1. Emergency/Fire
Awareness & Preparedness
Gabe Munoz

2. Some things to know..
• Exits
• Breaks (Every 40 minutes)
• Restrooms
• Refreshments
• Interactive
• Let’s get paperwork out of the way…

3. Who am I?
– Who am I?
• Brighton Fire Co #5 Firefighter (since 2000)
• Brighton Fire Co #5 Hazmat Div Team Leader (H-2)
• Erie County HAZMAT – 3rd Ass’t Chief (9-3)
• Summit for 17 years
• Chair Summit’s Emergency Prep Commtt

4. Agenda
1. Define Focus & properties of fire &
its dangers
2. Understanding human behavior
3. Fire safety systems
4. Fire safety practices
5. Special considerations

5. Objective
Increase Awareness=Increase Your Time

6. Always remember this slide
Get Out (Quickly) – Stay Out!!

7. How aware are we?

8. 1. Our Focus:
• Fire Dept. Service:
– Priority 1: Life Safety (Save life)
– Priority 2: Incident Stabilization (Fight fire)
– Priority 3: Property Conservation (Save
property)
• Our Focus (minimal awareness)****
– Life Safety ONLY
• For ourselves & our families
• Visit your Fire Company open House in Sept/Oct

9. Properties/Characteristics of Fire
• Unpredictable!
• HOT
• Dark
• Indiscriminate – consumes everything
• Grows exponentially/out of control quickly
• Toxic and very hot gases
• Different fire stages
…Ignition, Flashover,& Backdrafts

10. Properties of a
Fire “Triangle”
Take one element away – you physically can’ t have a fire

11. Case Study #1
• 2 minute (partial) video structure fire
– Rhode Island Night Club: The Station
– Great White
– Feb, 2003.
• Viewer Discretion is Advised.

12. Station Night Club Fire - 2003

13. Station Night Club Fire – 2003
So What Happened?
• Soundproofing foam (building code
violation) caught fire from the band’s
pyrotechnics devices
• 100 people died
– 1/3 where trampled
• The following video recreated from NIST
illustrated what happened inside …..

14. Why didn’t some people survive?
• Lack of fire emergency awareness
• Fire impingement- fire touches us
• Heat Radiation – heat touches us
• Asphyxiation – interferes with oxygenation
(toxic gases)
• Suffocation – lack of oxygen
– Airway reflex (closes breathing hot gases)
• “Attempts of egress (escape)”

15. Station Night Club Fire - 2003

16. Station Night Club Fire - 2003

17. Case Study 2 – No water for fire??

18. Case Study 2 – No water for fire??
• Safely Cover Fire?
• Salt
• Baking Soda
• Fire Extinguisher

19. Always remember this slide
Get Out (Quickly) – Stay Out!!

20. 2. Behavior During a Fire
• It’s natural to panic
– Don’t (a LOT easier said then done)
• Begin to lose ability to (logically) think
• Walk away “syndrome”–
– Don’t see it, so “fire” doesn’t exist

21. 3.Fire Safety Engineering
Practices
• Sprinklers (residential, new or aftr mrkt)
• Smoke Detectors (Demo)
– There are two kinds
– Replace if older than 10 years
– Replace (new) battery EVERY year
– Test monthly (sound familiarization)
– Eliminate desensitization (constantly goes off
because of shower steam/cooking)

22. Fire Safety Engineering Practices
• Smoke Detectors (Demo)
– Integrated home security system
– Interconnected detectors (wireless)
• Carbon Monoxide Detectors

23. Case Study #3 – How fast is fast???

24. 4. Fire Safety Practices
• Knowledge/ID of potential hazards:
– Electrical hazards
– Fuel loading (hoarding)
– Candles/open flame devices (#2 cause of fire)
– Cooking
– Halogen lighting
– Live Christmas trees and vegetation
– Impact of individual behaviors on the safety of
others
– Smoking (#1 cause of fires)

25. Fire Safety Practices
• Your Child’s Safeguards
– Do they conflict with rescue/self rescue efforts?
• Stop Drop and Roll
– Cover your face
– Don’t run
• Fire Drills
– Work
– Home: EDITH – Exit Drills In The Home*
• Hoarding – throw it away.

26. Fire Safety Practices
• Cooking Safety
– Fire Ex placement
– Lids to cover
• Laundry: Washers & Dryers
– Use only when home

27. Fire Extinguishers
• The time to learn to use one is NOT
during an emergency
• Use only:
– If escaping exit is blocked by fire
– Clothing is on fire
– Incipient Fire (Gabe’s rule – ½ your size - 10
secs)
• Rated for ABCD & K fires, so…..

28. Fire Extinguishers

29. Fire Safety Practices
• Video
• Fire Extinguishers
• Pull the pin
• Aim the extinguisher
• Squeeze the trigger
• Sweep extinguisher from side to side
• Never EVER turn your back on a fire put
out with an extinguisher-it may
spontaneously flare up

30. While it may be difficult to teach
an individual with disabilities about
the dangerous nature of fire, it may
be possible to teach him or her
about how to behave when it comes
to fire safety.

31. Specifics for Home - FET
• Understand your fire risk
– Physical/mental challenges do not mean you
are unable to take the important steps to keep
you and your family safe from fire.
– Build your fire prevention plans around your
abilities.
– Know your safeguards

32. Specifics for Home - FET
• Install and maintain smoke alarms
– Smoke alarms with a vibrating pad or flashing light are
available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
– Smoke alarms with a strobe light outside the home to
catch the attention of neighbors, and emergency call
systems for summoning help, are also available.
– Ask the manager of your building, or a friend or
relative, to install at least one smoke alarm on each
level of your home.
– Test smoke alarm batteries every month and change
them at least once a year. If you can't reach the test
button on your smoke alarm, ask someone to test it
for you.

33. Specifics for Home - FET
• Live near an exit
– Although you have the legal right to live where
you choose, you'll be safest on the ground
floor if you live in an apartment building.
– If you live in a multistory home, arrange to
sleep on the first floor.
– Being on the ground floor and near an exit will
make your escape easier.

34. Specifics for Home - FET
• Plan your escape (EDITH – handouts)
– Plan your escape around your capabilities.
– Know at least two exits from every room.
– If you use a walker or wheelchair, check all
exits to be sure you can get through the
doorways.
– Make any necessary changes, such as installing
exit ramps and widening doorways, to make an
emergency escape easier.

35. Emergency Evacuation Plan
• Can’t Evacuate??
– Get to an outside facing room (window)
– Close door
• Place clothes/towel - door bottom and threshold
– Call 911 and tell dispatch your location in
home – keep line open!!
– Open window
– Stay down
– Notify first arriving emergency vehicle you’re
trapped (yell out window-hang sheet)

36. Specifics for Home - FET
• Don't isolate yourself
– Speak to your family members, building manager
or neighbors about your fire safety plan and
practice it with them.
– Contact your local fire department's
nonemergency line and explain your needs.
They can suggest escape plan ideas and may
perform a home fire safety inspection if you
ask.
– Ask emergency providers to keep your needs
information on file.
– Keep a phone near your bed and be ready to call
911 or your local emergency number if a fire
occurs.

37. Concluding - Review
1. Define Focus & properties of fire & its
dangers
2. Understanding human behavior
3. Fire safety systems
4. Fire safety practices
5. Special considerations

38. Our Focus:
Increase Awareness=Increase your time

39. Remember this slide
Get Out – Stay Out!!

40. Any Questions?

41. References
• http://www.nfpa.org
• http://www.nfpa.org/safety-
information/for-consumers/escape-
planning
• http://www.nfpa.org/safety-
information/for-
consumers/populations/people-with-
disabilities/educational-materials

42. References
• https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/evac
uation/portable_about.html
• http://fire.nist.com