Fire Safety

Guidelines
Fire Safety
Guidelines
Department of Environmental Health and Safety
2809 Daley Drive Ames, Iowa 50011-3660
(515) 294-5359 www.ehs.iastate.edu
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The mission of Environmental Health and Safetys (EH&S) re safety program is
to provide a proactive re prevention program designed to protect the lives and
property of Iowa State University students, faculty, staff and visitors. This mis-
sion is addressed through a comprehensive effort of re safety education, code
enforcement, investigation and audits.
EH&S serves as a resource to the Iowa State University community on re
safety issues, collecting, compiling and disseminating information relating to
plan review and re and arson prevention and control, as well as providing re
extinguisher training, inspection and testing of the 6,500 re extinguishers on
campus.
The best defense against re is to prevent the re from starting. Everyone is
responsible for re prevention and for knowing how to handle a re emergency.
Annual re safety inspections of occupied university facilities are conducted by
the State Fire Marshal and Iowa State University. These audits identify areas
that present re and general safety hazards. The following pages list policies and
procedures that faculty, staff and students should know to prevent unsafe condi-
tions and to provide for proper emergency response in the event of a re.
Introduction
Photo courtesy of 911 pictures
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Fire and evacuation alarms are intended to alert building occupants that a re or other
life-threatening situation exists. Upon hearing the alarm, everyone should leave the
building immediately. In the event of a re, the following steps should be taken to
ensure the safety of all building occupants.
1. Activate the re alarm. In the event of a re or any emergency requiring building evacuation, it
is essential to activate the nearest re alarm pull station or to verbally notify building occupants
if the building is not equipped with a re alarm system.
2. Call 911. Telephone 911 and give your name, location, nature of the emergency and telephone
number. This call should be made immediately, even if the re alarm has already been acti-
vated.
3. Assist injured personnel. Inform emergency responders or 911 about the nature of the medi-
cal emergency. If properly trained, assist with rst aid or evacuation.
4. Exit the building. At the sound of a re alarm, all building occupants should proceed to the
nearest exit and leave the building immediately. During pre-emergency planning, all occupants
should learn two evacuation routes from each building area.
5. Assist physically impaired individuals. Physically impaired individuals should be given
assistance to a secure area, such as a large stairwell or an ofce separated from a corridor by
a re door. Emergency personnel must be notied of their locations. Each supervisor should
be aware of any physically impaired persons in their work areas and any special assistance
needed to safely evacuate them.
6. Ensure all personnel are out of the building. Ensure all personnel are out of the immediate
area. If there is time and no present danger, close all doors and windows while evacuating.
7. Do not use the elevators. Elevators may lose power during a re. If elevators are working
during a re emergency, their use is reserved for emergency response personnel only.
8. Extinguish small res. If the re is small and you know how to use a re extinguisher, attempt
to extinguish the re yourself. Do not attempt to extinguish any re if there is a threat to your
safety. To learn how to properly use a re extinguisher, contact EH&S at 294-5359 and register
for re extinguisher training.
9. Report hazardous conditions. If you are working in a research area and have sufcient time,
ensure that the lab and experiments are in safe condition before leaving the area. Report any
hazardous conditions to responding emergency personnel.
10. Stay low. If confronted with smoke, keep near the oor. Smoke, heat and toxic gases will nor-
mally rise to the ceiling. All closed doors should be checked for heat prior to opening. If a door
knob is hot, the door should not be opened.
11. Stay away from the building until it is safe to return. Do not re-enter the building until advised
to do so by the authorities.
Evacuation Procedures
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Practice what to do in an emergency before one happens. Fire drills should be
scheduled to help people prepare for an evacuation.
Know where the nearest re extinguisher is located and how to use it.
Know where the nearest re alarm pull station is located.
Know the proper evacuation methods for disabled persons.
Know primary and secondary evacuation routes, as well as the
location of a safe gathering place.
Plan Ahead
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Proper personnel behavior is important in preventing the initiation of res. Fol-
lowing prudent re emergency procedures is important during re emergen-
cies to avoid loss of life. Fires can be prevented by keeping fuels and heat
sources away from each other. Maintaining safe exits is crucial to facilitate safe
evacuation in the event of a re.
Examples of proper re prevention practices include:
Removing waste paper,
packaging and old rags.
Switching off monitors and/or
computers each night, when-
ever feasible.
Ensuring that sprinklers have
the required 18 of space
beneath the deector in order
to function properly. Consult
with EH&S when erecting
shelves/partitions in sprin-
klered spaces in order to
avoid interference.
Disallowing the use of space heaters.
Keeping corridors obstruction-free. Bulletin boards, display cabinets of non-
combustible construction and approved benches are acceptable.
Disallowing electrical cords running across doors or aisles, or pinching them
behind or under furniture.
Maintaining stairs and stairwells free of obstructions and storage.
Keeping re and corridor doors closed, unless equipped with magnetic hold-
open devices. Wedges are not allowed.
Ensuring that stairways and corridors are adequately lit (> 1 foot-candle).
Maintaining at least 48-inch (required width) access to exit doors.
Ensuring that exit lights and emergency lights are functioning properly. Call
294-5100 to request lighting maintenance.
Fire Prevention, Access & Egress
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Electricity and electrical equipment may cause a re through electrical arcs or
by overheating, and can cause injury or death through shocks and burns.
Extension cords must not be used, except on a temporary basis less than 3
days.
Extension cords must have the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) label on both
the plug and the cord.
Splicing and repairing of cords and plugs are not permitted.
Cords used in wet condition or outdoors must be protected by ground fault
circuit interrupters.
Extension cords must be protected from damage and not placed in areas
where equipment could cause damage.
Extension cords must never be daisy-chained or plugged into each other.
Extension cords for maintenance work and equipment energizing must have
three-prong plugs.
Extension cords should have a minimum of 16 AWG (American Wire Gauge)
and be rated for the equipment in use.
Cracked, frayed or broken electrical cords and plugs must be replaced.
Power outlets and multiple outlet plugs must never be overloaded.
Extension Cord Use
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A re requires air, an ignition source
and fuel to ignite. Whenever these
three elements come together
under the proper conditions, a
re will result.
No candles or open ames
are allowed in areas other
than shops, laboratories and
kitchens.
Open ames, whether in a laboratory, kitchen or
shop area, must always be attended.
Open ames must be kept away from combustible and
ammable materials.
Approval from EH&S must be obtained whenever working with open ames
outside of designated laboratories, kitchens or shop areas.
Flammable liquids create a severe re and explosion hazard. Flammables
should be kept in approved, sealed containers. These containers should be
stored in ammable liquid storage cabinets or approved storage rooms.
A maximum of 10 gallons of Class I ammable liquids per laboratory is allowed
to be stored outside of a ammable liquid storage cabinet or room.
Refrigerators used for ammable storage should be manufactured for that pur-
pose and labeled as such on the front of the door. Only the amount required for
the day should be taken out of storage.
All sources of ignition, including ames, static electricity, friction and heat from
ovens and other sources, must be eliminated when working with ammable
liquids.
Open Flames & Flammable Liquids
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Arson is one of the leading causes of re. Preventing arson requires reducing
easy targets for supplying fuels for res. Preventive measures include main-
taining proper housekeeping and emphasizing security measures.
Arson is the second leading cause of re deaths in the United States.
Arson is the leading cause of re-related property damage. Direct damage
results in more than $3 billion per year.
Juveniles account for 55% of all arson arrests.
One out of every four res occurring in the United States each year
approximately half a million is due to arson.
Because arson is a major re threat, it is important to follow building security
measures. Unauthorized persons should not be allowed into ofces, laborato-
ries or other work areas.
Combustible materials should be eliminated or minimized in areas accessible
to the public.
Suspicious activities should immediately be reported to a supervisor or other
relevant authority.
Arson
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Protecting people from re and explosions is the primary goal of Iowa State
Universitys Fire Protection Plan. Awareness of the proper re safety proce-
dures can maximize this effort.
All res, even those found already extin-
guished, should be reported by calling
911.
EH&S provides re evacuation and re extinguisher training. Contact EH&S at
294-2193 or online at www.ehs.iastate.edu to register for a class.
Reporting and Training
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Portable re extinguishers can save lives and property when used on small
res...but only if theyre used properly. Before ghting a re, remember:
Proceed only if the re is small and contained, the re alarm has been
pulled, there is a clear exit through which to escape, and the person using
the extinguisher knows how to use it properly.
Multi-purpose re extinguishers (ABC) will handle res involving combustible mate-
rials: ammable liquids, gases and greases, as well as electrical res. All re extin-
guishers are labeled either ABC, A, B, C, or a combination of A, B and C, so be
sure to read the label.
Water re extinguishers (A) will handle res involving fuels composed of wood
and/or paper.
Carbon dioxide re extinguishers (BC) will handle small res caused by ammable
liquids or electricity.
When using a re extinguisher, follow the PASS method. Hold the extinguisher
upright and:
Pull the pin and stand back eight to ten feet,
Aim at the base of the re,
Squeeze the handle, and
Sweep the base of the re with the extinguishing agent.
Remember, time is always of the essence, since re extinguishers have a
limited operation time of 8 - 15 seconds.
Portable Fire Extinguishers
A TRASH-WOOD-PAPER B LIQUIDS-GREASE C ELECTRICAL EQUIP.
Type ABC Fire Extinguisher
A TRASH-WOOD-PAPER B LIQUIDS-GREASE C ELECTRICAL EQUIP.
Type A Fire Extinguisher
A TRASH-WOOD-PAPER B LIQUIDS-GREASE C ELECTRICAL EQUIP.
Type BC Fire Extinguisher
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The United States has one of the highest re death rates in the industrial
world...13.1 deaths per million population.
Between 3,500 and 4,000 Americans lose their lives each year, and another
20,000 to 30,000 are injured as a result of re.
Between 1.5 and 2 million res occur each year. Many others go unreported,
causing additional injuries and property loss.
Fires may smolder for hours before bursting into ame, but then consume an
entire room in two minutes.
Direct annual property loss due to re averages between $9- and $14 billion.
Nationwide, the peak months for re fatalities are November through March.
Fire kills more Americans than oods, hurricanes, tornadoes and earth-
quakes combined.
New York City alone has more res than the entire country of Japan.
A re department responds to a re somewhere in the United States or
Canada every 16 seconds.
Fires double in size every 30 seconds.
Fire Facts