Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

What causes fire?

Typically, fire comes from a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and some sort of fuel
(wood or gasoline, for example). Of course, wood and gasoline don't spontaneously catch on fire just
because they're surrounded by oxygen. It begins with spontaneous heating which some of the common
materials that may spontaneously heat and ignite are animal oils, mixed fish oils, coal, sawdust, hay,
grain, and cotton. Static electricity. It involves the movement of electrons between two objects in
contact with each other.

Having solid fire safety procedures is one thing, but there’s no point in even the most exceptional
procedures if your team doesn’t remember them. One way to increase the accessibility of your fire
safety procedures is to teach your team the RACE acronym when training them in your fire procedures.
RACE simply stands for: Remove, Alarm/Alert, Confine, Extinguish/Evacuate. It is a great tool to use in
the case of a fire emergency, as it is very easy to remember even if panic has taken hold.

What are the different types of fire?

There are four classes of fires: Class A: Ordinary solid combustibles such as paper, wood, cloth and some
plastics. Class B: Flammable liquids such as alcohol, ether, oil, gasoline and grease, which are best
extinguished by smothering.

Give the purpose of a fire extinguisher.

The purpose of a fire extinguisher is to secure our environment. It extinguishes the fire without
providing any harm to the environment. Fire extinguisher minimizes the environmental pollution caused
by smoke.

Having the right type of fire extinguisher in the premises helps in protecting the building infrastructure,
assets, documentation, and most important the lives of the occupants. The fire extinguisher is essential
for both the safety of our environment and our lives. Fire extinguisher minimizes the losses that fire
accidents cause. A fire extinguisher is used to prevent a fire emergency.

What are the different phases of a fire emergency?

Mitigation: Preventing or Minimizing Emergencies

Mitigation involves using measure to reduce the chance of an emergency occurring or reducing the
effects of an emergency that is unavoidable. The mitigation phase occurs both before and after
emergencies and is often a continuous process seeking improvement.
Preparedness: Actively Preparing for Emergencies

Preparedness is a whole toolkit of planning, organizing, training, exercising, equipping, and evaluating
disaster response. The preparedness phase occurs before an emergency occurs, but is still a continuous
process with room for constant improvement.

Response: Responding to Emergencies

Response is the carrying out of plans and use of equipment from the preparedness phase. The response
phase occurs during an emergency. Adrenaline is typically as high as the stakes in this phase, since this is
the most dangerous phase with some of the greater unknown variables.

Recovery: Recovering from Emergencies

Recovery is the actions taken to return to the ‘status quo’. The recovery phase occurs after an
emergency is over. Typically, this involves rebuilding and making sure critical infrastructure is back in
place.