Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation
Fire safety and emergency evacuation tests your ability to respond in the right order - alarm, evacuate, then fight - and to know the correct extinguisher and escape behaviour.
The fire triangle and classes
Fire needs fuel, heat, and oxygen. Classes are A (wood, paper, cloth), B (flammable liquids), C (flammable gas), D (metals), and F (cooking oil). Electrical fires are treated separately: switch off the power first.
RACE sequence
- Rescue anyone in immediate danger, only if it is safe for you.
- Alarm - activate the call point and phone 110 (fire) or 119 (police) in Sri Lanka.
- Contain - close doors behind you to limit spread.
- Extinguish only a small fire, with the right extinguisher and your back to an exit; otherwise Evacuate.
PASS: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side.
Evacuation rules
- Know two exit routes and the assembly point.
- Never use lifts; use the stairs.
- Stay low under smoke and close doors behind you.
- At the assembly point do a roll call and report missing persons to the fire warden. Nobody re-enters until the fire service clears the building.
Worked example
You smell smoke and see flames in a store room. Reasoning: alarm first, not heroics - activate the call point, phone 110, start evacuating the floor, then attempt extinguishing only if the fire is small, you have a clear exit, and the extinguisher matches the fuel. If smoke is thick, close the door and leave.
Traps that cost marks
- Fighting the fire before raising the alarm.
- Water on electrical or cooking-oil fires.
- Using a lift during evacuation.
- Re-entering for belongings.