Posts Tagged ‘fire’

What a start to the week we had. Our apartment block caught fire. Nothing too serious. But what exactly is the line between small non-serious fire and large mega-dangerous fire?

The fire alarm went off at 3am. However, it wasn’t really clear what was going on because it would do a few rings and then turn off. Then occasionally turn on again. We assumed it was faulty and a grumpy Venla insisted we “turn it off!”.

But as this kept going on we decided it was safest to evacuate just in case. As we did, one of our neighbours came knocking on all the doors to let everyone know that there was a bit of smoke in the building and so it probably wasn’t a fault.

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue responded in force. They had five fire engines there within five or ten minutes of us getting outside, including a big platform cherry-picker.

It turned out that someone had left a pan on the stove, which had been left on, and eventually headed up until it ignited the plastic parts. The fire was quickly dispatched and didn’t cause much damage to the apartment’s kitchen, let alone the rest of the flat or the building. But you never know how close it was to a bigger disaster.

The apartment building I live in is mixed-use apartments and office space. That means that every now and then there is a fire drill in the middle of the day. I say every now and then: give how little I am home and how often it seems to happen, I would guess at every month. This is really annoying.

We don’t get a warning, so all of a sudden the alarm will go off.

There are two ways you can react to this. One way is to panic. That makes sense, because there might be a fire. But, you are at home, so what state are you in to run out of the building? You might be naked. In the middle of a toilet visit. Asleep. In the shower. In the middle of cooking.

The second is to assume that it is just a drill. They happen so often that this is a good bet. Apartment buildings basically never catch on fire. In fact, it is so rare that even when it happens in Dubai it is a major news story over here. Which is fine, until there is a fire for real and you are burnt alive.

Not to mention that the fire alarm is incredibly loud. If you are of a nervous disposition it probably causes a significant amount of stress, and even if you are not, you are probably running for the exit with fingers in both ears as I saw someone doing today.

Fire alarms are for when there is a fire. That should not have to be something you have to state. It should be obvious. But people keep setting them off and calling them “fire drills”. That should not be acceptable, any more than yelling “fire!” in a theatre is acceptable, unless there is an actual fire.

If you do want to test the systems, that makes sense. But doing it without telling everyone is irresponsible and breads complacence about what a fire alarm actually is.

Recently there was a huge fire in Leeds, just round the corner from where I live. You can read more about it on BBC News. We walked past there a day or two after the blaze and it was still burning strong.

Having relatives from Canada visting, we decided (well, my parents decided, I turned up and ate) to throw a family BBQ. My camera battery was on its lasts legs though, so I only got pictures of the fire.

In today’s ultra P.C. nanny culture the posters informing you what to do if there is a fire might as well not be there. As such I’ve decided to provide some practical tips on fire safety.

• If the fire alarm goes off, ignore it, it’s probably a test.
• If there is a fire, don’t walk – run! There’s a fire for god’s sake!
• Go back for personal possessions – you don’t want them to get burnt.
• If you are in a high rise building, use the lift, it will be quicker to escape the fire that way
• Bare in mind vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. They may not be able to move as fast so you may need to push them out of the way.
• If the fire is small, just run for it, there is no glory in putting it out. Only attempt to tackle large blazes in which you stand a chance of getting on the front cover of The Express.
• Remember, safety first – wait until you are a safe distance away from the fire before attempting to take a picture with your phone and send it to TwitPic.

I caught something out of the corner of my eye just now.

Point 5 reads…

If fire is out of control, call fire brigade 999

Cheers, I was confused as to what the number was.

So much for the awesome fireworks display happening outside of my window, it was hidden behind the houses next door. Gutted.

Not that anyone else seemed to actually make it down there, despite many promises. Rumour has it Si was too busy getting his birthday present from Izzy too? 😉 .

I was very impressed by the Roundhay Park bonfire though it’s been literally a decade, probably longer since I’ve last been but they started building it last Wednesday. Last Wednesday! It was like a wooden pyramid by the time they had finished it.

Anyway, happy birthday Si.