Basic fire safety awareness for domestic workers

NATIONAL Security and Fire were the guest speakers at the Domestic Watch meeting held at Sasol Columbine.

Domestic workers learned about the hazards of fire from Francis Thebola and Thabang Moumakwe, from National Security and Fire, and were shown a demonstration of how to use a fire extinguisher correctly.

Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials, such as paper, wood, cardboard and most plastics. Class B fires involve flammable or combustible liquids, such as gasoline, kerosene, grease, and oil. Class C fires involve electrical equipment, such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers, and outlets. Never use water to extinguish class C fires, the risk of electrical shock is too great. Class D fire extinguishers are commonly found in a chemical laboratory and class F fire extinguishers are used to fight fires involving cooking fats or oils.

“Before deciding to fight a fire, be sure the fire is small and not spreading. A fire can double in size within two to three minutes. Always stand with an exit at your back and several feet away if you are attempting to put out the fire,” said Thebola. “Never fight a fire if it is spreading rapidly.”

Most house fires have a common pattern; kitchen 50 percent, bedroom seven percent, chimney six percent and living room four percent. The top causes of fire are cooking (50 percent) and heating equipment (13 percent).

Thebola and Moumakwe were thanked for their talk and demonstration by Joy Boswell, who coordinated the meeting in the absence of Michelle Pelser.

Read: 

Extinguishing a fire

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