Understanding the fundamentals of fire prevention and response is essential for keeping people and property out of harm’s way. One concept that weighs heavily on fire safety is the fire triangle.
Here’s a simple guide to what this model means for keeping our environments fire-safe and preparing for incidents in the workplace.
Elements: More than the Sum of their Parts
The fire triangle consists of three crucial components: fuel, heat (ignition source), and oxygen. These elements must all be present for a fire to ignite and continue burning. Here’s a brief breakdown of each one’s role:
Fuel: Fuel refers to anything that can burn. It can be solid, liquid, or gas. Common examples of fuel in our industry include gasoline, diesel, oils, paper, plastic, ASR and fuel gasses.
Heat (Ignition Source): Heat is what initiates the combustion process. It can come from various sources, such as sparks, flames, electrical energy (batteries or circuits), and even sunlight.
Oxygen: Oxygen is necessary for combustion to occur. It supports the chemical reaction that sustains the fire.
Fire Prevention: Don’t Forget the Fundamentals
The key principle of fire prevention is to separate these three elements. If you can prevent these elements from coming into contact with each other, you’ll drastically reduce the risk of a fire. You may have heard me say before, “If you can keep your fuel sources from coming into contact with an ignition source, you’ll never have a fire.”
1. Fuel control: One effective way to prevent fires is to manage fuel sources. This involves proper storage and handling of flammable materials. For instance, storing flammable liquids, pallets, tires, and other fuels in a safe manner away from potential ignition sources reduces the risk of a fire. Pile management is key as well. I also say, “If you don’t have a large amount of fuel, you can’t have a large fire.”
2. Heat control: Controlling ignition sources is another crucial aspect of fire prevention. Examples include maintaining your heat-producing equipment and carefully controlling the use of portable heaters. Regular inspection and maintenance of electrical systems also help prevent electrical fires by identifying and addressing potential issues before they get out of control. Don’t forget the critical effort to keep ignition sources out of our incoming material. These piles are fuel-heavy and need to be protected from ignition sources.
3. Oxygen control: While lowering oxygen levels may not be practical in most settings, think carefully about controlling compressed oxygen in storage and when used for torching. Oxygen makes everything more flammable in higher concentrations.
Fire Response: Applying the Fire Triangle
To effectively extinguish a fire, you can manipulate one or more of the triangle’s elements:
1. Fuel removal: For fires fueled by gas, such as a propane grill fire, simply shutting off the gas source will extinguish the fire without the need for direct intervention. You may also be able to shut off liquid fuel sources, like shutting off the key to stop fuel from being pumped into an engine compartment fire. This approach is both safe and effective.
2. Heat removal: Electrical fires often start from a malfunction, creating a high level of
heat that causes fire. Turning off the power in situations involving electrical fires can help remove that heat. In addition to fire extinguishers, consider shutting off the power as a preliminary step when dealing with such fires. Water works to eliminate heat and works well on pile fires. Water can also effectively stop fire spread by putting a fog stream in place between the fire and exposures. The water turns to steam and takes the heat away.
3. Oxygen removal: While it’s challenging to remove oxygen from the equation entirely, using fire extinguishers can cover the fuel source, preventing oxygen from reaching it and causing the fire to go out.
Understanding the fire triangle is fundamental to fire prevention and response. By separating or controlling the elements of the triangle, you can significantly reduce the risk of fires and respond effectively when every minute counts. Fire safety is a team effort – make sure your team focuses on the Fire Triangle Fundamentals.
