Fire

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Fire and fire emergency procedures
9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4
Unit 201/601: Health, Safety and Welfare
in Construction

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Objectives
To be able to:
9.1 State elements essential to creating a fire
9.2 Identify methods of fire prevention
9.3 State actions to be taken on discovering a fire
9.4 State types of fire extinguishers and their uses

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The elements of fire: the Fire Triangle
Oxygen
Heat
Fuel
For a fire to occur, 3 ingredients are
needed in sufficient quantities:
• Oxygen
• Heat
• Fuel
The risk of fire can be minimised if
any of these three ingredients are
controlled or eliminated.

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The Fire Triangle explained
The risk of fire can be minimised if any of
these three ingredients are controlled or
eliminated.
Any one of 3 actions will prevent this
lighter from starting a fire:
1. No fuel: the lighter is empty of gas…
there will be no fire
2. No heat: the lighter has no flint to
make a spark… there will be no fire
3. No oxygen: put your thumb over the
hole at the top… there will be no fire

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Fire Prevention at work
Cooling
Eliminating sources of heat can prevent fires from starting:
Never leave sources of heat unattended.
Ignition: take the necessary precautions to ensure control of
sparks from grinding wheels and electrical equipment.
Smothering
Without oxygen, the fire will be extinguished:
Keeping fire doors and windows closed will restrict the
supply of oxygen to the fire and slow down its progress.
Starvation
Timber, sawdust, chemicals are all combustibles (fuel) for a
fire.
Keep all combustibles away from any source of ignition.

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Keep all combustibles away from sources of ignition!

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Fire Prevention
Untidy workplaces make it easy for fires to get started and spread.
Good HOUSEKEEPING can prevent most fires from occurring:
• Switch off and unplug any unnecessary electrical appliances when not in
use, especially at the end of the day or beginning of a weekend/holiday.
• Make clearing waste a priority for all trades.
• Control the amount of waste materials on site by having regular skip and
refuse collections.
• Keep combustibles out of reach from any would-be arsonist's access by
avoiding storing large quantities of combustibles in easily accessible areas.

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Legislation
“Legislation” is just the fancy term for the
law.
As you will know already, failure to follow
the law of the land can result in fines or
imprisonment – whether that is robbing a
house, reckless driving or possessing a
dangerous dog.
In this unit on health and safety, we will
look at a number of laws and regulations
that apply to the workplace:
• regulations around controlling noise
• regulations on hazardous substances
• regulations on working at height

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The Health and Safety at Work Act
1974
The Health and Safety at Work Act (HASWA) is
a law that enforces general regulations on
conduct in all workplaces whether it’s a
workshop, a construction site, an office, shop or
train station.
HASWA put requirements on both employers
and employees:
• Employers: the boss and his representatives
such as managers and supervisors
• Employees: you and your work mates.

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Employers: the employer has a legal responsibility to
safeguard their employees and any other people entering
their premises.
Employees: it is your legal responsibility to abide by your
employer's policies and procedures in relation to fire
precautions:
• If you see a potential hazard (a situation that could
result in a fire), you must report it
• DO NOT obstruct or interfere with fire alarm call points,
fire extinguishers, emergency lights, fire doors and fire
signage. They are all there for your protection.
The Health and Safety at Work Act
…and Fire Prevention

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Actions to take on discovering a fire
• On discovering a fire in progress, the first and most important action is to
raise the alarm (by operating the break glass alarm if there is one, and
calling out, “Fire!”)
• Encourage prompt evacuation using the nearest safe exit route
• Do not take any personal risks: DO NOT try to fight a fire.
• Meet at the assembly point for roll call and inform the Fire Marshall of
any missing people and their possible location
• Await the arrival of the Fire Brigade
• The Fire Marshall will liaise with the Fire Brigade
• DO NOT re-enter the building until told it is safe to do so by the Fire Brigade

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What do these
extinguisher
information
signs
tell us?

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What the extinguisher contains:
Extinguishers are colour coded for
contents (for quick recognition, for
those who cannot read, for those who
cannot read the language written)
How the extinguisher CAN be used:
There are different types (classes) of
fire, depending on what is burning.
Each type of extinguisher is only safe to
use on particular types of fire
How the extinguisher MUST NOT be
used:
Use the wrong type of extinguisher on a
fire and the situation will get drastically
worse very quickly. Oh yes.

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Types of fire
Solids Paper, timber, textiles
Liquids Spirits, solvents, petrol
Gasses Propane, butane
Metals
Cooking Oils F is for Fat
Electrical NOT a class of its own since it is not the electricity that is
burning but materials set alight by the electric current

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RED label
Organic solids:
Paper, wood
etc
Types of extinguishers and their uses

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TAN/CREAM label
Organic solids:
Paper, wood
etc
Flammable
liquids: oils,
spirits, petrol

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Blue label
Organic solids:
Paper, wood
etc
Flammable
liquids: oils,
spiritis, petrol
Flammable
gasses:
propane,
butane
Live electrical

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Black label
Flammable
liquids: oils,
spirits, petrol
Live electrical