All employers are required by law to draw up and implement a fire safety plan for their premises. Householders, particularly the parents of young children, should consider a fire plan for their home.
For employers, the requirement for a premises’ fire safety plan was made law in 2006. It is an employer’s duty to ensure the safe storage of combustible and flammable materials, to protect means of escape through the use of fire doors and other fire separation measures, to have signs to indicate escape routes, to have emergency call points and to train key staff in the use of fire-fighting apparatus, especially fire extinguishers.
In the home, there is no legal requirement for such detailed preparations, but a sensible householder, especially a parent, should give some thought to how to prevent fire in the home and how to react in the event of a fire.
Prevention of fire is key. You should make all the occupants of the house aware of the most likely causes of fire: e.g. chip pans; a build up of grease in the kitchen; overloading of plug sockets; using an incorrectly-rated fuse for an electrical appliance; lighted cigarettes; matches and lighters accessible to children; and take steps to ensure that these causes are eradicated as far as is practically possible.
The next element in fire safety is to install and maintain a smoke alarm on each floor of the building. If a fire cannot be prevented, then the earliest possible warning of its presence is vital. This is where your family’s fire plan comes into operation. Each member of the family should know what to do if there is a fire in the house. You should agree the main escape route (normally the main entrance/exit) and an alternative in case this route is blocked. This is particularly important when bedrooms are upstairs. If the fire blocks the stairs everybody should be clear where to go and what to do. It is a good idea to practise the escape plan and agree where you are going to meet up if you get separated.
The basic rule if there is a fire is: Get out; Stay out, Call the fire service out. However, if the fire is a small one, quite contained, e.g. in a waste basket , or if it is blocking an escape route, using a fire extinguisher is a good strategy. Keeping a fire blanket in the kitchen is good practice, because a blanket can be used to smother flames from a pan, toaster or grill. You should keep any other type of fire extinguisher in the hall or corridor, where it is easily accessible and can be taken to the source of the fire. It is important that the fire extinguisher is the correct type for the fire and will not make the fire worse or put the operator in danger.
The Trueshopping fire extinguisher is a multi-purpose dry powder extinguisher that is suitable for most types of fire. As a powder fire extinguisher works by ‘knocking down’ the flames - separating the ignition source from its oxygen supply – it is important to know that it is possible for the fire to re-ignite. It is also vital to read the instructions and make yourself familiar with how to use the fire extinguisher. Don't leave it until you have a fire!
