Lots of people put out small fires in their homes or at their businesses quite safely. Some people, however, are killed or injured as a result of tackling a fire that is beyond their capabilities. Here are some simple rules to help you decide whether you should tackle a fire:
- Only tackle a fire when it is in its very early stages.
- Give consideration to your own safety and the safety of other people and make sure you can escape from the fire if you need to. Never let a fire block your exit.
- Think about the position of yourself, the fire and the escape route.
- Remember that fire extinguishers are only for fighting a fire in its very early stages. Never tackle a fire if it is starting to spread (of has spread) to other items in the room or if the room is filling with smoke. More people are killed by the smoke than by the fire (in the order of 70% of fire deaths are caused by smoke and fumes).
- If you cannot put out the fire or if the extinguisher becomes empty, get out and get everyone else out of the building immediately, closing all doors behind you as you go.
- Telephone the fire brigade.
If you need to know how to use a Fire Extinguisher, then come on one of our fire safety training courses with supervised hands-on instruction in Fire Extinguisher use.
Learn how to tackle a small fire
