General precaution
Familiarize yourself with your nearest exit and emergency exit.Keep escape routes, exits, and emergency exits clear.Know where the fire extinguishers, fire alarms, and phones are located.
What to do if there is a fire
- Warn other residents
- (If present in your building:) Break the glass on one of the fire alarms
- If there is a dangerous situation, call the emergency number 112
- Without endangering yourself or others, try to put out the fire with the fire extinguishers provided
- Close doors and windows
- Leave the building as quickly as possible. Do not use an elevator!
- Follow the instructions of the fire fighters or (if present) the RA’s.
If the building needs to be evacuated
- Stay calm and go outside, do not stay in the hallway
- Close doors and windows
- If there is smoke:
o Keep down close to the floor;
o Follow the wall (keep the back of your hand against it) - First evacuate areas close to the fire, then those on the same floor, and then those on floors above the fire
Trying to extinguish a fire
If you decide to try to put out the fire, you need to keep in mind:
- Your own safety and that of others
- Which type of extinguisher you use
- How you should tackle the fire
Safety
If you do decide to try to put out the fire, there should always be two of you if possible.
If there is smoke, keep down close to the floor.
If it looks like the fire is getting out of control or if there is a lot of smoke, do not keep trying to tackle the fire, but wait for the fire department to arrive.
Entering a room or other area:
- Try to work in two’s if possible
- Take firefighting equipment with you (remember to turn on the water at the main)
- Call out that you are coming in
- Keep down low
- Feel the door handle with the back of your hand – if it’s cold or just a bit warm, you can enter the room but you should not go in if the handle is warm or hot
- Check whether the door opens inwards or outwards (look at the hinges). Depending on which way, you can see whether you should shelter behind the wall or the door.
Which extinguisher?
The kind of extinguisher you use depends on the kind of fire. In the case of water, most people know what kind of fire you can use it on. There are four categories of fire, each indicated by a letter. Each piece of firefighting equipment is marked with the category it can be used for.
Category of fire:
A: solid materials (the extinguishing substance extinguishes the flames and forms a fire-retardant layer or one that prevents the fire reigniting)
B: liquids (vapor air mixture above the liquid burns)
C: gasses
D: inflammable metals
E: electrical fires, for example powder (definitely not water!)
Never use water on burning fats or oils or electrical fires.
How to tackle a fire
A few points to remember:
- Tackle the fire with the draft behind you.
- Extinguish the fire from front to back.
- In the case of a burning liquid: use several extinguishers and work from the top down
- In the case of larger fires, use several extinguishers at the same time and not one by one
- Make sure the fire doesn’t re-ignite
- When you enter a room, spray the ceiling so as to create a mist
- Use the wide spray setting on flames
- Use the concentrated jet on a smoldering fire
- When using an extinguisher, first remove the safety pin and shake the extinguisher a few times. Then hold it up straight and spray. The extinguisher operates for about 7 seconds and its most effective range is 9 or 10 meters (about 30 feet).
Using a fire hose:
- Break the seal (if there is one)
- Turn on the water with the main faucet (at the wall)
- Pull out enough of the hose to get to the room or area where the fire is
- Turn on the jet of water using the red handle; this also allows you to adjust the diameter of the jet.
What to do if someone else is on fire:
- Try not to panic – it will endanger you and other people
- Don’t run! Running will only fuel the fire with oxygen, leading to worse burns, and it makes it harder for people to help you
- Lie down on the ground. This means that your head is no longer over the fire
- Try to extinguish the fire with an extinguisher or by covering the victim with a coat or blanket
- Once the fire is out, cool down the victim with lukewarm running water for at least 15 minutes
- Don’t try to remove the victim’s clothes or any jewelry. Get medical attention as soon as possible
