Fire Prevention
3. PREVENTIVE MEASURES REGARDING FIRE EXTINCTION
- Workers are to know how to use the fire-extinguishing equipment that exists in the vicinity of the work area.
- If a worker discovers a fire, he must:
- Keep calm.
- Inform any workmate as quickly as possible and, if feasible, his immediate superior.
- Assess the situation and, if he thinks that he can master it, fight the fire using a suitable fire extinguisher, bearing in mind that portable extinguishers are only effective against outbreaks of fire.
- If he cannot control it, he is to sound the alarm.
- Until help arrives, close all doors and windows if this can be done without risk and get to a safe place.
- Before using an extinguisher, check that it is the appropriate type for the existing fire.
- If the fire is produced in an electrical installation, the current is to be cut-off before starting to extinguish the fire, if possible. If not, start fighting the fire after ensuring that the people who intervene are fully insulated from the electricity.
- When CO2 extinguishers are used, wear gloves and never place your hand on the nozzle. Said nozzle is to be held by the hose that it has for that purpose so as to avoid burns caused by freezing.
- In fires involving gases, try to cut-off the supply; so the location of the closure valves must be known.
- Once a fire is under control, check that it has been completely extinguished and that the high temperature sources have been eliminated before abandoning the spot. If combustion fumes have been produced, the area is to be ventilated.
- The fire is to be fought with your back to the wind or in the direction of the air currents inside buildings.
- Once an extinguisher has been used, even though only to a minimum extent, it is not to be put back in its place, but is to be handed over for recharging, being immediately replaced by another fully-charged extinguisher.
- Extinguishers are to be located on vertical walls at a height of no more than 1.70 m, measured from the ground to the top of the device.
- Never place objects of any kind on extinguishers or in their vicinity which hinder their visibility or accessibility.
- Check that all extinguishers have passed their mandatory yearly inspection and the five-yearly hydrostatic pressure test, carried out by specialised personnel.
