Fire Safety and Firefighting Fundamentals
Core concepts
Fire safety rests on the fire triangle: fuel, oxygen, and heat; the fire tetrahedron adds the chemical chain reaction. Candidates must know fire classes, extinguisher types, prevention, evacuation, and basic firefighting tactics. Class A involves ordinary combustibles, B flammable liquids, C gases, D metals, E electrical equipment, and F cooking oils and fats. Common agents include water, foam, carbon dioxide, dry chemical powder, and wet chemical. Also revise PASS (pull, aim, squeeze, sweep), RACE (rescue, alarm, contain, extinguish/evacuate), hose and hydrant basics, breathing apparatus, ventilation, flashover, backdraft, and search procedures.
Traps
A major trap is choosing water for electrical, flammable-liquid, or cooking-oil fires. Carbon dioxide is effective on electrical fires but can displace oxygen in confined spaces. Dry powder is versatile but can reduce visibility and damage sensitive equipment. Another trap is confusing flashover with backdraft, or treating evacuation as optional when life safety is at risk.
Worked example
A pan of cooking oil ignites in a kitchen. Which action is appropriate? Water is dangerous because it can cause a violent steam explosion and spread burning oil. The correct response is to cover the pan with a fire blanket or use a wet-chemical extinguisher, then turn off the heat if safe. This is a Class F fire, so water and standard dry powder are poor first choices.
Rule of thumb
Match the extinguishing agent to the fire class and never let firefighting compromise escape. If the fire is beyond incipient stage, evacuate, raise the alarm, and call the fire service.