House Fire Fighting Risk Assessment

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Aim & Objectives
General Dangers
House-Specific Dangers
Conclusion
Recommendations
Reference List

Introduction

House fires can occur due to many different causes, such as gas explosions or negligent handling of electric tools. Open fire sources such as cigarettes and candles are particularly dangerous because people sometimes fail to recognise their danger. Houses can be challenging to escape during a fire, which will often force firefighters to go in to save the residents. There are particular indoors fire behaviours such as flashovers and backdrafts, which can inflict severe damage on a firefighter who has to go near the flame.

These dangers supplement more mundane hazards such as smoke and its obstruction of visibility, which can lead to tripping. With that said, all of these dangers can potentially be addressed to some degree with specific training and equipment. As such, this risk assessment attempts to identify and evaluate all of the dangers present, then propose control measures.

Aim & Objectives

The purpose of the report is to highlight the dangers involved in indoors fire fighting and propose methods for alleviating them. It focuses on houses because they are somewhat frequent environments for fires to start. They are also more likely to have people and animals who have to be rescued inside compared to industrial facilities, which are often easier to evacuate. As such, the objectives of the report are to identify general fire-related dangers as well as those specific to houses and compare them to each other to understand their severity.

It will then propose solutions that can address most of these issues effectively and realistically. To do so, it will draw on the author’s practical knowledge as well as literature. As such, the report will be separated into three distinct categories, with a dedicated conclusion for the risks section.

General Dangers

Contact with fire is extremely dangerous due to the heat involved in it, which can lead to severe and potentially fatal burns with even short exposure periods. Moreover, as it heats the air around it, people can be hurt by staying near a fire for extended periods. Clothing increases the danger of contact because many varieties will catch on fire upon contact, further harming the person who cannot take it off in time.

However, firefighter uniforms are already designed with the intent of minimising potential contact with flames and being fireproof without sacrificing too much mobility. Members of the profession should still be wary and understand the dangers of fire, however, as the equipment does not make them immune to it. Overall, this hazard is a moderate one in terms of danger, as firefighters can typically withstand short-term contact without being harmed.

However, fire introduces the danger of smoke, which, while not particularly damaging to inanimate objects, is extremely dangerous to humans. Smoke can get into most locations due to its gas-like consistency and move considerable distances away from the open flame. It is also dangerous to inhale, and continued exposure can lead to asphyxiation. As with flame, firefighters have specialised equipment that lets them filter the air they breathe.

However, these tools do not operate perfectly, and firefighters can develop conditions such as asthma over time. However, they are still at risk, especially when trying to rescue a person without a protective mask. The person can lose consciousness, becoming an additional burden and forcing the worker to act fast to prevent their death. Overall, the various combined risks make smoke a severe hazard that should be minimised through whatever means are available.

House-Specific Dangers

Houses are confined spaces, often with somewhat narrow corridors and door frames as well as cramped room layouts. As a result, they can increase the dangers of a fire by creating an increased concentration of smoke and blocking pathways with fire. They also tend to be filled with flammable materials, such as wood and cloth, in both their construction and furniture. Often, fire can damage a house’s infrastructure and cause a part of it, such as a ceiling beam, to collapse.

Such events can be lethal if they occur while a person is in the danger zone, but they represent danger by further complicating the house’s layout in any case. Lastly, houses’ closed-off nature can mean that lighting issues occur, causing people not to recognise that they are inhaling smoke until it is too late. Overall, the risks created by the house environment are severe and highly life-threatening.

Confined space also creates some unusual fire behaviours that supply additional dangers for firefighters. Flashovers are fires that spread extremely fast as a result of the temperature around them surpassing the autoignition level.

Backdrafts are situations when opening a door leads to a blast of fire coming out of it and likely hitting the person who performed the act. Both of these events can create sudden and severe danger for the person with the potential of immediately causing severe harm despite protective equipment. Additionally, flashovers can suddenly close previously open paths and leave the person without an escape route, exposing them to further danger. These phenomena can occur with little to no warning, surprising the firefighter and giving them no time to react. As such, their low preventability and extreme danger warrant a designation of the risk as severe.

The combination of fire’s tendency to collapse flammable structures and smoke’s ability to obscure vision can create numerous tripping hazards in a house. Falling over is always dangerous due to the risk of trauma, particularly if the surface on which one lands is uneven. However, flames introduce several additional dangers that increase the overall risk. If a firefighter trips into a fire, they can sustain severe burns before they can get away.

Moreover, they can tip some other object over, potentially complicating the situation further. Even if the worker lands on a safe surface, their mask can crack, which can lead them to inhale smoke at a high rate and succumb to its effects. With that said, the possibility of tripping and its effects can be minimised through appropriate conduct, so the overall danger of this aspect should be moderate.

Electrocution is the final risk that will be discussed in this assessment, being one of the more obscure but also potentially deadly dangers. Fires can damage electrical infrastructure, which usually tends to disable it via events such as short-circuiting. However, sometimes, the damage can create an exposure that can electrocute an unsuspecting firefighter. The presence of electricity is often impossible to observe with the naked eye.

As such, the event can catch the worker unprepared and potentially be fatal. Electric fires are a particular cause of concern, particularly when the rescuers do not know what event started the flame. They are made worse by many conventional methods of handling fire, which can backfire on the firefighter. However, due to the rarity of such situations and the existence of electric fire management methods, the danger of electricity warrants a moderate rating.

Conclusion

Fire fighting is an extremely dangerous task in most circumstances, but its dangers are made worse in the highly flammable and confined environment of a house. Many dangers that emerge in such a situation can cause immediate and severe harm to the person. Moreover, the general long-term hazards of fire and smoke still apply and are made worse by the higher concentration. With that said, firefighters still have to go in and get into close contact with fire to rescue people. The case with open or industrial fires may be different, with them being able to address the issue from a safe distance. In general, house fires can be considered one of the most dangerous categories for workers. As such, all possible precautions should be taken to minimise the risks to which they are exposed.

Recommendations

To deal with the general dangers of fire, workers should wear extensive protective equipment and be well-trained in its use. They should have specialised portable tools that can address the most frequent hazards during a house fire, such as a hand axe.

When rescuing someone, they should take some basic help tools, such as a rudimentary filter mask, with them. Firefighters should know the general ways of stopping the spread of fire and minimising the concentration of smoke and apply them in practice. It will usually not be possible to do that alone, so excellent communication and coordination between team members are necessary. If someone gets hurt, the rest should follow an established and standardised rescue protocol. These instructions should help reduce the general dangers of fire while remaining applicable to house fires, specifically.

With that said, residences have many unusual and potentially unique factors that can surprise and disorient a rescue worker. As such, they should train for these particular environments and their unique hazards. The International Association of Fire Chiefs (2020) suggests applying ventilation to minimise the risks of flashovers and backdrafts, with transitional fire attacks being potentially effective solutions.

Concerning visibility and falls, firefighters should be trained to identify and avoid dangerous areas unless strictly necessary. Lastly, to avoid electrocution, they should wear insulated equipment and receive training to identify whether electricity is on in the house.

Reference List

International Association of Fire Chiefs (2020) Fundamentals of fire fighter skills and hazardous materials response. 4th edn. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

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