The last thing most of us expect in the safety of our own homes is an unforeseen and extreme event like a house fire. We see events like this on TV, or hear about them third-person, and think it can never happen to us. In fact, these types of events are more common than you may think.
If a fire does occur, a few seconds can make a big difference to help you and your family escape swiftly and safely. These tips can help you create a house fire evacuation plan:
Plan for everyone. Take into account the special
needs of everyone in your household, including young children and
elderly family members who may not be very mobile. Children don’t always
wake when a smoke alarm sounds. Make sure someone is assigned to help
them, and choose a backup person in case the assigned person is away at
the time of the fire.
Find two ways out. Visit each room of your house and find two ways out, including windows and doors. Make sure all escape routes open easily so you can get outside, and install emergency release devices on any security bars on doors or windows.
Involve children in planning. Consider having your children help create a fire evacuation plan2. Draw a map of the home and have children mark two exit routes and the locations of smoke detectors.
Choose a meeting spot. Decide on a meeting place
outside, such as a neighbor’s house, mailbox or stop sign. It should be
in the front of the house so emergency responders can see you when they
arrive. Agree not to go back into the house after you leave.
Check smoke alarms. Check that smoke detectors
are properly placed and working. The National Fire Protection
Association recommends installing them in every sleeping room, outside
each sleeping room and on every level of the home.3
Be visible. Make sure that your house number can be seen quickly from the street by emergency responders.
Respond quickly. Make sure everyone knows that if the smoke alarm sounds, he or she needs to get out immediately.
Have a backup plan. If the planned exit routes
are blocked and it’s not possible to leave the house, close all doors
between you and the fire. Place a towel under the door and go to an
exterior-facing window. Call the fire department to report your
location.
Share with everyone. Go over the plan with everyone who lives in the house and with visitors and overnight guests.
Practice regularly. Practice and review the plan regularly (at least once a year).
With a smart and well thought-out plan in place, you can be one step
ahead of the unexpected when you may not have the time or ability to
think things through.
No one wants to think about the possibility of a fire in
their home. Having your home burn down in a fire is a nightmare scenario
that happens all too
frequently. When it comes to home fires, the best thing you can do is to
have a plan and the proper equipment close by and ready for use.
Putting out a fire quickly before it escalates is important both for personal safety and preventing property damage. The best way to respond quickly and control fires is to have a fire extinguisher within reach of the source. Time is of the essence in a fire emergency, and you don’t want to be running around the house in a panic looking for a fire extinguisher. With proper fire extinguisher placement, you will be prepared to act quickly in the case of a fire in your home.
Here are the best places to keep fire extinguisher in your
home so that you can put out a fire quickly or at least prevent the
rapid spread of fire:
The Kitchen
With 65% of all fires starting in the kitchen, this is the most important room to have a fire extinguisher in your home. Most kitchen fires involve grease and can’t be put out with water. Grease fires have high flashpoints and burn extremely hot. A Class K extinguisher is necessary in your kitchen because it is designed specifically to put out fires fueld by vegetable or animal oils and fats.
Don’t keep the kitchen extinguisher next to the stove. You
don’t want to have to reach through the flames to get the fire
extinguisher. It should be
located about 30 feet away from the stove. If you have a small kitchen,
this might mean you need to mount it in an adjacent room, as long as
it’s easily
accessible from the kitchen.
One Fire Extinguisher On Each Floor
Every floor of your home needs at least one fire
extinguisher. Mount it on the wall in a central location about 4 to 5
feet above the ground. Don’t hide
the fire extinguisher behind drapes or curtains and don’t store fire
extinguishers in closets. They need to be in plain view or you will not
be able to
find them when you need them.
Keeping extinguishers out in the open prevents them from getting covered with clutter. Safety is going to trump aesthetics in this case, but you can always consider a fire extinguisher cabinet for a more concealed look. Make sure everyone who lives in your home is aware of the locations of the fire extinguishers and how to use them.
The Garage and Workshop
If you have a garage or a workshop, then you probably use
these spaces to store some flammable materials. Paints, oil, gasoline,
solvents and other
chemicals are all extremely combustible. When working with tools in a
workshop, you might generate sparks that could lead to a serious fire.
Keeping a fire
extinguisher in this area is a must.
If you have recreational vehicles like campers,
motorcycles, ATVs, or boats on your property, you will want to place a
fire extinguisher near them as well.
They contain fuel and other flammable material that might start a fire in the right conditions.
The Laundry Room
Your dryer is another likely place for a fire to start. The
lint that collects in your dryer is highly flammable and might catch
fire when the dryer is in
operation due to high temperatures. Clean the lint trap after every load
to reduce this possibility. The dryer exhaust tube may also fill with
lint, be
sure to clean this out every six months. These practices will help
prevent fires, but just in case, you will want a fire extinguisher in or
near your
laundry room.
The Patio and Grill
Patios are ideal for enjoying the great outdoors. If you have a grill or a fire pit, then you will want to place a fire extinguisher nearby. Gas grills can be especially dangerous because the propane fuel is explosive. If you grill over charcoal, the grease from cooking and the hot coals may cause a serious fire. Decks and patios are great spots for a fun gathering, but you need to keep safety in mind as well.
The Bedrooms
Since most fires happen at night, you may want to keep a
fire extinguisher in each bedroom. If there is a fire blocking your path
out of the house, a fire
extinguisher can be very useful for escaping. This may seem like
overkill, but it is better to be safe when it comes to fire in your
home.
Sources of Heat
Fireplaces, chimneys, furnaces, and wood stoves are all
obviously potential fire hazards. You should make sure you have a fire
extinguisher close to these
places in your home. If you have a utility room or basement area with
electrical panels and other appliances like your furnace or hot water
heater, you
should keep a fire extinguisher there as well. The combination of electric circuits and hot appliances can lead to fires.
Keep Your Home Safe With Proper Fire Extinguisher Placement
If you can reach a fire extinguisher within 6 seconds of
the start of a fire, then you can put out or control a fire in its early
stages. This quick action
will not only prevent massive property damage, but it may save your life
and the lives of your loved ones. Don’t wait until you need a fire
extinguisher tothink about this. Take a look at your home today and make
sure you have these fire extinguishers in your home everywhere you need
them.
______________________
MS Fire Systems supplies high standard & quality Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers, Class K Kitchen Fire Extinguishers, and Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguishers for your business and office needs. We also produce an unbeatable quality of Fire Extinguisher Cabinets and other Fire Extinguisher Accessories. Be sure to contact us.
Oxygen corrosion in fire sprinkler systems is caused by a number
of things, but can be reduced and controlled if it’s managed
correctly. The introduction of oxygen gas is the primary driver of
corrosion related failures in water-based fire sprinkler systems. In
order for the corrosion reaction to take place in these systems, oxygen
gas and liquid water must be present and make intimate contact with
steel piping.
Factors that accelerate the corrosion reaction and increase leak frequency include:
More air introduction, more corrosion (direct, linear relationship)
Higher temperatures increase the oxygen corrosion reaction rate
Trapped pools of water in dry (pre-action) systems are the primary location for corrosion
Trapped air pockets (21% oxygen) in wet pipe systems are the primary location for corrosion
Compressor run frequency is directly tied to oxygen introduction to dry (pre-action) systems
Compressors add acidic condensate moisture to the fire sprinkler system
Thin walled sprinkler piping will exhibit through-the-wall oxygen pits faster than thicker walled piping
Oxygen corrosion in fire sprinkler systems causes two (2) primary problems:
The reaction of trapped oxygen gas with steel piping creates a void
(pit) in the metal surface that over time with repeated introduction of
oxygen will penetrate the pipe wall to cause a leak.
The oxygen corrosion reaction produces water insoluble iron oxide
(hematite) debris which can create obstruction risk over time within the
fire sprinkler system piping. In extreme cases, the accumulation of
corrosion debris can completely clog the sprinkler piping.
Managing Corrosion: Wet Pipe Fire Sprinkler Systems
Reducing and controlling oxygen corrosion in wet pipe fire sprinkler
systems can be accomplished by reducing or eliminating the periodic
introduction of oxygen rich air to the fire sprinkler system. Air is
most often introduced to wet pipe systems during tenant modifications
and to perform code-mandated system testing. Unfortunately, the process
of repairing corrosion related leaks in fire sprinkler system piping
exacerbates the problem because the process actually adds more air to
the system when it is taken out of service to perform the repair.
The most cost-effective approach to reduce the cumulative effect of oxygen corrosion in wet pipe fire sprinkler systems is the installation of an automatic air venting device. These simple devices automatically vent air while the system is filling. This results in reduction of accumulations of trapped air at the high points of the system’s piping. Although the automatic air vents cannot completely stop the corrosion, they can certainly reduce the cumulative effect of oxygen corrosion. The greater the amount of ventilated air, the less the corrosion will take place.
The only way to completely stop oxygen corrosion in wet pipe fire
sprinkler system is through a process called Wet Pipe Nitrogen Inerting
(WPNI). In this approach, nitrogen gas is used to dilute and displace
oxygen from the fire sprinkler system piping before it is filled with
water. This process eliminates the opportunity for oxygen gas to cause
corrosion.
Managing Corrosion: Dry and Pre-Action Fire Sprinkler Systems
Corrosion can only occur in dry pipe systems if liquid water is
present within the system piping. Water can be introduced to the piping
in several different ways:
Initial hydrostatic testing of the system during commissioning
Condensate water introduced by the pressure maintenance compressor
Periodic code-mandated system testing
Unfortunately, it does not take very much liquid water to support the
oxygen corrosion reaction. Low point drains and pitching can remove
some of the water from the system piping, but never enough to completely
stop the oxygen corrosion. In the case of condensate moisture from the
compressor, new water is introduced every time the compressor cuts in to
maintain the system pressure.
There are two (2) ways to stop corrosion in dry pipe systems:
Completely remove all of the water
Completely remove all of the oxygen gas
The concept of removing all water from the system piping and keeping
it out is impractical and virtually impossible; however, it can be
accomplished by using nitrogen gas. Dry Pipe Nitrogen Inerting (DPNI) is
a process for diluting and displacing oxygen gas from the dry pipe
system. The process includes using nitrogen gas to maintain the system
pressure within the piping. DPNI has three fundamental components:
Nitrogen generator
Integral venting device
Fill and purge breathing controller in the nitrogen generator
The fill and purge pressure cycling is used as means to displace air
in the fire sprinkler piping, because it is the only process that can
completely remove the oxygen gas before it has a chance to cause
corrosion. Simply injecting nitrogen gas at the riser and then venting
it at the end of a branch line, a process called sweep purging, will not
displace the oxygen in the extremities of the piping.
Using the fill and purge breathing process allows for placement of the integral venting device directly on the riser. During the fill portion of the cycle, the system pressure is raised by injecting nitrogen gas. The purge portion consists of nitrogen diluted gas flowing toward the vent. After a fixed number of cycles over a 14-day period, all of the oxygen gas is removed and the piping is completely nitrogen inerted.
Contact MS Fire Systems for inspection and installation of your fire sprinkler systems.
Although fire sprinkler systems have a proven track record of helping
to save lives and protect property, there are still many misconceptions
about fire sprinklers. With a push for more fire sprinkler systems to
be installed in homes and other properties, it is important that you
know the facts about the effectiveness of fire sprinklers.
Myth: “Fire sprinkler systems are unaffordable and expensive.”
Fire sprinkler systems can be very affordable when installed in new
residential construction. It is estimated that the cost of fire
sprinkler system installations is around 1% of the total building cost.
In addition, insurance companies may provide discounts on insurance
premiums for buildings with sprinkler systems.
Myth: “Water damage from fire sprinklers is more extensive than damage from the fire itself.”
Truth: Fire sprinkler systems are able to react
quickly when a fire occurs which prevents a fire from spreading and
causing more damage. Many fire sprinkler systems release 8-24 gallons of
water per minute compared to 50-125 gallons per minute released by a
fire department’s fire hose.
Myth: “When a fire occurs, all of the sprinkler heads are activated.”
Truth: The sprinkler heads in a fire sprinkler
system are activated individually when a fire occurs. Many fires can be
contained without all of the fire sprinkler heads being activated. The
sprinkler heads will react to the conditions of the room or area they
are in.
Myth: “Smoke detectors provide adequate fire protection.”
Truth: Smoke detectors are useful for alerting
people of a fire and allowing to exit a burning building quickly. Smoke
detectors will not contain or extinguish a fire the way a fire sprinkler
system can. Sprinkler systems are able to react quickly to a fire which
can help to save lives and prevent extensive building damage.
Myth: “Fire sprinkler systems can be activated by smoke from candles or cigars.”
Truth: A fire sprinkler system will not be activated
by the presence of smoke in the room. Sprinkler heads release water
when the heat of a room reaches between 135 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Myth: “Fire sprinkler systems will ruin the aesthetic of my home or building.”
Truth: A sprinkler system can be installed into a
home without being obtrusive. The sprinkler system can be designed to
fit the décor of your building. A fire sprinkler system can be concealed
behind decorative covers and installed so it is not highly visible.
Fire sprinkler systems are an important part of any building’s life safety system. To learn more fire sprinkler facts or order a system, contact us.
