SOME FIRE PREVENTION MEASURES IN HOUSEHOLDS

Fires can happen anywhere, requiring fire fighting to be quick, flexible and timely.

Faced with the complicated and unusual weather conditions, especially the dry season in Phu Yen, prolonged hot weather combined with increased electricity demand can easily lead to an increased risk of fire and explosion in households. To prevent fires and explosions and minimize damage caused by fires and explosions, the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department, Phu Yen Provincial Police, provides guidance on some measures to ensure fire safety in households as follows:

I. FOR TUBE HOUSES, HOUSES COMBINED WITH PRODUCTION AND BUSINESS

1. People should not leave many flammable items and goods in the cooking area. Do not store gasoline, oil, gas and flammable liquids in the house. If necessary, store only the smallest amount; cars, motorbikes and other vehicles containing gasoline, flammable liquids in the house must be kept away from the stove and heat sources.

2. Do not use wood, plastic panels, foam, etc. to cover walls, ceilings, and partitions to limit the spread of fire; review the electrical system in the house, regularly check electrical wires, protective devices such as switches, fuses, circuit breakers. Check that electrical appliances are not placed near flammable materials such as curtains, blinds, etc.

3. When using irons, electric stoves, and dryers, there must be someone supervising them. Do not let children, the elderly with poor eyesight, the disabled, or the mentally ill use electrical appliances; arrange the place of worship appropriately; the wall on the side of the altar and the ceiling above the altar must be made of non-flammable materials. Lamps, incense, and candles must be placed securely on non-flammable objects, away from flammable objects; limit the amount of votive paper, incense, and candles placed on the altar. When burning votive paper, there must be supervision and cover to prevent the fire from spreading or the wind from blowing the embers and causing the fire to spread.

4. The cooking area must have a partition made of non-flammable material. If using a gas stove, measures must be taken to prevent rats from biting through the gas pipe. When cooking is finished, the stove must be turned off and the gas valve closed.

5. When cooking, someone must be present to supervise; before leaving the house and before going to bed, check the cooking area and the place of worship, turn off unnecessary electrical equipment; do not install iron cages or iron nets on the railings of high-rise buildings.

6. Prepare ladders and rope ladders to escape in case of fire.

7. Families with children, the elderly, and the disabled must have appropriate escape and rescue measures and must not lock the doors of the above-mentioned people; each family should have a plan for escape situations in case of fire. Equip water storage devices, buckets and water tanks to serve both daily life and fire fighting, equip fire extinguishers and everyone in the family must learn to use the equipped fire fighting tools proficiently.

8. Absolutely do not use honeycomb coal stoves to heat closed rooms during severe cold spells.

9. In case of fire or explosion, people need to perform the following basic skills:

- Don't panic, stay calm and think. Shout loudly or press the fire alarm to let everyone know that there is a fire.

- Turn off the power, or notify the power branch to cut off the power in the area where the fire or explosion occurred.

- If the fire is small and has just started, quickly use on-site fire fighting equipment such as fire extinguishers, water, sand, and wet blankets to extinguish the fire.

- In case the fire cannot be handled, quickly escape by using a towel, cloth, or blanket soaked in water to cover your eyes, nose, and mouth and crawl close to the ground to escape. Close the door of the burning room to prevent smoke and heat from escaping, limit the wind from blowing in, creating an oxygen source that can spread the fire and cause a large fire. Immediately call the professional Fire Police force at 114.

II. FIRE SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USE OF ELECTRICITY IN THE HOME

1. Electrical wiring in the house must be of good quality insulated wire with a cross-section suitable for the current of the equipment used.

2. Fuses or circuit breakers must be installed for the building's general electrical system, each floor, each branch, each large power consuming device and before the electrical outlets. The fuse wire must use a fuse wire with the correct protection amperage.

3. Do not install electrical wires or electrical panels on flammable objects such as wood, paper, thatched roofs, insulation foam, etc. to avoid electrical wires short-circuiting and causing fire. Connection points must be technically correct, tight, neat, and wrapped with insulating tape.

4. Do not use irons, electric stoves, or electric resistance heating devices without supervision.

5. Do not use flammable objects as lampshades.

6. Do not let children, the elderly, the disabled, or the mentally ill use electrical equipment.

7. Insulated wires when passing through walls, floors, ceilings... must be placed in insulating pipes. If the walls, partitions, floors, ceilings... are made of flammable materials, the pipes must be made of non-flammable materials (ceramic, porcelain...) or separated by a layer of non-flammable materials.

8. Before leaving the house or going to bed, check electrical appliances and turn off unnecessary electrical appliances.

In addition, in households, homeowners should install a fire protection system to promptly warn, detect fires and carry out fire protection work most effectively.

Source: https://baophuyen.vn/xa-hoi/202504/mot-so-bien-phap-phong-chay-trong-ho-gia-dinh-28344fa/