1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,000
(English captions by Trisha Paul, University of Michigan.)

2
00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:11,000
Institutional fires have become a major public
health problem in the Eastern Africa region,

3
00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:19,000
either affecting schools, prisons, office
blocks, and buildings.

4
00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:26,000
Fire refers to the uncontrolled burning of
settlements, or forests, or vehicles or

5
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,000
vessels, and it is a very frequent form of
hazard in Eastern Africa.

6
00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,000
It may be accidental or deliberate.

7
00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,000
It may be natural or technological.

8
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:44,000
Elements of fire include fuel, heat, and a
supply of oxygen.

9
00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:54,000
If any one of these three is removed, then
the fire will not exist.

10
00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:00,000
Fire causes burns and shock, disabilities
and deaths, damage and loss of property, environmental

11
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,000
degradation and pollution.

12
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:11,000
It may result in a mass casualty incident.

13
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:18,000
Factors that influence fire include vegetation
and weather, availability of combustibles and toxicity

14
00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:25,000
of flammables, absence of warning and lack
of knowledge, magnitude of exposure and age

15
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:37,000
of victim, availability of fire fighting equipment,
and housing characteristics.

16
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:41,000
Causes of fires include electrical causes.

17
00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:47,000
These may be broken and dirty insulators,
loose flexible wiring, perishable or damaged

18
00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:57,000
insulation of wiring, bad connections including
overloading, incorrect fusing and poor earthing,

19
00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:04,000
current or electricity traveling via a gas
pipe.

20
00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:13,000
Human causes include smoking, cooking and
unattended fire, appliances left on including

21
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:21,000
cookers or irons, aerosols, careless handling
and playing with fire, arson, and misuse of

22
00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,000
appliances.

23
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,000
These are the major classes of fires.

24
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:35,000
Class A fires result from ordinary combustible
materials such as wood, paper, grass, cotton,

25
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,000
or cloth.

26
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:48,000
The extinguishing media is usually water,
or dry chemical powder, or sand and fire beating

27
00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:53,000
for these types of fires.

28
00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:58,000
Class B fires result from flammable liquids
such as kerosene, petrol, spirit, cooking

29
00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,000
fats.

30
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:07,000
The most effective extinguishing media is
foam and dry chemical power.

31
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,000
Class C fires involve gases such as methane,
propane, butane.

32
00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,000
These gases can produce explosions.

33
00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:25,000
Extinguishing methods involve closing of the
valve or the source of the leakage of the

34
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:32,000
gas, but you can also use dry chemical powder

35
00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:38,000
Class D fires result from metal heating
such as Aluminum and Magnesium.

36
00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:43,000
The main extinguishing media is dry chemical
powder.

37
00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,000
These fires are capable of reaching very high
temperatures.

38
00:03:47,000 --> 00:04:01,000
As we can see, dry chemical powder is a form
that is useful for all classes of fires.

39
00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:09,000
Electrical fires do not constitute a class
on their own but may be either A, B, C, or

40
00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,000
D types of fires.

41
00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:19,000
Extinguishing involves cutting off electricity
if possible, and the recommended media is

42
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:25,000
dry chemical powder or carbon dioxide.

43
00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:43,000
Methods of fire extinguition include smothering,
starvation and cooling.

44
00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:53,000
If you have some fire extinguishers where you 
work, try and look at them and examine them.

45
00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000
What is their content?

46
00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,000
What classes of fires are they indicated for?

47
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:07,000
Kindly check the expiry dates and service
of these gadgets.

48
00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:18,000
If possible, you can have a demonstration
on the actual use of an extinguisher.

49
00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:26,000
Portable fire extinguishers are the 'First
Aid Fire Fighting Appliances', FAFFA, normally

50
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,000
operated by one person.

51
00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:37,000
Water containing extinguishers usually have
a red label.

52
00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:43,000
Foam containing extinguishers usually have
a cream label.

53
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:50,000
Dry chemical powder extinguishers usually
have a blue label, and carbon dioxide extinguishers

54
00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:55,000
usually have a black label.

55
00:05:55,000 --> 00:06:04,000
Nowadays most extinguishers are red in color
but are only differentiated by a color code.

56
00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:12,000
That is, if extinguishers are red in color, then
a color code is placed on them to indicate

57
00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,000
their content.

58
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:23,000
Look at a fire extinguisher near you and
try to check for some of these.

59
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,000
Safety implications of hand held extinguishers.

60
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,000
Always note the following hazards 
when using extinguishers:

61
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:34,000
The possibility of electrocution, 
inhalation of dry chemical

62
00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:41,000
powder, frostbite from carbon dioxide, their
failure rates are usually higher, and then

63
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,000
the issue of weight.

64
00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:52,000
Noise, a lot of noise, especially from the
carbon dioxide fire extinguishers.

65
00:06:52,000 --> 00:07:01,000
Dry chemical powder extinguishers may cause
impaired vision when used.

66
00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:07,000
Pre-hospital fire management is an important
adjunct to fire control.

67
00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:13,000
Organize and establish and incident command
structure, extinguish the fire, conduct a

68
00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:19,000
Rapid Needs Assessment, search and rescue
is necessary for evacuation of victims.

69
00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:26,000
Initial triage and first aid to the victims
if necessary, transporting the victims to health

70
00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:34,000
facility. Use available resources and mobilize
for others if needed.

71
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:41,000
Hospital based operations are also an important
adjunct to fire management.

72
00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:55,000
Establish a receiving mechanism and emergency
management for serious victims of fires.

73
00:07:55,000 --> 00:08:01,000
Fire prevention is an important aspect of
fire control.

74
00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:07,000
What factors do you think increase fire risk
and how do you think fires can be prevented

75
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:13,000
in institutions in your district?

76
00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:19,000
Fire prevention includes building standards
that incorporate hazard reduction, no smoking

77
00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:26,000
signs, orderly arrangements of goods to
avoid spontaneous ignition, providing space

78
00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,000
between goods and avoiding congestion in dormitories.

79
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:41,000
Others include fire segregated walls and preventive
measures against easy spread of fire.

80
00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:49,000
Fire prevention also involves good house keeping,
an awareness creation to create a sense of

81
00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,000
community responsibility.

82
00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:59,000
There is need to strengthen fire rescue
departments, enforce legislations, and set

83
00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:07,000
bylaws to prevent fires.

84
00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:13,000
Fire protection ivolves installation of fire
equipment inside and outside of buildings,

85
00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:20,000
fire escapes, exits and escape signs, protect
buildings from extensive damage resulting

86
00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:26,000
from fires.

87
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:34,000
Hand appliances include extinguishers and
buckets of sand that are in easy reach.

88
00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:39,000
We also have fixed installations depending
on availability of resources including risers,

89
00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:47,000
hose reels, and external private hydrants.

90
00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:53,000
Fixed installations include foam, gases, and
dry chemical powder.

91
00:09:53,000 --> 00:10:07,000
Advanced systems include automatic sprinkler
systems and fire warning gadgets.

92
00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:12,000
Fire drills should cover fire alarm effectiveness.

93
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:21,000
Whether a physical alarm is installed or we
depend on a human alarm, this should be tested.

94
00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:29,000
They also cover timeliness of notification,
fire teams conformance with established fire

95
00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:33,000
procedures, safe evacuation and assembly.

96
00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:38,000
Emphasis should be on orderly evacuation rather
than speed.

97
00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:44,000
Evacuation is the removal of people from an
area of danger to a safe area in an orderly

98
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:49,000
manner to prevent confusion and panic.

99
00:10:49,000 --> 00:11:04,000
It is important to provide an evacuation assembly
point that is for any workers involved in

100
00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:13,000
fire management, and also the place where
affected persons should assemble.

101
00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:19,000
If a staff member or other members from 
the building or students or pupils

102
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:24,000
are not seen during the roll call, then the
fire team conducts a search and rescue.

103
00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,000
All these should be tested in the fire evacuation
procedures.

104
00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:36,000
There is also the rendezvous point for evacuation,
which is the meeting point for the first responders

105
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:43,000
such as fire fighters, or people designated
to address fires in an institution.

106
00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:47,000
These should be carefully selected.