FIRE SAFETY IN HERITAGE BUILDINGS

FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH RISK : REDUCING RISK, IMPROVING OUTCOMES, 23-25 September 2009, New Forest, UK INTRODUCTION: Recently, there has been a disturbing increase in the number of natural disasters affecting millions of people, destroying property and resulting in loss of human life. These events include major flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes and many others. Today the world faces unparalleled threats from humanmade disasters that can be attributed to failure of industrial and energy installations as well as terrorism. Added to this is the unparalleled threat of emerging and re-emerging diseases, with scientists predicting events such as an influenza pandemic. Human made and natural disasters in 2004 were estimated to have claimed tens of thousands of lives worldwide with economic losses in the order of US$100 billion. The year 2005 further tested the international relief community with ‘unparalleled frequency and scale of natural disast...

Portable fire extinguishers have two functions: to control or extinguish small or incipient stage fires and to protect evacuation routes that a fire may block directly or indirectly with smoke or burning/smoldering materials. To extinguish a fire with a portable extinguisher, a person must have immediate access to the extinguisher, know how to actuate the unit, and know how to apply the agent effectively. Attempting to extinguish even a small fire carries some risk. Fires can increase in size and intensity in seconds, blocking the exit path of the fire fighter and creating a hazardous atmosphere. In addition, portable fire extinguishers contain a limited amount of extinguishing agent and can be discharged in a matter of seconds. Therefore, individuals should attempt to fight only very small or incipient stage fires. Prior to fighting any fire with a portable fire extinguisher you must perform a risk assessment that evaluates the fire size, the fire fighters evacuation path, and the atm...