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City and Guilds Certificate in Electrotechnical Technology Level 2 Unit 1 Outcome 1 Session 4 Fire Extinguishers and Warning Signs
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Unit 1 Working Effectively and Safely in an Electrotechnical Environment Outcome 1 Identify the legal responsibilities of both employer and employee and the importance of Health and Safety in the working environment
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Review of Health & Safety legislation To briefly run through what we have learnt so far;
Health & Safety was initially introduced in response to accidents that involved injuries or death.
HASWA was introduced to provide a framework within which all other Health & Safety legislation would operate.
All employers have the legal responsibility, to ensure as far as is reasonably practicable, that the work place is safe for employees.
Employees are responsible for the safety of themselves and others, and are expected to use, and care for safety equipment provided, properly.
Personal protective clothing is concerned with the whole body. It is essential and should always be worn when appropriate
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Outcomes from this session At the end of this session you should be able to
Identify types and application of fire extinguishers
Identify the types and meaning of safety signs
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5. Fire and Fire Precautions
Fire can be caused by a number of things besides carelessness and stupidity, faulty wiring, explosions,
welding, to name a few.
For a fire to occur there needs to be three things.
These are;
Heat
Fuel
Oxygen
Remove any one of these and the fire will go out
The Triangle of Fire
Oxygen
Fuel
Heat
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Classes of Fire
There are four common types or classes of fire A,B,C and D
Class A wood, paper textiles etc
Class B oil, petrol, paint etc
Class C gas, acetylene etc
Class D metal, magnesium, aluminium etc
Electrical fires do not fall into any particular Class.
The type of materials burning tells you which extinguisher to use.
An electric spark igniting paper would need a Class A extinguisher
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7. Types of Fire Extinguishers
Suited for
Class
Colour
Water
Wood, paper, textiles etc A
Signal red
Carbon dioxide(CO2)
Petrol, paint, oil and electrical
B,C,D
Foam- CO2/Water
Petrol, paint, oil etc
B,D
Powder
Everything
A,B,C,D
Halogenated hydrocarbon (gas)
Petrol, paint oil and electrical etc
All fire extinguishers are now red, each extinguisher should have its own label to identify what class of fire it is to be used on. It is important to remember not to use the wrong type as this could have serious consequences.
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Warning Signs
In 1996 a new set of signs became law, there are now five general types of signs. None of them have wording and they are standard across Europe.
They are;
Prohibition signs – these have a red circle with a band across them. They mean that you must not do something
Warning signs – these are triangular signs coloured yellow with a black border and give a warning about a hazard or danger
Mandatory signs – these tell you, you must do something. They are white objects on a blue background
Emergency escape or first aid signs – these are green with white figures or indicators
Fire signs – these are red with a white border and are used to indicate where fire equipment is stored along with how to get to it.
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9. Warning Signs These are just a few examples of signs.
The full list is in the HSE guidance book.
White object on a
blue background
White object on a red background
Red circle and band
Mandatory
Fire
Prohibition
White objects on a
green background
White objects on
a green background
Deep yellow background
Emergency escape or First aid
Warning
As you see none of these signs contain words
so you should learn to recognise them
End of session 4
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