what is the point of fire extinguishers in the work place?

Question

.If an employee discovers a fire in the workplace they should raise the alarm, once the alarm is raised the building should be evacuated. If everyone has to leave the building, who is to use the extinguishers?
If I provide training on the use of extinguishers, am I to say that everyone except the person nearest the fire (and therefore in the greatest danger) should leave the building.

I can see that it would be logical to tackle a small fire with an extinguisher, but that would be contrary to fire drill procedure and place an employee at risk.

This is a real conundrum

"use a fire extinguisher to extinguish a small fire if it is safe to do so."

Am I to ask employees to make a risk assessment as to whether it is "safe".Do they have the knowlede or experience to make that judgement under stress?

Answer 1

I see what you are trying to say...
But there could be a situation where an employer is trapped and the only way to evacuate is to find his way through the fire...in which case having a fire extinguisher within reach could ultimately save his life...
Plus, of course, if there is a small fire, and the chance to kill it before it gets any worse, than the fire extinguisher would be very useful...

Answer 2

you raise a good point. but both health and safety regulationsa and your insurance company require you to attempt to tackle a fire in it's early stages where it is first spotted for example though if the fire is out of control (say a whole room is on fire) then you would not be expected to have anyone tackle that fire.
as a fire extinguisher can be used at a normally safe distance of a couple of meters from the seat of the fire this is why you are expected to provide training to your employees. not least the fact that they need to know how to use the extinguisher in the event that a fire is out of control and blocking an exist and so the extinguisher would need to be used to provide a temporay break in the wall of fire blocking the exit (for example).
failing not to provide training and the extinguishers could leave you open to hefty civil lawsuites should any employeesx be injured or worse killed in the event of fire. you could be held criminally negligent for failing to provide the training and equipment.
as far as raising the alarm yes that is correct the person nearest should first raise the alarm, and where possible attempt to takle the fire to minimize the damage. your insurance company could refuse to pay out on a claim if no attempt was made to tackle a fire.

good luck.

Answer 3

If it is a small fire, like one started in a kitchen at work, you could use the extinguisher to put it out. We were required to have one in the bank I worked at even though we had no heat source whatsoever. We did light candles occasionally for birthday parties and you never know what could happen. Would you rather put out a small fire if you have the extinguisher there, or would you rather evacuate the building, let the fire spread, and then be out of work for however long it takes to fix all of the fire damage?

Answer 4

So, if you light a match in the lab, or kitchen, you would sound the alarm and evacuate the building?

I worked for a large company, with procedures for everything, we were given fire extinguisher training, so that we could tackle small fires.

The drill we were given, was that if one extinguisher didn't put the fire out, we should use the alarm and evacuate procedure.
And not to use the extinguisher if it put ourselves in danger.

I worked in test lab, and we used naked flames in some tests.

We carried out flammability testing, so there were plenty of small fires to put out.

BTW expect to get 8 seconds use out of an extinguisher.

Answer 5

The only time you would want to use a fire extinguisher is if it is an extremely small fire that could be extinguished easily (like a piece of paper in a trash can.)

Also, a fire extinguisher might be useful if the fire was in between you and the exit.

Answer 6

No, because fire department advice nowadays is not to attempt to tackle fires with home extinguishers, but to concentrate on vacating the premises. Also, the President is accompanied by members of the Secret Service, whose duty is first and foremost to protect the life of the Commander in Chief. What they would probably do is play pass-the-parcel with him and the rest of the family very quick, till they were all on the White House lawn and then maybe they would put out the fire till the fire department people arrived.

Answer 7

you should use the fire extinguisher if the fire is small. you should get another person to pull the alarm and you use the extinguisher. or what ever but that is meant to be used in a small fire and if putting out the fire is going to put your employee in danger then they should know better then to attempt to put it out. and if you work in a building that has a sprinkler system then they should go off when you pull the alarm.

Answer 8

You need to train all your employees on fire safety and the use of fire extinguishers. Contact your local fire dept, for a nominal fee you can schedule a fire safety class.

S Safety of life (close doors)
A Activate alarm (call 911)
F Fight fire (if reasonable to do so)
E Evacuate

It is certainly not mandatory for an employee or anyone except the fire dept to fight a fire, If it is a small fire an extinguisher used properly can save lives and property.

Answer 9

It would seem that your fire drill is incorrect. It should say "the person discovering the fire should raise the alarm and use a fire extinguisher to extinguish a small fire if it is safe to do so".

Answer 10

In real life and not a drill say your trapped in the room and cant get out . Do you .. A.scream B. wait 15 minutes for a firetruck C. Use the fire extinguisher that somebody that lacks taste in decorating an office D. Burn