Fire Safety Week tips from EOHSS
Thursday, Oct. 8
Fire Prevention Week continues with a focus on Residence
Fire Safety in residences is of paramount importance when it comes to life safety on campus. Learning about, and following the Residence rules around fire safety help to keep you and the residence community you live in safe. Now that you’re moved in and settled, remember these basic tips around fire safety:
– absolutely no candles allowed in residence
– if cooking in apartment/suite or common room , make sure you tend to it!
– never tamper with fire safety equipment like smoke detectors or fire extinguishers. Did you know this could lead to a Major violation on your file under the Residence Code of Conduct?
– when the alarms go off get out and stay out. Slow response times can result in fines and other penalties. In the event of a real fire, a slow response could cost you much more! Check out this video from MacDraft, a Fire Safety Initiative. Check out this great activity that was run on campus a number of years ago. It shows just how quickly a residence room fire can spread. http://housing.mcmaster.ca/macdraft/
Wednesday, Oct. 7
Fire extinguishers
Anyone can use an extinguisher right? The answer is absolutely, but you need to know some things before the fire occurs.
Primarily, not all extinguisher are the same. Some extinguishers are built for chemical fires, some for electrical and some are multi purpose. You must know what fuel type you are dealing with and what type of extinguisher you have before proceeding. Imagine if you used a water based extinguisher on an electrical fire? Understandably, this would be very dangerous. Use the attached legend as guidance on what your home extinguisher can extinguish. Check your extinguisher for the corresponding letters.
When using an extinguisher, the word PASS helps you to remember the 4 steps in using virtually any extinguisher on campus or at home. Knowing this information before a fire occurs will help to ensure you stay safe and the fire gets extinguished.
Tuesday, Oct. 6
Smoke detectors
Smoke detectors are a critical part of your home emergency response plan. Smoke alarms provide a critical early warning of fire, allowing additional time to escape. To begin with, placement of your smoke detectors is important. It is now law in Ontario that you have functioning smoke detectors on every level of your home. Heat and smoke rise so smoke detectors should be placed directly on the ceiling as this will provide the earliest possible warning of smoke in the area.
Age of your detector is really important as well. New detectors have expiry dates located on the back side of the unit a similar to the one shown in the attached picture. If your detector doesn’t have an expiry date, it should be replaced.
Daylight savings time is when most people think to test the unit, but in general a monthly check isn’t a bad idea to make sure that the unit is functioning properly. Set reminders in your smart phone, get your kids involved in helping to remember, and maybe take a moment to run a drill and test everyone’s skills in getting out and staying out! All detectors will have a test button which when press and held will set the alarm off. If it doesn’t work, it’s time for a new detector!
For more information on smoke detectors check out this great National Fire Protection Association resource page: http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/fire-and-safety-equipment/smoke-alarms
Monday, Oct. 5
Get Out – Stay Out
All buildings on University property have well maintained and functioning detection and alarm systems. It’s so important to remember that seconds count when the alarm goes off so when you hear the alarm, get moving immediately. If you don’t already know your building and it’s layout, take some time to walk the hallways and check out stairwells and where they lead to. This small amount of homework will be very beneficial to you in the event of an emergency. Imagine if your primary route is blocked with smoke?
Once outside the building, move away from the entrances and exits to allow others a clear pathway to get out, as well as allowing space for emergency responders to get in. When an alarm is activated (unless for testing or drill purposes) the fire department and Security Services are automatically on their way.
Once the alarm sourced is discovered and resolved, an all clear will be given by Security Services. Wait for this all clear before you re-enter the building!
For home fire safety planning, check out this handy resource from the National Fire Protection Association – http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/fire-prevention-week.
