A small candle caused a big fire -Ways to avoid the causes of fire accidents in homes

Ways to avoid the causes of fire accidents (before they happen) in homes and residential buildings
preface

A small candle caused a big fire
It really happened - a true story

It happened in one of the apartments that a child was absent from his family for a few moments in one of the rooms. He was playing with a candle and he had matches. He lit the candle with match, left it and the room. Then his family noticed that there was smoke coming from the room, and they were surprised that a fire broke out in the room. With the cooperation of the neighbors, the city fire brigade was called, and the firefighters continued to fight the fire for at least 40 minutes until the fire was extinguish

What helped in the length of the extinguishing period was th presence of Goods and clothes in the room in which the fire occurred and the lack of a fire extinguisher in the housing unit, and had it not been for God's kindness to the souls, a tragedy would have occurred… Therefore, in this article we will mention based on our experience the means of prevention to avoid the occurrence of fires, then in the next article, God willing, we will discuss the topic of what duties we must Is it implemented if a fire actually occurred

-----------------------------------------------

First, means of avoiding fires caused by electrical current

1-The safety and security of connections and electrical safety switches and avoiding bad 1- types. It has1 become clear from the statistics of the Civil Defense that one of the most important and most common causes of fires in residential homes is caused by electric short circuit resulting from contact breakers, connections, cables and safety switches of poor quality that do not meet the electrical loads and have poor insulation and negligence in This is very dangerous

2-When you are away from home, whether it is for a short or long period, the electricity must be disconnected from the home appliances, except when necessary and there are devices that contain foods that may be rotted, such as the deep freezer and the refrigerator, and it is better that they be connected to a voltage regulator.

3- Electricity subscriber should not be used to connect devices that consume high current (amperes), such as deep freezers, heaters, washing machines, electric refrigerators but it must be connected by main electric socket.

4- Review the electrical connections, switches, and plumbing connections of the electric water heater, and make sure on a daily check that the thermostat separates the electricity from the heater when it reaches the required temperature, and stop using the electric water heater if the The thermostat is damaged or the water non-return valve (safety valve) and call the specialist to change the damaged ones and install a high-quality non-return valve and thermostat

5- When using an electric heater in the winter to warm up, you should avoid placing the heater on bedding, tables, or wooden tables, and away from flammable things such as carpets, paper, books, curtains, and clothes, it must be of the type with safety devices against electrical short circuit and overheating also it must be connected Powered by a main socket not by electricity subscriber

6- When thunder and lightning occur, disconnect the electricity source

--------------------------------------

Secondly, means of avoiding fires caused by natural gas cooking stoves, butane gas and gas water heaters

1-The occurrence of natural gas and butane gas leaks must never be tolerated, and the natural gas source must be closed. In the case of using butane gas cylinder, the damaged cylinder and connections must be isolated and the use of stoves that have leaks in the connections must be stopped immediately. Calling specialists from the gas company to change the connections and hoses.

2-In the case of butane gas cylinder, it is necessary to change the damaged connection and hoses or the regulator if it has a leak, or change the gas cylinder if the leak is in the butane gas cylinder welding joint

3-If a leak occurs in gas water heaters (natural - butane), you must not use electrical switches, and you must not operate electric fans, extractors, mobile devices, or any means that could generate an electric spark when operated. Rather, you must open the windows and shutters, then be outside the home and contact the gas company to bring them home to deal with the leak and replace what needs to be changed

4- When installing a butane gas cylinder, it must be tested for leakage using soap foam and not using matches

5-Monitoring children while they are playing and not allowing them to use matches or wax, use kitchen lighters, cigarette lighters, or be near cooking stoves.

6-Do not place pieces of cloth, rags, plastic objects, wooden pieces, or bread bags on top of cooking stoves

7-Daily periodic inspection and monthly and quarterly preventive maintenance (every three months) on natural gas connections and stoves, and calling specialists if necessary.

8- Clean hoods (cooking fume hoods) regularly from accumulated fat

9-While cooking food on gas stoves or preparing hot drinks, stoves and cooking utensils must be monitored constantly, especially if there are frying oils in them, until you finish cooking. Don't sleep and then forget that the stoves are working.

Everyone in the household should be trained to alert each other that the stove is working

---------------------------------------------------------

Third: Means of prevention from fires caused by smoking

Important note: If you have insisted on smoking and neglected your health, do not be one of the reasons for the occurrence of fire because, based on statistics, your neglect of the effects of smoking is one of the important factors in its occurrence. of fires, and they have already occurred because the fires caused by smoking are very dangerous types. Because it will not be discovered until hours after its occurrence, and the house may be asleep, so when smoking you must adhere to the following:

1-Avoid smoking while lying in bed, away from curtains and pillows

2- Avoid smoking inside rooms and kitchens, and if smoking is necessary, let it be in places outside the rooms and outside the kitchens

3- Do not smoke when you feel sleepy or when you are between sleep and wakefulness

4- Avoid smoking when taking medications that have narcotic or hypnotic effects

5-When extinguishing cigarette butts in an ashtray, use ashtrays made of non-combustible materials and are deep

6- When throwing cigarette butts in the trash, soak them in water before throwing them away

------------------------------------------------------.

Conclusion

Finally, we mention the general and important means of protection that play an important role in avoiding fires

General means of protection

1- It is very important to have a fire extinguisher with chemical extinguishing powder, 3 kg 

or 6 kg. This type is characterized by being safe against electrical short circuits and is

 suitable for extinguishing all types of fires. It is suitable for continuous use. Ensure that the extinguisher’s validity indicator is in the green color range.

2- It is preferable to have a fire-fighting blanket to prevent the ignition of cooking utensils and sofas, and it is also useful in escaping from a fire during it

3- Installing detectors (alarm sensors) against fire (smoke detector and smoke & fire detector) in children’s rooms so that adults can take quick action instead of children who may become frightened, , and confused and unable to act

4- Flammable materials such as kerosene, alcohol and solvents should be stored in well-ventilated areas outside the home or in a place away from cooking stoves and any flames in residential apartments.

5- Although most residential units do not have an emergency ladder, its presence helps individuals quickly evacuate the building when a fire occurs

---------------------------------------------------

I ask God, the Most Merciful and Kind to His servants, to protect us all from, evil and harm. With my best wishes
Engineer Muhammad Abdelrazek Ahmed Alfadaly

Research sources

1-Recommendations of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration of the US Department of Labor (OSHA).

2-Egyptian fire code

3- The attached illustration image from the freepik website is allowed to be circulated and has no  :ownership rights according to the site’s permit link 

https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/flat-design-firefighters-putting-out-fire_18952661.htm