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Keep a fire extinguisher at home

People seldom think of fire unless they have been affected by one. Reducing fire risk can save the homeowner a lot of money, hassle and the possibility of losing family members.

“Very few households keep a fire extinguisher handy at home, and considering the risk and consequences, this is not safe. There should be a fire extinguisher in every home.” Jan Fritz, MD of SafeQuip maintains.

Millions are lost to domestic fires every year in South Africa and hundreds of lives taken. Fritz is currently in negotiation with one of SA’s larger short term insurance companies to try and reduce the risk of home fires. The cost to the insurance industry is massive and premiums to insure against fire risk are built into the home owner’s insurance policy.

If a home fire does occur, it is usually smoke and water damage that destroys most of the contents of the household, even if the flames do not burn everything - should the fire department arrive in time to prevent the whole house burning down.

A dry chemical powder fire extinguisher can extinguish most classes of fire: Class A wood cloth, paper rubber and other combustibles, for example; mattresses, curtains carpets and floorboards; Class B fires are flammable liquids such as petrol, oil, paint and solvents, don’t underestimate the oil you use for deep frying or roasting, this often catches alight and if left unattended results in the 600 plus fires caused by cooking; Class C electrical fires are caused by faulty wiring, overloaded plug points, and faulty appliances. These fires are all able to be extinguished by an ordinary DCP (dry chemical powder) fire extinguisher. Small fire extinguishers of just over half a kilogram are very affordable and available at most stores.

If unwanted house fires are extinguished before they get too big to control, the overall damage is reduced, household contents are not burned or spoiled by smoke and water, and the claim on the insurance company will be much smaller.

A smoke alarm fitted at home is imperative to warn homeowners of fires in the house. These are quite affordable, and can be battery powered and self installed. The technology is available to reduce fires, but incidences keep rising. 2008 fire statistics show that the causes of the majority of domestic fires are undetermined.

This supports the requirement for installation of smoke detectors because one never really knows when a where a fire will break out. Of the 376 deaths caused by fire in 2009, 89 people died in formal dwellings versus 197 deaths by fire in informal dwellings and 56 fire related deaths in road vehicles. Of the 4175 formal dwelling fires, 800 were caused by electrical reasons, 686 by cooking, 214 by heating, but over 1100 were undetermined.

Most fire service companies will do a risk assessment of the home. The workplace is required by law under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to have a fire safety assessment fire fighting equipment and escape plan. At home one needs to use one’s own common sense, pre-plan the escape routes before hand, have home fire prevention equipment such as smoke alarms, fire blankets and small fire extinguishers in the kitchen, garage and car and be vigilant about reducing the cause of unwanted fires at home. Home fire prevention equipment can be purchased at most of the larger chain stores and wholesale outlets.

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