Informing the Residents on Fire Safety - Literature review Example

Running Header: Community Safety Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Risk Assessment 3 Fire Prevention Measures 4 Agencies Involved in Domestic Fire Management 9 Conclusion 11 References 12 Community Management Introduction Community safety contains, reduces or prevents the intimidating, social and environmental factors which interfere with right of people to stay with no fear. Proper domestic fire management strategies are used to reduce incidences of fire in the community. A small flame can become uncontrollable after a short period of time and spread very quickly turning into a huge fire (Moore et 1996, p. 68). Fire begins by being bright but it produces thick smoke which can cause a person in the burning house to be disoriented and blind. House fires have increasing become major causes of injuries and deaths in highly populated areas. Heat, gases and smokes from fire are lethal. Therefore, there is a need to be prepared because fires can start in any place and can also be ignited in various ways. Majority of fire injuries are as a result of fires which start during the process of food preparation. According to Kolko and Kazdin (1991), fire deaths and injuries are ranked as the major contribution to the unintentional deaths and injuries in US. There are factors that affect domestic fire outbreaks, fighting and prevention skills used. This factors are; fuel used, cooking, living conditions, poor safety arrangements, fire incidents response and facilities of fire services, carelessness on usage of electricity, personal habits, unattended fires, dress and education. Risk Assessment (Forehand et al 1991, p.127)In case where LPG is used as a fuel it can cause a fire risk due leaking of gas caused by negligence and vandalism by the residents. In low income earners area, the living conditions are poor due to lack basic of facilities, services, amenities and residential spacing. The family is usually housed in tiny house and in most cases kitchen is inside the living room leading to poor ventilation and accumulation of heat. Cooking food on the open fire where the fuel produce sparks can cause fire easily. In some cases, equipments used cannot fight fire effectively and personnel to fight fire may have limited knowledge on how to fight fire while other lack experience. There is difficulty in passing of information to the fire department in case of fire in areas where telecommunication facilitates have been vandalized or not installed. Additionally, roads to access the buildings during fire incidences are very poor due to unplanned development in the low income earners areas. The areas resided by the low income earner migrants are usually populated leading to a lot of electricity problems such as substandard and old wiring, short circuiting, overloading, improper use of electrical appliances, multiple extension, strong fuses and faulty switches usage. Habits like smoking inside an already congested house pose a serious fire risk to the residents (Jessor et al 1968). In case where unattended LPG cooker is put off by the boiling liquids such as milk or water, the combustible gas will continue to leak to the house and it will require a spark to ignite the fire. Nylons, artificial silk and rayon clothing are affordable to the poor people but the problem is that they are highly combustible. There is very high rate of illiteracy among low income earner and this make them to have very little knowledge on prevention, spread and safety against fire. Fire Prevention Measures Fire department requires an effective and robust strategy to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries due to domestic fires in multi-occupancy high- rise buildings which are under construction and provide over-populated temporary housing for migrant workers. This is done through creating awareness on domestic fire preparedness. Practice of high rise prevention and safety of fire is vital for those people who reside in high rise buildings in order to prevent injuries and death in case of fatal fires. The fire authority is required to be prepared for the fire emergency on buildings especially those buildings with floors. This involves creating awareness to the residents that fire exits should always remain open. Residents should be aware of the evacuation plan of the building in case of the fire. Fire alarm, emergency calls and person responsible for fire safety system maintenance are supposed to be well known by the residents (Fineman 1995, p. 65). Person should not panic in case of fire in high-rise instead the fire department advices that one should make call to the emergency immediately. Resident should check the temperature of the door by touching during escape in case of fire. One should allow the exit to remain closed if it is warm but should call emergency and open the window to wave for help. After rescue from the high-rise, one should stay away and inform the rescuers about any person trapped inside. The fire department has to take responsibility of confirming that every home is equipped with well maintained alarms to detect fires. Cooking behaviors that are safe will prevent accident of fires in the house. This include wearing clothing that are tight , making sure that there is no flammable materials around the stove and stay away from the cooking pot on the cooker. The person cooking should keep an eye on what is being cooked to prevent unattended fire. Fire is also caused by appliances defects, electrical system failure, overloading circuit, extension cords, misuse, poor maintenance and incorrect wiring. To put off fight fire started by electricity is very hard since use of water to fight this fire can cause electrocution (Jones, Ribbe & Cunningham 1994, p. 120). To solve this problem, the emphasis should be put to check wiring and appliances constantly. Also the extension cord should be use accordingly without overloading them and repair all old, damaged or worn cords for appliances. The appliances should be kept on dry floor only and where they are installed in the kitchen and bathroom care should be exercised. Power should be turned off as quick as possible in case of fire caused by electrical faulty. Arc faulty interrupter (AFI) is an electrical device used to protect fire started by electrical arc in lights, outlets and cords. It trips the breaker before fire is started by the arcing. Children should be kept away from electrical appliances such as hair dryers, space haters and irons (Kolko & Kazdin 1994, P. 118). Highly combustible materials such as clothes and curtains should be kept away from heater and while purchase electrical appliances, the buyer should be able to identify products that are verified by the relevant authority. Replacement should be considered where electrical devices start to wear. Replace the appliance if it starts causing overheat, giving sparks or smoke, short out or electrical shocks. Altering with gas connection can cause safety hazard because leaking gas pipes or containers may ignite or explode. Gas connections that are leaking can be heard or smelled and incase the case of leaking the person should exit the house as quickly as possible while leaving the door open. A match is not supposed to be started because it can cause explosion and gas should be checked by the technicians before using again. Proper fire safety arrangement plans should be put in place and this involves proper escape plans. In the eventuality of fire time is of essence. Plans of escape aid a person to exit from the burning house quickly and safely. It takes few minute for the minor fire to turn into a huge fire which engulfs the house with thick smoke and huge flame. Practicing escape from each house room is important and should be exercised every month. This involves identifying two ways to exit in every room because this can help in case where the primary exit is on fire, a person will use the other exit. A collapsible ladder or window that is near the roof is also used as secondary route. Security bars can prevent a family from escape a fatal fire and to prevent this, security bars of doors and windows are required to have easy releasing gadgets to allow quick exit. Incorporating fire drills is important because it help the residents to vacate the building safely and quickly in case of fire. Canter and Frizan (1998) suggest that facilities such as home fire sprinkler systems are used to fight fire because installation of smoke alarm will only inform that there is presence of fire but it cannot be able to extinguish fire. The system has capability to warn and extinguish fire which can help to save life and properties. The system has an advantage because it is affordable in low income earners houses. The installation of sprinkler system during construction requires little work of installation. The mechanism has low water requirement and therefore can get water from the house water supply. There is cost reduction in case where Plastic pipes are incorporated with metallic pipes. Fire extinguisher cans are vital tools if used by a trained person in case of fire to safe properties and life. It is paramount for a resident to train on the maintenance and use of fire extinguisher. Before considering buying a fire extinguisher a person is required to consider some factors which include: type of fire, physical capability and training. Various categories of fires require various categories of fire extinguishers. Class A extinguishers are used in combustible materials that are ordinary e.g. paper, wood, cloths and rubber. Class B is used on fires emanating from flammable liquids e.g. gasoline. A fire from appliances, equipment and other tool is put off using class C extinguishers. Flames from metal are contained using class D extinguishers while class K is used to contain fires from animal or vegetable oils or cooking fats. Older people, disabled persons and children may not have physical strength to handle and use fire extinguisher properly. Also the person must posses the know how to identify if the fire can be contained using extinguisher. The extinguisher must be checked regularly to make sure that it is not blocked, it has a recommended pressure level, not damaged and clean. Therefore persons are required to be trained on proper maintenance and use of extinguishers to effectively fight fire (Slavkin 2000). Habits such as smoking have caused fire through smoking materials and cigarettes. Fires resulting from smoking materials and cigarettes are preventable if the person smoking observes fire safety. A fire can be as a result of accidental drop of a lit cigarette on the bed or chair, or dropping of matches while still burning or hot ashes of a cigarette. A smoking person should observe safeties which include smoking outside, using of proper ashtray, check butts of cigarettes, smoke away from the places where oxygen is being used, and use of cigarettes with fire safe and staying alert. Building which are not strong enough to resist disasters such as earth quakes will be damaged and will present fire threat after and during the quake. During earthquakes furniture, house items and appliances fall, spill and shift. Gas lines leak due to damage and could ignite or explode easily. Therefore, spilled flammable liquids should be cleaned and kept far from sources of heat. Also the power should be turned off and all wires on the floor should be handles as live wires. Appliances that produce sparks or smoke should be repaired by an authorized and trained electrician. After and during earth quake one should not light a match because there might have been gas leak. Agencies Involved in Domestic Fire Management Fire department in government should put in place a strategy to educate people on the domestic fire safety through use of aggressive campaigns. The fire department has to identify the agencies to work with .This will involve features in magazines, newspapers, TV and radio programmes and initiating safety courses. The topics to be covered will include handling and use of flammable chemicals, school safety education, and training mothers on how to cope with emergencies and fires from kitchens. Also course for men to deal with fire accidents will be included. Fire department should push for strict standardization of electrical appliances used at homes through manufacturing standard enforcement and regulations of government. Cheap and small extinguishers should be making available because present extinguishers are not affordable to low income earners and are not easily handled because of their weight. Fire department can search for the foreign companies that would come up with model which are cheap, lightweight and small. Social welfare and civil defense departments should collaborate with the fire department to prepare trainings to residents on how to manage occupational hazards and domestic emergencies. There should be training for first aid basics to all residents in order to deal with injuries resulting from fires. Also, every family should be provided with cheap first aid kit if the government is able to provide through the fire department. Social organization should be approached to offer public training through training teams which are mobile in order to reach as many people as possible. The training teams are able to offer training in every big towns since they are mobile. The aim of this team is to educate and train residents on fighting of domestic fire and first aid basics. It’s vital for the people to attain responses which are automatic because fire disasters have severe and devastating results. This can be made possible by employing role- playing, stimulation techniques and other various methods of teaching which create a more positive environment to the learners during training (Patterson 1992). The channels for communication which the fire department can use are in following categories: interaction between learner and educator, direct intervention from the educator and mass communication. TV, cinema, radio, posters, press and notices are channels of mass communication. They are preferable since they can reach many people including low income earners. The disadvantage of these channels is that there is no clear indication on the effect of communication. These channels should be used at the beginning of a campaign of education because they will create general awareness on domestic fire hazards. In direct intervention of educator the following are used: charts, graphic display, slides, photographs and films. Educators are actively present, illustrate, explain and describe what is being taught. Use of figures of puppets and dramatization are used in the channels of learners and educators interaction. However these are complicated tools which must be used by experts in education and psychology. The mass communication role can be executed by media industry since they have the expertise and resources. Conclusion The fire department should come up with various ways to prevent losses of life and properties in low income earner areas. It should launch an aggressive campaign to sensitize the residences on the importance of fire safety. In this campaign it should involve local schools to help in education on the fire safety. Local social organizations in the community are the must important channel to inform the residents on fire safety because they have good cultural, social and economic understanding of the locals. The finance agency should partner with the fire department in order to subsidize fire fighting equipments for lower income earners to afford them. Also, it should include housing department as a government agency in order to help in reducing the congestion in houses which is one of the main causes of domestic fires. Housing department should set regulations to make sure that houses that are being constructed are well designed to allow easy exit in cases of fires and are equipped with fire fight equipments. Agency which is involved in regulation of quality of the products should work in conjunction with fire department to make sure that all electrical appliances that are being used are of required quality to prevent sub standard appliances. Also media industry is an effective agency to spread the education on fire safety since it reaches a large proportion of people. References Canter & Frizan1998, ‘Differentiating Arsonists: A model of fire setting and characteristics,’ Journal of Legal and Criminal Psychology, pp. 3, 73-96. Fineman, K, A 1995,’Model for qualitative analysis of child and adult deviant behaviour’, American Journal of Forensic Psychology, pp. 1, 31-60. Forehand et al 1991, ‘Juvenile Fire Setting: A unique syndrome or an advanced level of anti- social behaviour,’ Behaviour Research and Therapy, pp. 29, 125-128 Jessor, Graves, Hanson and Jessor, Society, personality and deviant behaviour: a study of an ethnic community, New York, 1968. Jones, Ribbe & Cunningham1994, ‘Psychological correlates of fire disaster among children and adolescents,’ Journal of Traumatic Stress, pp. 7, 117-122. Moore et al 1996,’Profiles of adolescent boys with a history of firesetting,’ Journal of Personality Assessment, pp. 67, 4-20. Kolko & Kazdin1991,’Motives of fire setters: Fire setting characteristics and psychological correlates,’ Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, pp. 32, 535-550. Kolko & Kazdin 1994, ‘Children’s descriptions of their fire setting incidents: Characteristics and relationship to recidivism,’ Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, pp. 33, 114-122. Patterson, G 1982, A social learning approach, vol.1, Eugine Castalia. Slavkin, M 2000, Juvenile fire setting: an exploratory analysis, Dissertation.Com Publishing. Read More