The importance of fire safety at home

Last week a prominent shopping mall in Karachi, Pakistan went up in smoke. What started the fire is unclear but what kept it going for so many hours was probably the ‘fuel’ inside the mall. Now I don’t mean petrol. I mean whatever the shops were selling and storing for the Ramadan season.

What can act as fuel? Well, anything that is inflammable can keep it going. Such things as textiles, carpets, sofas and even makeup and perfume. Although all are highly inflammable, perfume, being a chemical, is likely to ignite more easily than fabric which requires the fire to actually touch it. I still wonder what started the fire. It could have been a smouldering cigarette or something in a food outlet and the alarming thing is that, according to the authorities, there wasn’t a single fire extinguisher to be seen.

Fires can start anywhere whether it’s inside a shopping mall, an office building or a residential building. We need to be very careful as we go about our lives. We can become somewhat complacent when it comes to safety inside our own flats or houses. We need to keep our noses clear and eyes peeled for fire related signs.

The kitchen is the obvious place where a fire can start. We’re cooking and we have oil and we have matches. Often frying pans can catch fire when the oil from a swirling pan spills over the side of the pan and hits the flame on the burners. Now we need to put them out as quickly as we can without hurting ourselves. The smaller the fire, the safer it is to put it out in the simplest way.

Some time back I accidentally set fire to a kitchen towel that happened to be lying too close to the flame. As soon as I saw it, I grabbed it and dumped it in the kitchen sink with the tap on. It went out leaving the cloth with a hole. When you’re in the kitchen, never turn away from a pan or a pot on a burner because things can burn very easily.

I am sure that you have a smoke alarm in your kitchen and a couple somewhere in the rest of your home. If you don’t, maybe it’s an idea to have it installed. You might also need a gas leak detector in your kitchen, like we have. It immediately shuts off the gas to the cooker if it detects a leak. It beeps loudly and a switch kicks in.

Make sure you have at least 2 fire extinguishers in your home. One in your kitchen and another somewhere in an easily accessible spot in the rest of your flat. If you live in a house with two storeys you might want to have three. Learn how to use them and teach your children too.

At the end of the day, before turning in for the night, do a thorough sweep of your home. Has anything been left on? Has anything leaked or spilt on the floor or kitchen tops that could ignite? Have the doors to rooms been left open? I say this because it’s about preventing a fire from spreading to the rest of the home. Therefore, it’s best to keep all doors closed at night because if, God forbid, a fire were to happen in a room, at least it’s contained in that room.

Take a good whiff. You’re checking for a gas or a chemical type of smell. Gas usually from the cooker and cleaning liquid that could have spilt, both of which could ignite. You’re also looking for any fishy smell. Fishy here doesn’t mean strange or unusual but an actual fish like smell which is indicative of an electrical fire.

If something does smell fishy, be sure to check every electrical outlet. Smell appliances that are running and their plugs. If everything seems in order in your home but the smell persists, get someone one in. But it might also be in the building you’re living in, so call security. It could be coming in through your AC from another flat.