Ch. 20 Public Education

  1. How is public education accomplished by the fire department?
    • Public presentations
    • Distributing safety info
    • Writing newspaper articles
    • PSA's
    • Posting information displays
  2. The International Fire Code
    Model codes that are adopted by the local jurisdiction & used in fire prevention
  3. A cost effective method for getting vital fire & life safety information to the public
    Public Service Announcements (PSA)
  4. What are the two general ways that fire inspectors contact property owners?
    Surveys & inspections
  5. Why do FF's survey properties within their district?
    • To gather info or impart info
    • Info can be documented in a binder or computer system that can be referenced during emergency
  6. What things are noted during preincident surveys?
    • Familiarize FF's with contents
    • Manufacturing processes
    • Layouts of buildings
    • Occupant loads
    • Means of egress
    • Built-in protections systems
    • Fire department access
  7. Inspections
    • Made to ensure compliance with applicable fire & life safety code requirements
    • Sometimes made by only fire inspectors or company officers & crews
  8. When fire inspectors notice a more serious code violation what should they do?
    They pass it to the fire prevention bureau for further action
  9. Fire Prevention
    Code enforcement inspections of commercial, institutional, & industrials are conducted to ensure that citizens have a safe environment
  10. What are some things that annual fire inspections include?
    Checking the inspection & maintenance dates on the portable fire extinguishers & seeing that fire extinguishers are acceptable
  11. What kind of information is contained in fire incident records?
    Critical info about the fire history of a community & can be helpful with the fire prevention efforts
  12. What is an important activity of fire prevention?
    The code enforcement inspection
  13. Where can you find the standards that fire inspectors should meet?
    NFPA 1031
  14. Fire Hazard
    A condition that increases the liklihood of a fire starting or would increase the extent or severity of a fire if one started
  15. What is the most manageable combustion component?
    Heat sources
  16. Fuel Hazards
    • Ordinary combustibles (wood, cloth, paper)
    • Flammable & combustible gases
    • Flammable & combustible liquids
    • Chemicals (nitrates, oxides, chlorates)
    • Dusts (grain, wood, metal, coal)
    • Plastics, resins, & cellulose
  17. Heat Source Hazrds
    • Chemical heat energy: Materials being improperly stored can result in chemical heat energy
    • Electrical heat energy: Poorly maintained electrical appliances, exposed wiring, & lighting
    • Mechanical heat energy: Moving parts on machines
    • Nuclear heat energy: Heat created by fission, not commonly encountered by FF
  18. What should not be stored in a furnace room or enclosure?
    Flammable liquids
  19. Common Fire Hazard
    A condition that is prevalent in almost all occupancies & increases the likelihood of fire starting
  20. Common hazards
    • Obstructed electrical panels
    • Poor housekeeping & improper storage of combustible materials
    • Defective or improperly used heating, lighting, or power equipment
    • Misuse of fumigation substances & flammable or combustible liquids
    • Improper disposal of floor-cleaning compounds
  21. What can poor house-keeping cause?
    • It can make manuevering through an area difficult
    • Impede the path of egress
    • Increase the fire load
    • Hide fire hazards
  22. Personal Fire Hazards
    • Common hazards caused by the unsafe acts of individuals
    • Ex. Smoking in bed
  23. Special Fire Hazards
    One that arises as a result of the processes or operations that are characteristics of the individual occupancy
  24. Types of special fire hazards
    Commercial, Manufacturing, & Public-assembly occupancies
  25. Commercial occupancy hazards
    • Lack of automatic sprinklers
    • Change of occuapancy that exceeds use for which permit was given
    • Storage of large quantities of combustible products
    • Mixed varieties of contents
    • Difficulties entering places
    • Illegal building additions
    • Illegal storage
    • Storage aisles incorrect distance apart
    • FDC obstructed
    • Storage obstructing sprinklers
    • Party walls, attics, cocklofts, etc.
  26. Manufacturing occupancy hazards
    • High-hazard processes using volatile substances, oxidizers, or extreme temp.
    • Flammable liquids
    • High-piled storage of combustible materials
    • Operation of vehicles inside building
    • Large, open areas
    • Large-scale use of flammable & combustible gases
    • Lack of automatic sprinklers
  27. Public assembly occupancies
    • Lack of protection systems
    • Large numbers of people present
    • Insufficient, obstructed, or locked exits
    • Materials stored in paths of egress
    • Highly combustible interior finishes
    • Inadequate or inoperative fire extinguishers
    • Inadequate or inoperative exit lighting
  28. Target Hazard
    • Any structure in which there is a greater than normal potential for the loss of life or property from a fire
    • Lumberyards, bulk oil storage facilities, shopping malls, hospitals, theaters, nursing homes, schools, etc.
  29. Preincident survey kits
    • Writing equipment: Tablets, pens, pencils, clipboard, survey forms
    • Drawing equipment: Engineering or graph paper, straightedge, a copy of NFPA standard symbols
    • Other equipment: Flashlight, water-pressure gauge, camera, & measuring tape or rangefinder
  30. How should the inspection process begin?
    • The company officer should introduce the team, briefly review the process, & answer any questions
    • The occupant should accompany the team & guide them throughout the process
  31. What should happen if an inspection team is denied access to a room?
    It should be reported to the fire marshall or fire prevention officer so an inspection warrant may be sought
  32. Where does the inspections team start the inspection?
    On the outside of the structure
  33. When should life-saftey violations, such as obstructed exits or disabled alarms be fixed?
    Immediately, before the inspection team leaves the premises
  34. Fire Safety Surveys
    Include preincident planning surveys of public & commercial occupancies & residential fire safety surveys
  35. Preincident planning surveys
    Allows FF's to gather info on a building's construction, layout, contents, fire load, hazmat, protection systems, etc.
  36. Fuel Load
    • The bulk of fuel available to burn and generally refers to the contents of a building
    • Should look for large quantities of: Plastics, Aerosis, Compressed gases, Explosives, Flammable & combustible liquids, Combustible dusts, Corrosive materials
  37. Things FF's should observe when inspecting outside of a structure
    • Are address numbers visible?
    • Are all sides of the building accessible?
    • Is there a building setback or other barriers to aerial devices?
    • Are there trees/shrubs that hide FDC?
    • Are there barrel windows or security doors?
    • What is location of utility controls?
    • Are the power lines overhead?
  38. Setback
    Distance from the street line to the front of a building
  39. When survey of the exterior is complete, where is the next place for the survey team to go?
    • Directly to the roof or basement & proceed with a systematic survey
    • Many FF's prefer to start @ the roof
  40. FF's should draw floor-plans and include the following:
    • Interior layout
    • High-hazard areas
    • Egress routes
    • Important features
  41. What info is important to develop written preincident plans?
    • A complete set of notes
    • Photographs
    • Well prepared drawings
  42. For buildings where existing maps are unavailable or outdated, what should FF's do?
    • Include a simple plot plan drawing that shows the arrangement of the property with respect to streets & other buildings
    • Most important part of survey
  43. What information does a basic floor plan drawing provide?
    The building layout & additional site info
  44. What do sectional elevation views show?
    The relationship of multiple floors & penetrations such as elevator, pipe shafts, & atriums
  45. What should you make clear when doing residential fire safety surveys?
    That it is a fire prevention activity & not code enforcement
  46. What are the main objectives when performing residential fire safety surveys?
    • Preventing accidental fires
    • Improving life safety conditions
    • Helping the owners to understand & improve existing conditions
  47. EDITH
    Exit Drills In The Home
  48. Firefighter responsibilities
    • Conduct surveys in teams of two or more
    • Dress & act professionally
    • Introduce yourself, partner, & provide ID
    • Explain survey procedure
    • Maintain business-like attitude @ all times
    • Focus on preventing fires
    • Offer constructive suggestions
    • Survey all rooms & garage
    • Discuss survey results & answer any questions
    • Keep survey confidential
  49. Residential Fire Common Causes
    • Malfunctioning heating appliances & water heaters
    • Combustibles too close to heating appliances or lamps
    • Unsafe cooking procedures
    • Smoking materials
    • Overloaded extension cords & multiple-outlet devices
    • Exposed electrical wiring
    • Defective electrical appliances
    • Improper use of combustible/flammable liquid
    • Poor housekeeping
    • Untended candles
  50. Interior Surveys
    • Combustible materials
    • Appliances
    • Electrical wiring/equipment
    • Portable heating unit
    • Woodstoves or fireplaces
    • Heating fuel
    • General housekeeping practices
    • Smoke alarms
    • Electrical distribution panels
    • Gas appliances
    • Oil-burning units
    • Furnaces/Water heaters
    • Shop/Workrooms
    • Accumulated waste
    • Flammable liquids
  51. Recognized testing laboratories
    • Underwriters Laboratory (UL)
    • FM Global (FM)
  52. Exterior Surveys
    • Roof
    • Chimneys & spark arrestors
    • Yards & porches
    • BBQ's & fuel
    • Outside waste burners
    • Garages, sheds, barns, & outbuildings
    • Flammable liquids & gases
    • Lightning protection
    • Security devices
    • Power lines
  53. Where should dry combustibles be stored?
    • Away from a structure
    • Ex. Firewood
  54. Home Safety Issues
    • Homeowners should maintain a clear path of egress
    • Should have two exits available
  55. The Four E's
    • Education
    • Engineering
    • Enforcement
    • Economic Incentive
    • The four parts of effective injury prevention
    • Sometimes emergency response is added
  56. Organizations used for fire facts
    • USFA
    • NIST
    • Home Safety Council
    • Safe Kids
    • American Red Cross
    • U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision
    • CDC
    • UL
    • NFPA
  57. What is one of the most important methods in life-safety education?
    • To present positive information
    • Positive messages: "Crawl low under smoke", "Get out, get out", "Call 911"
    • Use positve messages instead of negative ones
  58. Basic Four-Step Method of Instruction
    • Preparation: Know the material, practice, & create interest
    • Presentation: Present facts & ideas, Use visual aids, demonstrate techniques, present pens with safety messages
    • Application: Participants are allowed to practice the info that you have given them
    • Evaluation: Determine the effect that the presentation has on saftey & prevention in community
  59. Common definition of a young child
    Birth to 8 yrs old
  60. Presenting Fire & Life-Safety to Children
    • Make presentation 15 minutes or less
    • Remain flexible
    • Get down to childrens eye level
    • Do not scare children
    • Allow them to watch you put your gear on
    • Children learn best by doing not hearing
    • Do not allow children to wear your helmet
  61. Presentation Topics
    • Stop, drop, & roll techniques
    • Home safety
    • Smoke alarms
    • CO detectors
  62. Candles
    • Accounted for 4% of fires in 2004
    • 38% occured in a bedroom
    • Resulted in 35% of fire deaths
  63. Safety Tips for Candles
    • Place on heat resistant surfaces
    • Always use holder
    • Do not place near curtains or fabrics
    • Keep out of reach of children
    • Seperate candles by @ least 4"
    • Do not move lighted candles
    • Never leave unattended
    • During power outage use flashlights instead
  64. Where should smoke detectors be located?
    • On every level of the structure
    • Every bedroom
    • Usually mounted on ceiling
    • Also mounted on walls, no closer than 4" no farther than 12"
  65. How should smoke detectors be installed?
    According to manufacturer's instructions
  66. What is one of the first things to do when a station tour starts?
    Provide instructions on what to do & whee to go if an alarm sounds during the tour
  67. How many civilian fire casualties occur in residences each year?
    70%
  68. What does a preincident planning survey do?
    Minimizes a building's deficiences & maximizing its strengths
  69. What is the major fuel sources in most modern commercial & mercantile building?
    Furnishings & other building contents
  70. Motivation
    The internal process in which energy is produced by needs or expended in the direction of goals.
Author
nolecat3
ID
113149
Card Set
Ch. 20 Public Education
Description
Chapter 20
Updated