Proper Use of Fire Extinguishers




                       A SAFETY TALK FOR

                      DISCUSSION LEADERS



This safety talk is designed for discussion leaders to use in preparing safety

meetings.



Set a specific time and date for your safety meeting.  Publicize your meeting

so everyone involved will be sure to attend.



Review this safety talk before the meeting and become familiar with its

content. Make notes about the points made in this talk that pertain to your

workplace.  You should be able to present the material in your own words and

lead the discussion without reading it.



Seating space is not absolutely necessary, but arrangements should be made so

that those attending can easily see and hear the presentation.



Collect whatever materials and props you will need ahead of time.  Try to use

equipment in your workplace to demonstrate your points.





                      DURING THE MEETING



Give the safety talk in your own words.  Use the printed talk merely as a

guide.



The purpose of a safety meeting is to initiate discussion of safety problems

and provide solutions to those problems.  Encourage employees to discuss

hazards or potential hazards the encounter on the job. Ask them to suggest ways

to improve safety in their area.



Don't let the meeting turn into a gripe session about unrelated topics.  As

discussion leader, its your job to make sure the topic is safety.  Discussing

other topics wastes time and can ruin the effectiveness of your safety meeting.



At the end of the meeting, ask employees to sign a sheet on the back of this

talk as a record that they attended the safety meeting.  Keep this talk on file

for your records.







Proper Use of Fire Extinguishers



NOTE TO DISCUSSION LEADER:

Bring the different types of fire extinguishers that are supplied for your work

area and demonstrate proper usage to the employees.



Fire--you think it can't happen, but it does, because even the most modern

building is not completely fireproof. Almost anything will burn under certain

conditions. Fire is especially dangerous in hospitals because of the number of

people who are unable to rescue themselves. You can't be too prepared or have

too much knowledge about fire safety.



Using fire extinguishers is only one action in a series of actions that you

must take in a fire emergency. Briefly, the complete sequence of actions you

should take upon discovering a fire is:



þ First, remove any patients who are in immediate danger. Patient rooms are

likely sites for fires; smoking is the leading cause of fires in health care

facilities.



þ Sound the fire alarm to get professional help to the scene before you try to

extinguish the fire yourself.



þ Contain the fire by closing doors and windows; this decreases the supply of

oxygen. Fire needs oxygen to continue to burn. When the alarm sounds, other

hospital employees should close all windows and doors, including fire and smoke

separation doors.



þ Extinguish the fire. Small fires can be smothered with a blanket.



þ Evacuate patients if directed to do so by the officials handling the fire

emergency.





FIRE EXTINGUISHERS

The most important thing to remember about fire extinguishers is that you must

use the correct type for the kind of fire. 

There are several types of fires:



Class A--combustibles, such as wood, paper or cloth.

Class B--flammable liquids.

Class C--electrical.



There are several types of fire extinguishers: foam, carbon dioxide, soda acid,

pump tank, gas cartridge, multipurpose dry chemical and ordinary dry chemical.

Most extinguishers have labels that list the types of fires for which they can

be used.



The most common extinguisher in hospitals is the multipurpose dry chemical

type. It can be used for any class of fire. However, if the tag on the

extinguisher is not labeled ABC, you must know the type of fire for which that

particular extinguisher can be used. The following table shows the types of

fires and the types of extinguishers that can be used for each.





CLASS A FIRES          CLASS B FIRES       CLASS C FIRES



Foam                   Foam                Carbon Dioxide

Soda Acid              Carbon Dioxide      Multipurpose Dry

Pump Tank              Multipurpose Dry    Chemical

(contains plain water) Chemical            Ordinary Dry

Gas Cartridge(water    Ordinary Dry        Chemical            -

expelled by carbon     Chemical

dioxide gas)

.These tips on using the various types of fire extinguishers may help:



þ Foam should not be sprayed directly into flames, but should be allowed to

fall lightly on the fire.



þ Carbon dioxide should be directed at the edge of the flames, then moved

gradually forward and upward.



þ Streams from soda acid or gas cartridge extinguishers 

should be directed at the base of the flame.



þ When using pump tanks, place a foot on the foot rest and aim at the base

of the flames.



þ Dry chemical extinguishers should be directed at the base of the fire.



Again, it is important to emphasize the necessity of using the correct type of

extinguisher for the fire at hand. You should not use a water type

extinguisher for a flammable liquid fire because this would cause the fire to

spread; and you would not use this type of extinguisher on an electrical fire

because this would expose you to a serious or fatal shock.



NOTE TO DISCUSSION LEADER:



At this point, employees should be shown how to handle extinguishers

properly (in an upright position) and how to release the pins. The table

discussed earlier in this talk may be reproduced and given to each employee,

or a copy can be posted in each work area.



Never take the attitude that any building is fireproof or that fires won't

happen. Do what you can to prevent fires, but always be prepared by

knowing what action to take if one occurs. Know where alarms and fire

extinguishers are located. Good teamwork is a must. Don't get burned--when

you think of fire, think of safety!

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Text Version