INTRODUCTION 

Fires are common in hotels and catering establishments and often can result in injury to the employee and in serious cases either injury or loss of life to the staff and customers.

One must have a basic knowledge regarding fire and how to prevent the fires if they do occurs. The staff must be able to handle the situation during fire.

The fire contains three components: Fuel, Air and Heat. If any one of the three is not present or removed then the fire does not happen or it is extinguished.

• Fuel: Something to burn.
• Air: Oxygen to sustain combustion
• Heat: Gas, Electricity etc.

METHODS OF EXTINGUSHING A FIRE

To extinguish a fire, the three principal methods are:

1. Starving: Removal of fuel.
2. Smothering: Removing the air (oxygen)
3. Cooling: Removing the heat.

The fuel is that which burns, heat is that which sets the duel alright and oxygen is needed for fire to burn. Eliminate one of these and the fire is put out. Oxygen is present in the air, so if air is excluded from, the fuel and the heat, then the fire goes out.

For example: if the cloths of someone working in the kitchen catch fire then the action to be taken is to quickly wrap a fire blanket round the person and roll them on the floor. In doing so, the flames have been cut off from the source of air. The windows and doors must be closed so as to restrict the amount of air getting to fire.

Procedure in the event of a fire:

1. Do not panic.
2. Aware or Warn other people in the area
3. Do not jeopardize your own safety or that of other.
4. Follow the fire instructions of the establishment.
5. If it is a small fire, use appropriate fire extinguisher.
6. Do close doors and windows; turn off electricity, gas and fans.
7. Do not wait for the fire to get out of control before calling the fire brigade.

Fire extinguishers:

Foam fire extinguisher: it work on the principle that the foam forms a “blanket” thus to cut off air from coming into contact with the fuel.

If fat or oil in a pan ignites, then the pan should be quickly covered with a lid or other items or fire blanket so as to exclude air. It is also necessary to turn off the source of heat, gas or electricity etc. so that the heat is taken away from the three parts.

Water extinguishes by dousing the flames thus taking the heat out of three parts. The fuel is material such as wood; paper etc. water must not be used if the fat or oil is ignited. It causes the ignited fat or oil to spread thus increasing the heat.

Water extinguishers must not be used on the live electrical equipment because water is a conductor of heat.

All fire extinguishers should have been manufactured in accordance with ISI standards and specifications. They should be red with an additional colour code to indicate the type and with operating instructions on them.

Red:  Water

Black: Carbon dioxide

Cream: Foam

Green: Halons (Evaporating liquid)

Blue: Dry Powder

USES OF PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS:

1. FOAM (CREAM): Foam acts like a blanket by putting foam over a fire. It is particularly good for putting out fat fires because the foam stays in position and so stops the fire re-igniting. Foam can also be used on fires of natural materials.
2. CARBON DIOXIDE (BLACK): Carbon dioxide gas is used on fires on inflammable liquids and has the advantage that it does not conduct electricity.

Disadvantage: carbon dioxide gas has limited cooling properties and therefore is not the efficient way of putting out a fat fire.

1. DRY POWDER (BLUE): It is commonly used for fat fires. It does not conduct electricity and same all purpose powders can be used in fires in natural materials. Powders based on bicarbonate of soda are used in most extinguishers.

Disadvantage: Dry powders usually have limited cooling properties.

FIRE HOSE:

These are used for similar fires to those classified under water fire extinguishers. One should be aware about the instructions displayed by the fire hose.

FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS:

The sprinklers are linked with the main water supply fitting in the ceiling. This system is designed to automatically spray water over the whole area when the temperature rise above a preset level i.e. 75⁰C