Fire Guide

7/30/2019 Fire Guide

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Fire Safety

GuidelinesFire Safety

Guidelines

Department of Environmental Health and Safety

2809 Daley Drive Ames, Iowa 50011-3660(515) 294-5359 www.ehs.iastate.edu

Photo

courtesyof911

Pictures


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Iowa State University

Safety Policy

It is the policy of Iowa State University to provide and ensure a safe and

healthful environment for employees, students and the general public.

Each person in a supervisory or management capacity is responsible

for the provision and maintenance of safe working conditions in his or

her respective area, and for proper adherence to all authorized and

applicable environmental, health and safety policies, rules and regula-

tions.

Each employee and student is responsible for complying with environ-mental, health and safety rules and for using any safety equipment that

is provided or required. Each failure to comply with applicable rules,

as well as environmental releases, safety hazards and accidents, shall

be reported to supervisory personnel and, if necessary, referred to the

proper environmental, health or safety authority.

It is the intent of this policy to promote environmental stewardship and

prevent accidents and injuries to the Iowa State University community.

July 2001 Dr. Gregory L. Geoffroy

President

Iowa State University


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The mission of Environmental Health and Safetys (EH&S) fire safety program is

to provide a proactive fire prevention program designed to protect the lives andproperty of Iowa State University students, faculty, staff and visitors. This mis-

sion is addressed through a comprehensive effort of fire safety education, code

enforcement, investigation and audits.

EH&S serves as a resource to the Iowa State University community on fire

safety issues, collecting, compiling and disseminating information relating to

plan review and fire and arson prevention and control, as well as providing fire

extinguisher training, inspection and testing of the 6,500 fire extinguishers on

campus.

The best defense against fire is to prevent the fire from starting. Everyone is

responsible for fire prevention and for knowing how to handle a fire emergency.

Annual fire safety inspections of occupied university facilities are conducted by

the State Fire Marshal and Iowa State University. These audits identify areas

that present fire and general safety hazards. The following pages list policies and

procedures that faculty, staff and students should know to prevent unsafe condi-

tions and to provide for proper emergency response in the event of a fire.

Introduction

Photo courtesy of 911 pictures


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Fire and evacuation alarms are intended to alert building occupants that a fire or otherlife-threatening situation exists. Upon hearing the alarm, everyone should leave thebuilding immediately. In the event of a fire, the following steps should be taken to

ensure the safety of all building occupants.

1. Activate the fire alarm. In the event of a fire or any emergency requiring building evacuation, it

is essential to activate the nearest fire alarm pull station or to verbally notify building occupants

if the building is not equipped with a fire alarm system.

2. Call 911.Telephone 911 and give your name, location, nature of the emergency and telephone

number. This call should be made immediately, even if the fire alarm has already been acti-

vated.

3. Assist injured personnel. Inform emergency responders or 911 about the nature of the medi-

cal emergency. If properly trained, assist with first aid or evacuation.

4. Exit the building. At the sound of a fire alarm, all building occupants should proceed to the

nearest exit and leave the building immediately. During pre-emergency planning, all occupants

should learn two evacuation routes from each building area.

5. Assist physically impaired individuals. Physically impaired individuals should be given

assistance to a secure area, such as a large stairwell or an office separated from a corridor by

a fire door. Emergency personnel must be notified of their locations. Each supervisor should

be aware of any physically impaired persons in their work areas and any special assistance

needed to safely evacuate them.

6. Ensure all personnel are out of the building. Ensure all personnel are out of the immediatearea. If there is time and no present danger, close all doors and windows while evacuating.

7. Do not use the elevators. Elevators may lose power during a fire. If elevators are working

during a fire emergency, their use is reserved for emergency response personnel only.

8. Extinguish small fires. If the fire is small and you know how to use a fire extinguisher, attempt

to extinguish the fire yourself. Do not attempt to extinguish any fire if there is a threat to your

safety.To learn how to properly use a fire extinguisher, contact EH&S at 294-5359 and register

forfire extinguisher training.

9. Report hazardous conditions. If you are working in a research area and have sufficient time,

ensure that the lab and experiments are in safe condition before leaving the area. Report any

hazardous conditions to responding emergency personnel.

10. Stay low. If confronted with smoke, keep near the floor. Smoke, heat and toxic gases will nor-

mally rise to the ceiling. All closed doors should be checked for heat prior to opening. If a door

knob is hot, the door should not be opened.

11.Stay away from the building until it is safe to return.Do not re-enter the building until advised

to do so by the authorities.

Evacuation Procedures


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Practice what to do in an emergency before one happens. Fire drills should be

scheduled to help people prepare for an evacuation.

Know where the nearest fire extinguisher is located and how to use it.

Know where the nearest fire alarm pull station is located.

Know the proper evacuation methods for disabled persons.

Know primary and secondary evacuation routes, as well as thelocation of a safe gathering place.

Plan Ahead


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Proper personnel behavior is important in preventing the initiation offires. Fol-

lowing prudent fire emergency procedures is important during fire emergen-cies to avoid loss of life. Fires can be prevented by keeping fuels and heatsources away from each other. Maintaining safe exits is crucial to facilitate safeevacuation in the event of a fire.

Examples of properfire prevention practices include:

Removing waste paper,packaging and old rags.

Switching off monitors and/orcomputers each night, when-ever feasible.

Ensuring that sprinklers havethe required 18 of spacebeneath the deflector in orderto function properly. Consultwith EH&S when erectingshelves/partitions in sprin-klered spaces in order toavoid interference.

Disallowing the use of space heaters.

Keeping corridors obstruction-free. Bulletin boards, display cabinets of non-

combustible construction and approved benches are acceptable.

Disallowing electrical cords running across doors or aisles, or pinching thembehind or under furniture.

Maintaining stairs and stairwells free of obstructions and storage.

Keeping fire and corridor doors closed, unless equipped with magnetic hold-open devices. Wedges are not allowed.

Ensuring that stairways and corridors are adequately lit (> 1 foot-candle).

Maintaining at least 48-inch (required width) access to exit doors.

Ensuring that exit lights and emergency lights are functioning properly. Call294-5100 to request lighting maintenance.

Fire Prevention, Access & Egress


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Electricity and electrical equipment may cause a fire through electrical arcs or

by overheating, and can cause injury or death through shocks and burns.

Extension cords must not be used, except on a temporary basisless than 3days.

Extension cords must have the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) label on boththe plug and the cord.

Splicing and repairing of cords and plugs are not permitted.

Cords used in wet condition or outdoors must be protected by ground faultcircuit interrupters.

Extension cords must be protected from damage and not placed in areaswhere equipment could cause damage.

Extension cords must never be daisy-chained or plugged into each other.

Extension cords for maintenance work and equipment energizing must havethree-prong plugs.

Extension cords should have a minimum of 16 AWG (American Wire Gauge)and be rated for the equipment in use.

Cracked, frayed or broken electrical cords and plugs must be replaced.

Power outlets and multiple outlet plugs must never be overloaded.

Extension Cord Use


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A fire requires air, an ignition source

and fuel to ignite. Whenever thesethree elements come togetherunder the proper conditions, a

fire will result.

No candles or open flamesare allowed in areas otherthan shops, laboratories andkitchens.

Open flames, whether in a laboratory, kitchen orshop area, must always be attended.

Open flames must be kept away from combustible andflammable materials.

Approval from EH&S must be obtained whenever working with open flamesoutside of designated laboratories, kitchens or shop areas.

Flammable liquids create a severe fire and explosion hazard. Flammablesshould be kept in approved, sealed containers. These containers should bestored in flammable liquid storage cabinets or approved storage rooms.

A maximum of 10 gallons of Class I flammable liquids per laboratory is allowedto be stored outside of a flammable liquid storage cabinet or room.

Refrigerators used forflammable storage should be manufactured for that pur-pose and labeled as such on the front of the door. Only the amount required forthe day should be taken out of storage.

All sources of ignition, including flames, static electricity, friction and heat fromovens and other sources, must be eliminated when working with flammableliquids.

Open Flames & Flammable Liquids


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Arson is one of the leading causes offire. Preventing arson requires reducing

easy targets for supplying fuels forfires. Preventive measures include main-taining proper housekeeping and emphasizing security measures.

Arson is the second leading cause offire deaths in the United States.

Arson is the leading cause offire-related property damage. Direct damage

results in more than $3 billion per year.

Juveniles account for 55% of all arson arrests.

One out of every fourfires occurring in the United States each year

approximately half a millionis due to arson.

Because arson is a majorfire threat, it is important to follow building security

measures. Unauthorized persons should not be allowed into offices, laborato-

ries or other work areas.

Combustible materials should be eliminated or minimized in areas accessible

to the public.

Suspicious activities should immediately be reported to a supervisor or other

relevant authority.

Arson


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Protecting people from fire and explosions is the primary goal of Iowa State

Universitys Fire Protection Plan. Awareness of the proper fire safety proce-dures can maximize this effort.

All fires, even those found already extin-guished, should be reported by calling911.

EH&S provides fire evacuation and fire extinguisher training. Contact EH&S at294-2193 or online at www.ehs.iastate.edu to register for a class.

Reporting and Training


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Portable fire extinguishers can save lives and property when used on small

fires...but only if theyre used properly. Before fighting a fire, remember:

Proceed only if the fire is small and contained, the fire alarm has beenpulled, there is a clear exit through which to escape, and the person usingthe extinguisher knows how to use it properly.

Multi-purpose fire extinguishers (ABC) will handle fires involving combustible mate-rials: flammable liquids, gases and greases, as well as electrical fires. All fire extin-guishers are labeled either ABC, A, B, C, or a combination of A, B and C, so besure to read the label.

Water fire extinguishers (A) will handle fires involving fuels composed of woodand/or paper.

Carbon dioxide fire extinguishers (BC) will handle small fires caused by flammableliquids or electricity.

When using a fire extinguisher, follow the PASS method. Hold the extinguisherupright and:

Pull the pin and stand back eight to ten feet,

Aim at the base of the fire,

Squeeze the handle, and

Sweep the base of the fire with the extinguishing agent.

Remember, time is always of the essence, since fire extinguishers have a

limited operation time of 8 - 15 seconds.

Portable Fire Extinguishers

A TRASH-WOOD-PAPER B LIQUIDS-GREASE C ELECTRICAL EQUIP.

Type ABC Fire Extinguisher

A TRASH-WOOD-PAPER B LIQUIDS-GREASE C ELECTRICAL EQUIP.

Type A Fire Extinguisher

A TRASH-WOOD-PAPER B LIQUIDS-GREASE C ELECTRICALEQUIP.

Type BC Fire Extinguisher


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The United States has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrial

world...13.1 deaths per million population.

Between 3,500 and 4,000 Americans lose their lives each year, and another

20,000 to 30,000 are injured as a result offire.

Between 1.5 and 2 million fires occur each year. Many others go unreported,

causing additional injuries and property loss.

Fires may smolder for hours before bursting into flame, but then consume an

entire room in two minutes.

Direct annual property loss due to fire averages between $9- and $14 billion.

Nationwide, the peak months forfire fatalities are November through March.

Fire kills more Americans than floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and earth-

quakes combined.

New York City alone has more fires than the entire country of Japan.

A fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the United States or

Canada every 16 seconds.

Fires double in size every 30 seconds.

Fire Facts

Documents

Fire Guide