Causes of Fire Breakouts and What are the Possible Solutions - Research Proposal Example

Fire investigation proposal Name Course Instructor’s Name May 30 2010 Introduction Fire investigation is the act of rooting out the main causes of fire outbreak. Fire accidents are the most dangerous type of accidents (Carter & Rausch 67). In most countries, fire accidents seem to arise from either known causes or unknown causes. Almost ten percent of most destruction is caused by fire. Fire outbreaks lead to loss of property and lives. The marks left behind after fire outbreak especially in properties and human body are astonishing and to the entire community. This research will therefore venture on a whole topic of fire investigation. Proposed research topic What are the common causes of fire breakouts and what are the possible solutions or strategies to avert such outcomes. Purposes Fire outbreak has been noted to be the fatal type of an accident in most places. Many are the times the cause of the outbreak is defined but sometimes the cause remains unknown. This proposal will deal with the major and minor causes of fire breakdown and the solutions to be practiced (Kirk & DeHaan 87). Some of the solutions to be discussed may include; ways of preventing any kind of fire accident, the advantages of fire fighting, fire management and safer techniques to put in place to ensure fire outbreaks do not occur. The research will also elaborate the necessary measures to be applied by the affected group of people or individuals, in order to cope up with the loss (Ward 89). It will focus on the role of fire fighters in terms of their effort to curb the accident. This kind of a research will be of great advantage to so many people who seems not to be aware of what to do in case of a fire breakdown. It will also be a revelation to most organisations and institutions. This research will examine the usefulness of fire fighters, investigators and the machines mostly used in extinguishing the fire, plus strategies that averts occurrence of fire incidents. Literature review Literature dealing with fire incidents and investigations are voluminous, which means that it is easier to locate the appropriate materials that can be used to discuss the vice (Carter & Rausch 90). Two strategies will be used to consolidate appropriate literature, which are descriptive and explanation. Some of the subtopics that will be analysed within this section include: 1. Causes of fire - Some of the common causes that are associated with most fire incidents are either because of human negligence or because of arrogance (Daeid 97). Most people know and understand some causes of fires but they tend to assume that their approaches may not cause fire incidents. 2. Combustible substances; fire is well known to shoot up due to combustion, that is always a chemical reaction. Most of these substances are in liquid or gaseous form; therefore, they should not be placed near fire or stored in a delicate place. This section will deal with the identification of combustible substances, and the extent in which these combustibles can lead to rate of fire occurrence and spread (Chandler 76). 3. Human activities; the highest number of fire accidents to be reported occurred because of human ignorance and careless mistakes (Kirk & DeHaan 167). For example oil drilling, charcoal burning, smoking, fire-works, use of explosive materials etc as they engage in this activities, some tend to mind less about others as long as they achieve what they want. This section also introduces means in which human activities can be monitored and controlled ensuring that fire incidents does not occur (Daeid 154). 4. Solutions; prevention of fire should be the first step to be employed in homes, learning institution or in organisations. Every process/methods or systems that can assist in fire extinguishing should be present in these premises, some of the applicable system may include, installation of fire alarms, detectors of smoke, outlet symbols and evacuation tactics and finally the use of sprinkles (Dehaan 121). In a situation of a fire breakdown, all present members in that particular place should vacate from the fireplace, and in case there is a fire alarm; it should be switched on immediately to alert other people. All the flammable substances, on the other hand should always be kept in a safer place. Human activities must be performed in consideration or else be avoided completely, a good example being cigarette smoking (Redsicker & O’Connor 213). All this topics will be carried out with an aim of exposing major fire causes and the preventive measures to be uphold in minimising fire accidents (Lentini 191). After satisfactory accomplishing the aim, most people and organisations will be updated on what to do in case of fire crisis. This will in return reduce the rate of fire cases in most organizations, learning institution and homes. Generally, it is imperative to understand common causes of fires and device strategies that averts occurrence of such incidents. Background The research will be carried out in Lancashire since it has some known cases of fire outbreaks and fire investigators training institutions (Chandler 34). These fire investigators from Lancashire are complete power-driven police officers who also work in municipal government. These officers are always trained on the code of enforcement and sources of fire. In order to become a fire investigator in this city one must be fully trained in a qualified training institution and be highly equipped to embrace the act of investigation (Lentini 52). The researcher will make a point of visiting one of the training institutions to get hold of the basics. He will also visit one of the sites where an explosion occurred and caused an injury. The researcher will focus on interviewing both the trainee and some of the explosion victims. This will help the researcher to understand in deeper length why fire need to be prevented (Redsicker & O’Connor 83). Moreover, this section could provide example of fire incidents, causes, consequences and influence to the community. Scope The researcher will take a period of five weeks and will be using almost six hours per week. He will be attending the mid-morning training sessions and in the afternoon will be visiting the victims of explosions. The researcher will be dealing with four participant and conduct more than ten interviews. Generally, the research will be restricted to Lancashire municipality. Theoretical framework The researcher will be directed by the Kirk’s Fire Investigation (sixth edition). This guidebook will explain more on the techniques and procedures of investigation. It will help the researcher in establishing the related kind of questions to be practiced when interviewing and interacting with the participants. Moreover, the guidebook will provide the basis of analysis the research outcomes ensuring accurate and replicable outcomes can be achieved. Method The researcher will use interviews and questionnaires in collecting the required data. He will use a sample of the population while conducting the research. Analysis The researcher will expound on the causes of fire and the measures to be applied He will also analyse the investigation process and procedures that are usually employed in performing the task. This approach will be fulfilled through utilising statistical means and utilisation of other data analysis methods. Discussion As the research work will only deal with a sample of the entire population, the researcher is guaranteed to get sufficient, accurate and reliable information. Dealing with a small group of people requires less energy, resources, time and it is not always demanding. The researcher therefore may be able to accomplish his activities in time. Moreover, this section could discuss about the analyses and methods that were utilised and outcomes of these approaches. Recommendations This section provides means and strategies that will prevent occurrence of fires, mitigation strategies ensuring that the entire community is save and operate efficiently. Limitations As the researcher visits the training Institutions and interviews the explosion victims, he will be restricted from collecting the needed information due to security purposes. The training institution might decide even to block him from joining the training session, because involvement of a new person in class may alter the usual learning system. Interacting with the victims on the other hand can be biased (Daeid 54). Another limiting factor can be the resources to be used in research work; most resources that are required in research are either too expensive or cumbersome. If the researcher does not have any means of shipping with these resources, his work may turn out to be unsuccessful (Dehaan 71). Time factor; the researcher might lack enough time during his research especially when conducting the interviews. This can be caused by the interviewers who may be engaged in their own work. Data collection techniques; the researcher might be unaware of the best techniques to apply when collecting data. He might choose a few of his choice but fail to be applicable during his research. Finances; most research work demands a huge amount of money which can be a threat to many researchers. The researcher may try to develop other alternative ways that can be used to carry on the research work in spite of the limiting factors. References Carter Harry & Rausch Erwin. Management in the Fire Service, 3rd Ed. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2006. Chandler, Russell. Fire Investigation. London: Cengage Learning, 2009. Daeid Niamh. Fire Investigation. London: CRC Press, 2004. Dehaan John. Kirks Fire Investigation. London: Prentice Hall, 2006. Kirk Paul & DeHaan John. Kirk’s Fire Investigation, 5th Ed. New York: Prentice Hall Publishers, 2002. Lentini John. Scientific protocols for fire investigation. New York: CRC Press, 2006. Redsicker David & O’Connor John. Practical Fire and Arson Investigation, 2nd Ed. London: CRC Press, 1997. Ward Michael. Fire Officer: Principles and Practice. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2005. Read More