Fire safety tools. Available at http://www.koetterfire.com/leak-detection-systems/#raisedfloor. (Accessed on 16 November 2011). BSI (2011). New fire strategy. Available at. http://www.backbenimble.com/articles/offfiresfty.htm. (Accessed on 16 November 2011). Office Fire Prevention Strategies (2011). Available at. http://www.backbenimble.com/articles/offfiresfty.htm. (Accessed on 16 November 2011). U.S. Fire Administration (2011). National Fire Protection Association. Available at http://www.progressiveic.com/n2march03.htm. (Accessed on 16 November 2011). Read More