There Crans-Montana tragedywhich saw the death of over 40 people due to a fire in a restaurant in the Swiss town during the New Year celebrations, has reignited attention on the issue of fire safety. A commitment that not only includes knowing what to do in the event of a fire but which starts from the beginning prevention. The Fire Brigade’s guidelines to drastically reduce the probability of starting a fire distinguish behavioral measures (control of heat sources and management of flammable materials) e structural solutions (design and plant measures).
Good practices to avoid a fire
However, planning alone is not enough: to best prevent the risk of fires, it is also necessary to adopt responsible behaviour, and not only that avoiding the accumulation of flammable materials and easily combustible, but also pay attention to the use of heat sources.
- The cigarettes remain one of the main causes of fire in domestic environments: for this reason it is important to use suitable ashtrays and avoid emptying them into containers made of combustible material.
- Be careful when cooking gas stove but also to objects placed on flameless heat sources such as induction hobs or close to fireplaces lit.
- Him too heating appliances are a possible cause of ignition: it is always best not to deposit flammable materials on or near stoves and radiators.
- Finally, any processing with soldering irons or other flame tools they should happen in one area the more free from combustible materials.
As already mentioned above, conscious and responsible use of the electricity grid is essential. Some golden rules are:
- Don’t overload multiple sockets (so-called “slippers”).
- Avoid excessively long electrical cables or placed where they can be stepped on or damaged.
- Entrust the repairs to qualified personnel.
Fire prevention design: technical and plant measures
The first line of defense against starting fires in domestic or work environments lies in careful attention electrical system design of a building, since fires of electrical origin (triggered for example by short circuits, overheating, undersizing of systems) are the 30% of the total. For this reason, the construction of systems must follow the Ministerial Decree 37/2008.
From this point of view, fundamental tools for preventing the triggering of fires are the mit to the groundThat prevents the accumulation of electrostatic charges capable of generating sparks, especially in the presence of flammable gases or vapours, and the thelightning rod systems or Faraday cageswhich divert the electrical energy of a lightning bolt to the ground, preventing it from passing through the structure and striking its electrical system.
At the design level, it is then necessary to guarantee that the rooms of a building have aadequate ventilation (to avoid possible accumulations of flammable gases) and the choice of materials non-combustible whenever possible depending on the desired results in terms of functionality and production process.
