FIRE: – A fire occurs when the elements i.e. heat, fuel, oxygen and chemical chain reaction are
present and combined in the right mixture. A fire can be prevented or extinguished by removing
any one of the elements in the fire tetrahedron. Essentially all four elements must be present for
fire to occur, heat, fuel oxygen, and a chemical chain reaction.

CLASSES OF FIRE:
 Class A – fires involving solid materials such as wood, paper or textiles.
 Class B – fires involving flammable liquids such as petrol, diesel or oils.
 Class C – fires involving gases.

 Class D – fires involving metals.
 Class E – fires involving live electrical apparatus. (Technically ‘Class E’ doesn’t exists
however this is used for convenience here)
 Class F – fires involving cooking oils such as in deep-fat fryers.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FIRE:
In order to protect yourself from fire, it is important to understand the basic characteristics of
fires. A fire has many characteristics and some of them are listed below:
 A fire can occur at any time.
 Short circuit is one of the leading causes of fire.
 In just two minutes, a residence can be engulfed in flames.
 The water is the best medium to fight fires except electrical and oil fires.
 Most deaths due to fire occur at night when people are sleeping.
 Fire produces gases that make you drowsy.
 Smoke and poisonous gases are the primary killer in fires.
 Instead of being awakened by fire, you may fall into a deeper sleep.
 Asphyxiation is the leading cause of fire deaths exceeding burns.
 Heat and smoke from fire can be more dangerous than the flames.
 Inhaling the super hot air can sear your lungs.
 Pouring water on electrical or oil fires will be dangerous.

POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARDS:
The best measures to be adopted for the prevention of a fire are to eliminate potential fire
hazards. Therefore you need to know what fire hazards are and what you should do to remove
them from your home or workplace. Some potential fire hazards are listed below:
 Electric wiring in poor condition.
 Electric system those are overloaded, resulting in hot wiring or connections, or failed
components.
 Storage of flammable liquids.
 Storage of combustibles with insufficient protection.
 Storage of combustibles near equipment that generate heat, flame or sparks.

 Smoking of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, beedees, etc.
 Ignition sources such as candles, lighters, match, etc.
 Equipment that generate heat and utilizes combustibles.
 Use of cooking appliances, stoves, furnaces, boilers, heaters, ovens, etc. disregarding
safety guidelines.
 Poor housekeeping practices.