On Sat, 06 Jul 2019 01:32:53 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Fri, 5 Jul 2019 22:26:17 +0100, NY wrote:

Corded landline on your route out that you can grab as you pass
with
enough cable to be used from outside is a good idea.

That only works if there is a phone socket near the normal exit route
(all our phone sockets are in a dead-end part of the house).

So fit one in a better place. B-)

For me, a mobile or a cordless phone that I can take with me as I flee
the building is less risky.

Problem with a cordless is that if the RCD trips (which it will as the
fire develops) the phone becomes useless.

Mobiles give location with varying degrees of accuracy. The basic
service sends the location of the mast being used via a simultaneous
Emergency SMS. This, in remote areas, can encompass a significant
area and in many rural locations is fairly useless. In urban areas
the basic information is quickly enhanced by mast triangulation as the
call is established. Advanced Mobile Location (AML), if available on
your phone operating system, uses GPS and WiFi location data to refine
location more precisely so works well in rural areas. (It works on
Android, not sure about others). Needless to say most emergency
services use different incompatible systems to handle calls. Some use
a data exchange system called EISEC ( Enhanced Information Service for
Emergency Calls) others voice.

As call centres and control rooms are centralised the ability of the
emergency call handler to use local knowledge is lost.

The fixed line phone (not VOIP) on a wire requires no power and the
emergency call handler knows your precise address immediately. You
don't need to register anything. Simple is sometimes much better.

Don't even think about fighting the fire.

I would say that it's worth trying to put a fire blanket over a chip-pan
fire, ...

Or a *damp* tea towel.

... and at the very least turn the gas/electricity off that is heating
the pan.

That's always assuming you can get that close. TBH I don't how big
the flames can get from a chip pan with a good source of heat going
into it can get.

Chip pans ignite when the fat gets hot enough to start to boil, or
more usually for debris in the fat to start ingrained moisture boiling
and exploding as the steam expands. This sprays boiling fat onto
anyone nearby (so turning the heat off often isn't an option even if
you are there) and splashes more oil onto the hob which instantly
ignites it. Electric hobs and ceramic are worse by far for this. The
result is an immediate ferocious column of flame reaching up to any
hob extractor fan and around it to the ceiling within a second. If
you keep calm (Much easier said than done) the fire at this stage
although visually very impressive is fairly easy to extinguish with a
fire blanket or damp towel placed over both the pan and surrounding
burning fat. An Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) extinguisher
directed onto the wall behind the pan so it drops down into it rather
than risk splashing fat around by directing it into the pan will also
put it out and keep it out.

CO2 and dry powder may knock the fire back but it will flash back as
soon as they stop.

HOWEVER - all these require knowledge and experience. Even something
as simple as using a fire blanket already in the kitchen requires
considerable courage if you have a roaring flame in front of you and
have not had plenty of practice beforehand.

Whatever happens do not try to move the pan. Often people try this,
walk forward, the flames blow back in their face and their hands are
burning so they drop the pan in the hall spreading burning oil over
the centre of the house and their legs. Demonstration of the folly of
moving a burning pan (using a fireman in full aircraft crash rescue
suit and full face/head helmet is very impressive and not something
the audience ever forgets.

And if it's a trivial fire (the stereotypical fire in a waste-paper bin
or a coal ember that's spat out onto the hearth-rug) at least chuck a
bit of water on it, because if it works, there'll be far less damage
than if you wait for the fire brigade.

Domestic fires cover a range from the trivial (smoldering waste basket
you can chuck out of the door to the lethal - established
conflagration in living room). The affected population ranges from
infants through fit and active adults to the disabled and poorly
mobile.

The "get out-keep out" advice is the best immediate action for
preserving life but not necessarily property. Once out assess the
situation and only if you are very confident you can deal with it use
first aid fire appliances to contain or extinguish the fire.

I wonder what causes most domestic fires these days, given that open
coal fires aren't very common these days. B-) Smoking is probably
still up there with electrical?

In order of recorded numbers of fires over the last 5 years :-

Chip pans

Unattended free standing electric heaters

Smoking (especially in bedrooms) (used to be in the lounge before
furniture flammability limits introduced) (Smoking is still the
leading cause of death in domestic fires - drunk, having a fag in bed,
falling asleep, never waking up)

Candles

Children

Electrical faults ( I would be cautious about this figure as
"electrical fault" is often given as the cause when none can be
established, firemen know all to well that insurance companies can
cause victims of a fire much grief if no cause can be established.)

Barbecues (especially in garages or under raised garage doors)


But... know when to quit after trying simple low-risk things.

Oh yes, discretion is the better part of valour.

(*) But as the first pump to be called to us would be the local
retained one, the chances are the crew will know where we are anyway.
Indeed some of the crew will have to drive past us to get the pump...
The same could be said for the local ambulance as well which is one
of, if not the only, "retained" ambulance in the country. Ambulance
or fire crews coming in wouldn't have that local knowledge so having
it registered with them can only be a good thing.