Fire Safety Archives - Beyond Carlton

Oxygen concentrators are widely used in hospitals as well as households these days due to the current pandemic situation. Oxygen concentrators act as a life support system by providing supplemental oxygen. Oxygen concentrators can act as a life-support system but can prove disastrous if handled carelessly. Hence it is highly recommended to understand the fire safety measures before using oxygen concentrators. It will go a long way in ensuring the safety of oneself & our fellow beings, providing hassle-free handling always.

1. No Smoking in and around the vicinity

It is very important not to smoke or allow smoking while using oxygen concentrators in the vicinity. Smoking during oxygen therapy results in injury. DO NOT SMOKE INDOORS for everyone’s well-being. Make sure that the oxygen concentrator & its accessories are away from the smoking zone.

2. Keep Oxygen Concentrators away from open fire & flame

Yet another factor to be careful about is the usage of oxygen concentrators in & around the kitchen. It is highly dangerous due to the exposure to open fire & the heat generated in the kitchen due to the continuous use of the stove. It is best to use a microwave while on oxygen concentrators; however, if you are using a stove to cook, it is very important to maintain a distance of at least 3 meters between fire, oxygen concentrator & its accessory.

3. Avoid Deodorants/Aerosol products/paints/gasoline/solvents

Oxygen concentrators should be handled carefully and should be kept away while using highly inflammable products like hairsprays, deodorants, body sprays & alcohol-based sanitisers.

4. Avoid Electric razors/Hair-dryers/Oil/Petroleum-based products/Electric toys

One must remember not to use electric razors & hair-dryers while on oxygen concentrators as it could ignite & cause burns. Avoid applying oil-based toiletries & petroleum jelly, as in certain conditions, the combination of oxygen, oil-based toiletries & a spark from an electrical appliance, such as an electric blanket, hair-dryer, electric razor could ignite & cause burns. It is always better to use water-based cosmetics. Keep toys with electric motors & electric toothbrushes at least 2 meters away.

5. Secure storage of Oxygen Concentrators

Oxygen concentrators should always be stored in a safe, secure, and upright position, especially during travel. This helps in avoiding damages to the equipment & avoiding injury. Always store oxygen concentrators in a clean, clutter-free environment away from dust, yet in a well-ventilated spot to avoid the equipment from getting hot.

6. Proper earthing of Oxygen Concentrators

One should always check for proper earthing of an oxygen concentrator. It should never be connected to extension cords or power boards. It becomes highly imperative to inspect & service oxygen concentrators periodically to avoid unprecedented accidents. Oxygen concentrators must be kept away from children’s reach & constant vigil is compulsory. Always use an outlet that is NOT controlled by a wall switch.

7. Install Fire Alarms

Installing fire alarms is a wise idea, especially while putting oxygen concentrators to use. In the eventuality of a fire, it helps as a warning, allowing you to have a quick escape plan.

Every piece of equipment is designed to make it convenient for the users. So is an oxygen concentrator. Oxygen is like fuel to fire. So, an oxygen-rich environment poses threat in areas closer to fire & smoke. It is entirely in our hands to make oxygen concentrators user-friendly, safe & convenient by following certain important guidelines. The sole aim of this article is to create awareness among people on fire safety measures while using oxygen concentrators.

Follow fire safety measures …safeguard yourself, your near &dear ones.

Image source: Times Of India

References:

https://www.precisionmedical.com/blog/7-tips-for-maintaining-oxygen-concentrator-safety/

https://provider.inogen.com/

http://islandhomemedical.com/

https://www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com/blog/tips-for-bathing-while-using-an-oxygen-concentrator/#:~:text=Even%20though%20your%20oxygen%20concentrator,while%20getting%20your%20oxygen%20therapy.

_______________________________________________________________

Written by Vidhya Renganathan

Vidhya is a content writer based in Chennai, always envisions the betterment of society & captures it in writing.

rachna Parmar

Fire Safety

Fire Safety, fire safety children, fire safety malls, fire safety tips to keep children safe

Time to Pay More Attention to Fire Safety of Our Children This Children’s Day

Nothing hurts a parent more than to see their child suffer. Whether it is an illness, an emotional hurt or an injury, we wish we could set it right straight away. Yet, so few of us are actually worried about fire hazards around our children when over 20,000 people die every year in the fire including children.

This brings me to the reality of fire safety. Most of us don’t give any thought to it.

It will never happen to me or my child is what almost each one of us thinks.

And this is one of the reasons why we live in ignorant bliss while our houses, neighborhoods, malls and even schools, yes schools, are sometimes sitting ducks to fire accidents.

Fire hazards can cause life-threatening situations. Kids and young children are more vulnerable to such hazards, therefore, it is important to teach them about fire safety. Not only you should be prepared about any fire hazard at your home, your children should also be prepared and must know how to respond during such situations.

As a parent, it worries me that our public places often openly flout fire safety norms. How many of us are aware of how fire safe are our schools, our malls, our hospitals or even our homes? We are not! It is not something that we ponder over.

Would you, like me, would like to make a beginning?

Here are some fire safety tips that will keep our children safe:

Talking About Fire Hazards

The first step towards teaching your kids important fire safety lessons is making them understand the effects of fire. You can use videos, images, and courses available online to make them understand the basic facts about fire and situations that can cause an outbreak of fire. Make sure that you handle the topic carefully as you would not want to scare off your kid. Use real-life examples and make sure that your kids are aware of things in your home that are combustible. You can introduce some fun elements like firemen related games or showing them animated videos of fire safety to make the learning curve easy for them.

Identify Fire Hazards In Your Home To Minimize Risks

If you have kids at home, you must be extra careful and make sure that combustible items are away from their reach. Always keep matches, lighters and candles in places that are difficult to reach for children. You can place child locks on cupboards to prevent them from accessing such items.

Make sure that electrical equipments are properly repaired and safe for children. Kids are often curious about various items in the household and may end up doings things like poking fingers in electrical sockets. Therefore, teach them from the early age that it is not right and they might get hurt. Also, you can cover up sockets with socket covers to prevent it.

Teach Them About Fire Safety Equipment Installed In Home

Homes with kids must have fire safety equipment installed so that you can prevent the fire before it causes damage. You can also teach your kids about the functioning of equipment like smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and fire alarms so that they know how to identify a fire hazard. You can seek the help of child-friendly videos available on the internet for teaching them about various fire safety equipment that can be readily used in case of a fire.

Other special precautions that you can take at home are:

Ensure that all the electrical devices are switched off and de-plugged at night in your kids’ room.
Prepare an escape route that would be used in event of a fire and teach your kids about it.
Make them understand that they must approach emergency responders in a case a fire breakout instead of putting themselves in dangerous situations.

It is not only the duty of parents to teach students about fire safety but schools and child care providers must come forward to prepare kids for uncalled fire accidents. With proper guidance and measures, you can comfortably teach kids to respond to fire accidents. We hope that the above given tips would help you in inculcating habits in kids that would keep them safe during emergency situations.

This Children’s Day, also endeavour to pay more attention to fire safety in your public spaces. Talk to your kids’ school and find out what measures they have in place in case of a fire emergency. It is possible that they haven’t given a thought to it or have just some cursory fire fighting equipment that has not been serviced for years only because parents don’t pay attention to fire safety.

Force them to think and take corrective action. Holding a fire safety drill for children could be the next step.

Similarly, be more engaged in how equipped are our other public places in the event of a fire. Last time, I went to watch a movie with my children, I actually spent some extra time to note where the Emergency Exits in the theatre were. While taking the stairs to go to the parking lot, I noticed that the staircase was quite wide and that each floor had a fire safety notice put up about evacuation in case of an emergency and fire extinguishers on each floor. I was happy to note that there was some effort done there.

Let’s make fire safety a pertinent issue. Next time, you go to a public space, I urge you to observe, question and speak up.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and beyondcarlton.org to get pertinent news and information about fire safety. Please share this post among your friends to spread awareness about this cause.

Pic courtesy: mikecphoto, Vadim Ratnikov and Oleksandr Khmelevskyi from Shutterstock.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Rachna Parmar is an Editor, web columnist, popular blogger and Digital Marketer. She is a mother of two and feels strongly about the issue of fire safety and the lack of importance accorded to it in India.

Uday

Uncategorized

Beyond Carlton, Fire Safety

Another fire tragedy – IMS & SUM hospital – Bhubaneswar

I was shocked to see the images on TV on 17^th October night about the fire in IMS & SUM hospital in Bhubaneswar. It was reported on 18^th Oct that 20 people had lost their lives.

One goes to a hospital with a lot on the mind already – about the illness and the treatment; the financial obligations; the post discharge planning etc. The last thing a patient or her family member have on their minds is fire safety. One expects a Public Space, especially a Hospital, to be fire safe. Even if a fire accident happens, one expects processes to be in place to evacuate the patients and their family members to safety. So it is really shocking that 20 people lost their lives. This after the fire accident in AMRI hospital in Kolkatta where over 90 people were killed a few years ago.

The questions that need to be discussed are as follows:

Why is it that we don’t learn from history? After the AMRI fire accident, has anything changed in the way hospitals are audited by external agencies on fire safety? NABH is one of the certifying agencies – have they incorporated any changes?
Have hospital managements reviewed and modified their fire safety processes – both on prevention and evacuation? Is fire safety even discussed at the highest levels of the management?

In my view all hospitals in the next 30 days should do the following:

Review the current process on fire safety and incorporate changes if any
Create an annual training calendar for all employees of the hospital to be trained on fire safety. In fact, an employee should go through a training session once in 6 months
Come up with a calendar for conducting mock drills periodically – take the exercise seriously and not as a mere check mark
Create a mechanism for all the patients and the family members to be given directions on fire evacuation – ex : play videos on TV screens

In addition, the Fire Department or agencies appointed by them should do periodic audits of the hospitals – say every 6 months. Also NABH and agencies should re-look at their fire safety processes and modify them based on the learnings from AMRI and SUM hospital.

If we continue to ignore the past, we will have similar tragedies occurring frequently. It is time that all the stakeholders in Healthcare wake up!!

– by Gopal Devanahalli

———————————————————————————————————————–

Gopal is currently Senior Vice President, Manipal Global Education. He has over 22 years of Corporate experience and has worked with Infosys and Kotak in the past. He has been interested in public policy and has recently done a public policy course in The Takshashila Institution. He is a member of the Executive Council of Beyond Carlton. He lives in Bengaluru.