My husband is lovely. Really. He is. He also thinks he is funny. So funny, in fact, that one Christmas he gave me a foam fire extinguisher to use in my house. You know, just in case my cooking went terribly wrong. Ha ha – funny man. Put it this way, he didn’t get any home-cooked food for a while after that. I think he has learnt his lesson!

However, since then, we have got married, and moved house. Just before we moved, my eagle-eyed FPO colleague and bestest bud, Fiona, noticed that my fire extinguisher was looking a little forlorn. It has lost pressure. The lovely little coloured dial at the top of it should have shown the needle in the green “all-is-well” section. However, the needle had slipped downwards into the red “Alert! Alert! Underpowered fire extinguisher here” section. Bad times.

I must admit, that in the chaos of moving, I may have slightly ignored Fiona’s observation, and carried on in my merry way. I did pack the aforementioned extinguishing device. Very carefully in one of the many, many moving boxes. I even lovingly wrapped it up in that funny squishy packaging stuff to make sure it didn’t get damaged on the way from Kent to Dorset. It was only when I was unpacking (yet more!) boxes last week that I became reacquainted with the extinguisher, and remembered what Fiona had told me.

What to do? I must admit that even thought I write these blogs for all you lovely people out in reader-land, my knowledge of fire safety equipment is not all-encompassing. I tend to have very good knowledge of what I am writing about, as I do research like a good girl. However, general extinguisher knowledge is somewhat lacking, and so I turn to the lovely folks at Fire Protection Online to assist me, as they are very good when it comes to all things extinguisher-related.

I wondered if one could re-pressurise such a thing, but apparently it is simply not worth it. It is just a tiddly little 1 kg foam extinguisher, and it is cheaper to get a new one. With larger extinguishers, obviously things are a little different, and you can get a nice engineer chap out to weave his magic and bring the equipment back to life, but in the case of my little 1kg tiddler – I think it’s curtains!

So, after discussion with the lovely Fiona, we came up with the idea of getting a powder extinguisher instead – and I shall explain why in my next post. Suffice it to say, it arrived yesterday and now has pride of place on my new coffee table whilst I decide where to put it…so thank you very much all the staff at FPO – but I hope I shall never have to use my moving in present!!!

As you may have seen from my recent blog post, I have just moved house. I moved from Kentshire to the wilds of Dorset. I moved from a little back-to-back two bedroom (well, one-and-a-half-bedroom really) house to a detatched three bedroom place. I have way more space than I used to have, which is good, but weird.

Now, being the fire-protection-conscious person that I have become, thanks to writing these blogs, I have surveyed my new house and borne in mind how fire safe it is. The thing that concerns me most is that there is currently only one smoke alarm.

In my old house, I had two smoke alarms, one upstairs and one downstairs. One was on the landing at the top of the stairs, and one was in the living room. As my house was open-plan downstairs, I thought this was a good plan.

The new house, however, has only one smoke alarm, and it is situated  on the stairs. I was entirely unsure that this was the correct place for it, and really think that there should be a few more of them too.

I did see, however, that you can get the fire and rescue service to come round and give you advice about positioning of smoke alarms and other aspects of fire safety, which to me sounds like a jolly good idea. It is always worth getting the opinion of the professionals, and when it comes to fire protection you can never be too careful. If you live in the UK, you can find out how to contact your local fire and rescue service by going to this handy Directgov website, and choosing the right area. Easy peasy. I am going to give them a ring this week, and see if I can arrange for someone to nip round.

A smoke alarm is a really quick, easy and cheap way to protect yourself in the case of a fire. Did you know that a smoke alarm can reduce fatalities in a fire by a huge 90%, and also doubles your chance of survival.

That is providing that it is working though. If you don’t check the batteries in the alarm, then you could be lulling yourself into a false sense of security. You may think that all is hunky dorey, but in fact the batteries could be flat, and therefore the whole thing is completely useless. So, make sure you always check the batteries and replace them as soon as they need it.

So, wish me luck in my quest for smoke alarm supremacy. I shall be on the phone to the fire department forthwith!

Sentry is a company that makes fire safes. I have blogged before about how important it is to keep certain information and items in a fire proof safe. No matter how careful you are, there is always a chance that a fire can break out, and in that situation nothing is beyond damage. Except for items in a fire safe.

So, a fire safe will protect important items against, you’ve guessed it, fires. Damage from fire, smoke and water can be disastrous, so keeping important documents in one of these can make a huge difference. And it’s not just paperwork, but also CDs, DVDs and USB drives with electronic information on them. Using one of these will protect that information from damage.

So, a little bit of information about Sentry. The company was started in 1930 in America, during the Great Depression. John Brush, Sr and his brother in law William Punnett opened a small shop which manufactured safes. The company was called the Brush-Punnett Company, and their mission was to make quality products at reasonable prices through innovative engineering.

John Brush had three sons – Jack, Dick and Bob, and they joined the firm once they were old enough. The company became the Sentry Group in 1987, but is still family-owned, with Doug and Jim Brush – the third generation – providing the leadership.

The Sentry Group produces more fire-resistant chests, files, safes and security storage containers than any other company in the world, and they are still sticking to their original founders’ dedication to quality, innovation and affordability.

The Sentry Group has won many awards for their product design and retail service. They offer a broad range of safe types, sizes and protection levels, and are committed to expanding their product range to protect against identity theft and media and electronic data protection.

Quite impressive credentials then, and that is why Fire Protection Online stock their products. The SentrySafe fire safes are tough and robust. Tests have shown that the OA5835 fire safe was dropped from 30 feet, and still survived. The same safe can also sit in up to 8” of water for 24 hours and the items inside will remain undamaged.

So, if you are worried about the safety of your important documents, then this is your answer. A fire safe is a relatively inexpensive way to protect valuable information – what are you waiting for??

Fire extinguisher signs. Not the most exciting of subjects, but that doesn’t mean that it is not important. As an employer, you should be moderately interested in this, because you have a responsibility to provide signage for your staff. The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 apply to all premises where people are employed. So this includes your offices, warehouses etc. So read on!

Although fire extinguishers signs may all look pretty similar, they are not. The rigid plastics signs come in varying degrees of thickness and quality, so it is important that you get a good one. There is not much point of having a sign which will fade over time – it won’t be giving an awful lot of information if you can’t see what is on it!

The standard rigid plastic signs are all well and good, and they do the job. Until it is dark. At night, or in areas where there is only artificial lighting, there might be a problem. One of the nasty side effects of a fire is that it destroys important things, like the electrical supply. In a fire, or even a power cut, it is important that your employees can see where the exits are.

Glow in the dark signs

This is where photoluminescent (phew – that takes a lot of typing!) signs come into play. These plastic signs contain photoluminescent material which contains a special inorganic phosphor compound. This compound is energised very quickly by blue light and ultra violet wavelength energy. This is present in nearly all light source. This wavelength energy is high frequency, but the phosphor compound converts it to low frequency, which allows it to be seen and recognised by the human eye. In other words, it makes the signs glow in the dark!

So, when the lights go out, the signs light up and will clearly show emergency exits, fire fighting equipment, stairs, exit routes and hazards. It is really important that in an emergency, you can find the fire fighting equipment, and these signs will aid that. The signs have pictograms as well as words, so that if your employees are non-English speaking, they will still be able to understand the sign.

Fire safety signs are colour coded, the same as extinguishers. Red is for water, black is carbon dioxide, blue is powder and foam ones are colourless.

So, make sure that you are following the letter of the law, and keeping your employees safe by having fire extinguisher signs with all your extinguishers. And when no-one is looking, you can turn out the lights and watch them glow in the dark!!

Are you planning a holiday this summer? Well, I would imagine that the majority of people are, and so along with the usual considerations – can I lose three stone before my holiday in two weeks? Can I fit my entire wardrobe into this one tiny suitcase? What is the Spanish word for vegetarian? – one should also be considering fire risks when travelling.

Now I know I do bang on about this – although to be fair, this is a fire protection blog after all – but it is something that is very easy to overlook. You assume that since you are staying in a hotel, that all the fire regulations will be strictly adhered to and that the fire safety equipment will be up to date and working, so you have no need to worry. However, unfortunately this is not always the case.

So, I am going to give you a few pointers for holiday fire protection. Using smoke detectors and planning out an escape route from your accommodation will greatly improve your chances if a fire does break out.

If you can, find out that the accommodation you are staying in for your holiday is equipped with smoke detectors and sprinkler systems before you go. If it is not, then you might want to think about taking your own portable smoke detector.

When you arrive at your holiday abode, have a quick check for a primary and alternative escape route from your room. This only needs to take a couple of minutes, but may be the difference between life and death. It is important that you all know where you are going – especially if the fire occurs at night.

Now, if a fire does break out start off by closing the doors to the room – this helps to contain the fire, and to slow down the spread of smoke. Next, get everyone out of the building, and stay out – no going back for your child’s favourite teddy. Remember to be careful when leaving a building where there is a fire. If you open a door, test it first with the back of your hand to see if it is hot – if it does, find another way out – there could be fire on the other side of the door. Then, ring for the fire service. If you don’t speak the language, try and get a local to do this for you.

It is important to make sure that you know the number for the emergency services in the country you are staying in. These numbers vary from country to country, so look it up and store it in your mobile phone – just in case.

Hopefully you won’t need to worry about any of these things that I’ve mentioned today. But is always good to be prepared. Enjoy your holiday!

If you live in a building with more than one floor to it (so I think that includes everything except bungalows – and we all know that they are only for old people anyway! Lol) there are certain fire protection issues that you need to consider.

There are the usual things that apply to all buildings – making sure you have smoke detectors, that they are positioned in the right places, and, most importantly, that they are working (no flat batteries). Also, making sure that you have appropriate extinguishers is also important. But I reckon that one of the most important things is making sure that you have an escape route planned out.

Now I know that planning your escape route in case of a fire sounds a bit time-consuming and silly, but in an emergency, you’ll be glad that you took the time to do it. Looking at things like where door keys are kept is a good place to start. You need to make sure that you would be able to get to them in the middle of the night when it’s all smokey. It’s all very well making your way to the front door, but itf you can’t unlock it then you’re in trouble.

Getting back to the bit about houses with more than one floor though, have you thought about what you’d do if the fire was on the stairs in your house? You wouldn’t be able to get to the doors to get out of the building, as you couldn’t get down the stairs, and throwing yourself out of a first or second storey window isn’t a hugely appealing option (broken bones are never a good look). So what to do…?

Well, how about a fire escape ladder?

X-IT is a company that makes (unsurprisingly) the X-IT Fire Escape Ladder. Now the clue here is most definitely in the name. It’s a ladder that you can use to escape in case of a fire. The way it works is thus (and pay attention, because this is quite complicated stuff)

HOOK the ladder onto the inside of your window sill. DROP the ladder outside your window, ensuring that the stand-offs are facing towards you and the hook is fixed securely to the inside of you windowsill. The ladder will extend under its own weight.

And that is it. Amazingly simple. And just to prove how simple it is, here’s a shiny video showing it in action.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, as you can see even a six year old can use it. One of these ladders is a really useful addition to your fire safety equipment, and it can mean the difference between life or death if you get caught upstairs in your house.

I like talking. A lot. I like chatting to people. For me, questions are not things to be answered with one word, they are to be answered with many. Conversation is good. Exchange of ideas, debate on certain subjects – all good. I like engaging with people. Face to face, on the phone, chatting online, or even with things like this lovely blog. Being heard is good, and there are a variety of ways to do this.

Now, in an emergency, being heard is very important. People need instructions and reassurance. A bit of crowd control goes a long way, and keeping people informed is vital, or else you run the risk of a bit of a panic breaking out. Now, it doesn’t matter how loud and booming your voice is, once you get outside with lots of people chattering and milling around, your voice can easily get lost and sound uber-weedy. Bad times. So, this calls for something that packs a bit of an audio punch. May I draw to your attention, the mighty megaphone.

Slighty crazed megaphone-toting lady

A megaphone, or loud hailer as they are also known, will amplify your voice so that you can be heard by all. They come in a variety of sizes, from small ultra-lightweight ones, through to full-on heavy duty professional models.

The type of megaphone you need will depend on where you need to use it. If you have a small premises, are planning to use it indoors, or maybe for a small garden fete, then the 8 watt megaphone will be perfect. This one is great for fire wardens, and has a range of up to 700m. It runs off six AA batteries, so powering it is easy peasy.

The most popular one that we sell is a 20w model. It is lightweight, but that doesn’t make it any less suitable. It delivers excellent sound quality and clarity, has a volume control (if you’re a fan of Spinal Tap, then maybe you can turn it up to eleven!) and also includes an emergency siren and whistle sound – great for attracting people’s attention. This model is really good for outdoor use, and can be very useful when it comes to fire drills.

If you need something that really packs a punch though, go for the 25w heavy duty megaphone. Although these are still battery powered, you have the option of powering it via the 12v jack lead and car power plug. This one is ideal for constructions sites, airfields, boat yards etc, but I’d recommend outdoor use only unless you’re planning on deafening everyone!

So, there you go. A quick run down of the world of speech amplification. Is it just me that really really wants to go and try one out now??

Right – little quiz for you today. If you were a fire safety sign and you were green, what sort of information would you be giving? Do you know? Well, if the answer is ‘no’, then read on and I shall enlighten you, O lovely reader.

So, first of all why do we have fire safety signs at all? Well, firstly to keep people safe in the event of a fire, and second – as always – because it is the law. Installing fire safety signs is part of your responsibility as an employer – you have to ensure, as far as is reasonably possible, the health, safety and welfare at work of your employees, and also of the general public.

The UK Health and Safety laws say that as an employer, it is your duty to make the workplace safe and without risks to employees and to the public – sing safety signs can draw people’s attention to hazards, and can also show safety procedures. You must also ensure that machinery is safe, and safe systems of work are set and followed – correct signs can show the safe working rules and regulations for your workplace. Also, you must ensure that any articles and substances are moved, stored and used safely – signs can immediately notify someone of any substance hazard.

So, there you go. They are the main reasons why signs are important. There are a number of different types and styles, and – getting back to the earlier question – the signs are different colours depending on the type of information you are giving.

Green signs. These ones are ‘safe condition’ signs. They can tell people where safety equipment is, such as first aid kits, or where the fire exits are. They might also give information about what it is safe to do in an emergency.

Red signs. These ones are called ‘fire safety’ signs, and are only used to show where fire extinguishers and other fire safety equipment is located.

Blue signs. These are called ‘mandatory’ signs. These give orders – and you have to do whatever is written on the sign.

Red circles with a diagonal line through a pictogram. These are ‘prohibition’ signs. This is fairly self-explanatory – you mustn’t do whatever is shown on the sign. Simples.

Yellow Triangles. Last, but by no means least, are these ones. They are ‘caution’signs. They will bring things to people’s attention that they need to look out for.

So there we go – a quick run-down of all things fire safety sign related. For more details, have a wee peek at FPO’s website, but at least now you’ll know vaguely what you’re after. And hopefully you can now answer the question about the green signs!

If there is a fire in your building, how do you let everyone know? Well, if it is a very small room, then probably just yelling ‘FIRE! FIRE!’ would alert most people. They would panic and follow you as you leg it out of the building to safety. However, most office buildings consist of more than just one small room, and some people might be in another room, in the loo or working with some noisy tools (or a loud iPod!) so something a wee bit louder and more suited to the purpose is needed. This is where a fire alarm comes into play.

Simply put, a fire alarm is there to alert everyone in the building that there is a fire, so that they can exit the building safely. There are a few different types of fire alarm, so I’ll give you a quick run down here.

So, firstly there is a rotary fire alarm gong. This is made from aluminium, and is the simplest of all the models. This one has no electrics or batteries – you stand next to it and wind the handle round. This makes the 60dB alarm sound – and it can be heard up to 35 metres away. Not too shabby for something that low tech!

Another type is a standalone battery fire alarm. These consist of a battery-operated unit with a fire alarm call point and an electronic alarm. They’re very easy to install – take it out the box, put in a normal 9v battery and fix it onto the wall – simples! The alarm is 90-120dB and there is a low-battery warning bleep so you’ll know when to replace the battery.

If your premises are a bit bigger, then the Megalarm (loving the name!) and Howler fire alarm both come in various interlinkable versions – great for places that do not have an existing fitted system.

So that’s the very basics. Now, most companies will pay for a fire company or a fire consultant to come in and carry out a fire risk assessment on their business premises. This is because since October 2006 the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order became law – don’t worry if you’re not really sure what this is – basically it says that you need to carry out a fire risk assessment of your place of work, record the findings and implement any recommendations. So, the fire company come in and do this risk assessment, and then give you a big long list of recommendations, which can come as a rather expensive shock. But if your premises are relatively small, then getting a fire alarm system from FPO can be just as effective, for a fraction of the price – yippee!!

There has been a fire in a residential building in Ottawa, Canada. Fortunately, it was possessions, and not people that were destroyed.

Residents of a multi-unit building in the Glebe destroyed in a weekend fire are now homeless and hoping that something of their lives survived the blaze.

Occupants of the three-storey brick building at 5 Monk Street were forced to flee around 7 a.m. on Saturday morning when a fire broke out on the top floor of the building.

No one was hurt in the blaze, but 10 people displaced by the fire aren’t expected to be able to move back, he said. Fire crews had to knock down walls of the building to contain the blaze.

On Sunday, residents picked through the rubble until police forced them off because of safety concerns.

Meaghan Quinn, who lived in a main floor apartment with her boyfriend, saw other residents find passports and other valuables in the debris, but didn’t hold out much hope that her own belongings would be recovered.

“It’s hard knowing that because of where we lived we will probably not find anything,” she said, though she added she was lucky enough to have purchased contents insurance.

The fire caused an estimated $750,000 damage to the building and $250,000 to contents. The cause is under investigation, but it is not considered suspicious. It is the fourth major fire to rip through the Glebe in the last month.

District fire Chief John Gagnon says the Glebe fires have caught the attention of the public because of their size. As for the city as a whole, his department is receiving more calls, a natural result he says of a city that is growing in population.

When there has been a fire, often important documents are damaged beyond recognition, and this can make the trauma of a fire even worse, when items such as your passport and birth certificate are destroyed. A Sentry fire safe can protect your important documents, so that they will survive the devastation of a fire.

One of these Sentry fireproof boxes can house documents or CDs, DVDs or hard drives to protect your important information. The fire safes are also waterproof, so your items stay undamaged by water long after the fire brigade have extinguished the fire.

Maybe the residents of the Glebe would have been saved some of their anguish if they had one of these – so take note, and protect your important documents against fire.