Saturday, 16 February 2013


                 


    

Evolution of Fire Service In India

The development of fire services in India, to a large extent, was influenced by India’s Political and historical association with Britain. Regular fire services in India first came up in Bombay (Mumbai) & Calcutta (Kolkata). The  great fire  of  Bombay  occurred in  1803  and  the  first  nucleus  of  fire service  in India took shape, with police being entrusted with fire fighting jobs. In 1822, the fire service in Calcutta was organized under the Calcutta Police.  In 1855, the Bombay fire brigade was officially formed and formally placed under the police as a part-time function. In 1864, it was placed jointly with the government and Municipal Corporation.  In  1872,  the  Calcutta  fire brigade  came to  be  financed  by  the  Calcutta  Municipal  Corporation. By the Municipal Act 1872 and 1878, insurance companies were made to contribute towards the maintenance of the fire brigades. In 1888, through the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, protection against fire became obligatory for the Bombay Municipal Corporation. The Madras city fire brigade was established in 1908 by the Municipal Corporation of Madras after a devastating fire in the city. Delhi is believed to have had a fire brigade in 1867, but the organized form of fire station is claimed to have been started in 1896 and was under the Municipal Corporation. Presently, Delhi  has  its  own  Fire  Service  Act, under  the  Government  of  the  National  Capital  Territory NCT of Delhi since 10th November, 1994. While in Britain, a national fire service was started during the Second World War, no such national fire service was formed in India. As a sequel to the Second World War, however, a need was felt to organize and improve the fire service in India and, hence, some new fire brigades were set up.  The  concept  of  auxiliary  fire  services  in  the  Civil  Defence  (CD)  was remained heterogeneous in character and majority of them continued to remain ill-equipped also  introduced,  but  it never took  concrete  shape  in the  country. The fire brigades in India and differently organized

Friday, 15 February 2013

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SAFE FIRE FIGHTING

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TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SAFE FIRE FIGHTING

Basic study of fire fighting is very important for every employees working in a hazardous industry. Every seconds of their work involved dangerous incident of an unexpected accident. The management will instruct them for safe work practice and endow with fire protection/prevention measures. It's the employee's responsibility to adopt safe work practice and to use the fire prevention/protection measures efficiently.

Fire Fighting is the act of extinguishing fires. A fire fighter fights the fire to prevent loss of life, destruction of property and the environment. Fire fighting is a highly technical skill that requires professionals who have spent years training in both general fire fighting techniques and specialized areas.

Even though, at initial stage of fire, a non expert can extinguish the fire with some common sense, courage and with some basic knowledge in fire. This article is for those people, who have the courage and have basic knowledge in fire.

All fires are very dangerous and life-threatening. Your safety should always be your primary concern when attempting to fight a fire.

Before deciding to fight a fire, be certain that:-


  1. The fire is small and not spreading. A fire can double in size within two or three minutes.
  2. You have the proper fire extinguisher for what is burning.
  3. The fire won't block your exit if you can't control it. A good way to make sure this is to keep the exit at your back. 
  4. You know your fire extinguisher works. Inspect extinguisher once a month for dents, leaks or other signs of damage. Assure the pressure is at the recommended level. On extinguisher equipped with a gauge, the needle should be in the green zone not too high and not too low.  
  5.  You know "How to use your fire extinguisher?" There's not enough time to read instruction when a fire occurs.
The next information is about "How to fight a fire safely?"
  1. Always stand with an exit at your back.
  2. Stand several feet away from the fire, moving closer once the fire starts to diminish.
  3. Use the fire extinguisher a sweeping motion and aim at the base of the fire.
  4. If possible, use a ‘buddy system' to have someone back you up or call for help if something goes wrong
  5. Always sure to watch the area for a while to make sure it doesn't re-ignite.
Be cautious and never fight a fire if:
  1. The fire is spreading rapidly: - Only use fire extinguisher when the fire is in early stages. If the fire is already spreading quickly, evacuate and call the fire department. 
  2. You don't know what is burning: - Unless you know what is burning, you won't know what type of fire extinguisher to use. Even if you have an ABC type fire extinguisher, there could be something that will explode or produce highly toxic smoke. 
  3. You don't have a proper fire extinguisher: - The wrong type of fire extinguisher is very dangerous or life-threatening.  
  4. There is too much smoke or you are at risk of inhaling smoke: - Seven out of ten fire related deaths occurs from breathing poisonous gases produced by the fire. 

Any sort of fire will produce some amount of carbon monoxide, the most deadly gas produced by a fire. Materials such as wool, silk, nylon and some plastics can produce other highly toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide or hydrogen chloride. Beware – all of these are fatal.

The above information may valuable to you in any accidental fire at your work place or at your home or some other places. It's your fast improvisation and common sense can reduce a major accident.

Always remember that you are not an expert in fire fighting, but you are obligated towards the society to help the others with your skill and will to reduce the accident. At last, pray the almighty for a null accident day in your life span.