Fire safety tips for the holidays
December 23, 2003 | 12:00am
The Bureau of Fire Protection-NCR reminds the public and owners and operators of shopping malls to take fire safety precautions during the holiday season, as part of its fire prevention campaign to prevent unnecessary losses of lives and property due to accidental fires.
According to Senior Supt. Danilo R. Cabrera, BFP-NCR fire marshal, the holiday season usually registers one of the highest fire incidences in the country.
BFP Chief Francisco S. Senot reminds owners and operators of shopping malls, department stores, eateries, movie and entertainment complexes and other places of high concentration of people to review their fire safety and emergency measures.
Cabrera issues the following fire safety tips at home and in shopping malls and other places with big volumes of people during the holiday season:
• Crush your cigarette and cigarette stubs thoroughly before discarding them. Provide yourself with an ashtray. Do not smoke in bed.
• Oil or gas and other native lamps should be placed away from curtain and other objects that easily catch fire. Do not put them where the wind, children, cats or other moving beings may topple them. Put out the flame before going to bed.
• Do not store any flammable substance or any volatile liquid in the kitchen. Cover the flammable container lightly.
• Extinguish all live charcoals and embers, and concentrate them in the middle of the stove when you’re done with your kitchen chores. Make it a habit to inspect the kitchen before retiring. Most fires at home occur at night.
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children.
• Clear the corners and nooks of the house of rubbish, rags and other waste materials.
• Remove leaves that have accumulated in the gutters and other parts of the roof, and wood shavings and litters in the attic.
• Gasoline and other highly flammable materials should be kept in dwelling houses.
• Rubbish burning should be done on the stove or in the yard away from the house wall. Every smoldering coal left from the bonfire should be extinguished.
• Do not use open flames for decorations in the house.
• Burnable objects, such as firewood, waste paper and rags should not be indiscriminately dumped or strewn in the house. Boxes should be regularly cleaned.
• Kerosene and oil stoves should be checked for leakage and should be regularly cleaned.
• Do not use leaking liquefied petroleum gas installations.
• All exits on every floor of the building should be plainly marked. Never permit the obstruction of any aisle or exit.
• Be sure that the basic fire safety needs of the store – from fire extinguishers to automatic sprinklers, standpipe and fire alarm systems – are serviceable and in top condition.
• Store personnel should be trained in safety procedures and organized into a fire brigade. Periodic training should be conducted to update their knowledge.
• Check regularly your electrical installations, and have all frayed wiring, damaged sockets, switches and other defective electrical fixtures changed or repaired promptly.
• All electrical installations, repairs and changes should be undertaken by competent individuals. Only licensed electricians should be allowed to undertake such work.
• Never run electrical cords under rugs. Cords of portable appliances should be as short as possible.
• Do not overload your electrical circuits by profusely putting extra lights and appliances.
• Combustible and other flimsy materials should not be placed near bulbs.
• Do not replace blown or blasted fuses with coins, wire or metal to short circuit the current. Lighting circuits should be equipped with 15-ampere fuses.
• Use only approved types of electrical appliances and equipment. Do not improvise them.
• If you find electric irons, fans or other appliances faulty, have them checked by an expert and replaced at once.
• Do not allow your electric iron to overheat or leave them with the current on.
• Never touch an electric appliance while you’re in a bath or standing on a grounded metal or object that is a conductor of electricity.
• Keep the electric appliances dry. Never immerse electrical appliances in water.
• Use convenience outlets in the wall – not lamp sockets – for connecting electrical appliances.
• Don’t stand in a puddle or on a deep floor when connecting electric laundry appliance.
According to Senior Supt. Danilo R. Cabrera, BFP-NCR fire marshal, the holiday season usually registers one of the highest fire incidences in the country.
BFP Chief Francisco S. Senot reminds owners and operators of shopping malls, department stores, eateries, movie and entertainment complexes and other places of high concentration of people to review their fire safety and emergency measures.
Cabrera issues the following fire safety tips at home and in shopping malls and other places with big volumes of people during the holiday season:
• Oil or gas and other native lamps should be placed away from curtain and other objects that easily catch fire. Do not put them where the wind, children, cats or other moving beings may topple them. Put out the flame before going to bed.
• Do not store any flammable substance or any volatile liquid in the kitchen. Cover the flammable container lightly.
• Extinguish all live charcoals and embers, and concentrate them in the middle of the stove when you’re done with your kitchen chores. Make it a habit to inspect the kitchen before retiring. Most fires at home occur at night.
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children.
• Clear the corners and nooks of the house of rubbish, rags and other waste materials.
• Remove leaves that have accumulated in the gutters and other parts of the roof, and wood shavings and litters in the attic.
• Gasoline and other highly flammable materials should be kept in dwelling houses.
• Rubbish burning should be done on the stove or in the yard away from the house wall. Every smoldering coal left from the bonfire should be extinguished.
• Do not use open flames for decorations in the house.
• Burnable objects, such as firewood, waste paper and rags should not be indiscriminately dumped or strewn in the house. Boxes should be regularly cleaned.
• Kerosene and oil stoves should be checked for leakage and should be regularly cleaned.
• Do not use leaking liquefied petroleum gas installations.
• Be sure that the basic fire safety needs of the store – from fire extinguishers to automatic sprinklers, standpipe and fire alarm systems – are serviceable and in top condition.
• Store personnel should be trained in safety procedures and organized into a fire brigade. Periodic training should be conducted to update their knowledge.
• All electrical installations, repairs and changes should be undertaken by competent individuals. Only licensed electricians should be allowed to undertake such work.
• Never run electrical cords under rugs. Cords of portable appliances should be as short as possible.
• Do not overload your electrical circuits by profusely putting extra lights and appliances.
• Combustible and other flimsy materials should not be placed near bulbs.
• Do not replace blown or blasted fuses with coins, wire or metal to short circuit the current. Lighting circuits should be equipped with 15-ampere fuses.
• Use only approved types of electrical appliances and equipment. Do not improvise them.
• If you find electric irons, fans or other appliances faulty, have them checked by an expert and replaced at once.
• Do not allow your electric iron to overheat or leave them with the current on.
• Never touch an electric appliance while you’re in a bath or standing on a grounded metal or object that is a conductor of electricity.
• Keep the electric appliances dry. Never immerse electrical appliances in water.
• Use convenience outlets in the wall – not lamp sockets – for connecting electrical appliances.
• Don’t stand in a puddle or on a deep floor when connecting electric laundry appliance.
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