Careless handling of fire while smoking is the most common cause of fires. In the elapsed period of the current year, 127 cases have been registered in the Vitebsk region. As a rule, such emergencies lead to tragic outcomes – loss of life and injuries.
Careless handling of fire while smoking is the most common cause of fires. In the elapsed period of the current year, 127 cases have been registered in the Vitebsk region. As a rule, such emergencies lead to tragic outcomes – loss of life and injuries.
On the night of October 17, a residential building caught fire in the village of Kutnyany, Polotsk district, where a pensioner, born in 1925, lived with her daughter's fifty-two-year-old husband. In January 2014, their house had already caught fire. Back then, there were no casualties. This time, fate was not kind: rescuers found the deceased homeowner on the bed, and the man's body – on the floor in the adjacent room. The exact causes of the incident cannot yet be stated, but careless smoking is not ruled out.
The day before, on October 16, at 19:22, the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) had to respond to a fire in the village of Voronichi, Polotsk district. In one of the rooms of the burning house, rescuers found the body of its owner on the floor under collapsed building elements. The cause of the fire is being established. The considered versions of the fire's origin include violation of stove heating operation rules and careless smoking by the deceased.
How could these casualties have been avoided? Undoubtedly, adherence to fire safety rules in everyday life plays a significant role. Also, by conducting various preventive measures, campaigns, and meetings in work collectives and with rural residents, MES employees constantly emphasize the need to purchase and install autonomous fire alarms – devices that are simple to operate and maintain, and capable of saving human lives.
At night, on October 20, the piercing sound of an autonomous fire alarm woke up an elderly resident of the village of Velikoye Selo, Verkhnedvinsk district. The pensioner had purchased and installed the alarm in her house four years ago. As it turned out, not in vain. The device timely warned the woman of the danger – a developing fire in the house. The pensioner left the smoke-filled premises and, as a result, was not injured.
Over the reporting period of 2016, this is the third positive case of a smoke detector activation in the Vitebsk region known to the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) employees. Thanks to the detector, six people were saved, including two children. This means that the importance of the detector cannot be underestimated. It reacts even to a low concentration of smoke in the air, regardless of where the fire source is located – inside the house, or penetrating from outside through building structures, entrance doors, or windows. It constantly monitors the smoke concentration in the room and, when it exceeds the critical level, emits a loud, piercing alarm signal of 85 dB, capable of waking a soundly sleeping person and drowning out any sound of operating household appliances. The detector must be operated correctly. It is very important to choose the right installation location. It is not recommended to install it in the kitchen – food vapours from cooking on the stove will quickly disable the sensor. Place it away from doors, as drafts in the room reduce smoke concentration. Most often, a smoke detector is placed in the bedroom. However, it is advisable to have one in every room. The optimal location is the centre of the ceiling with a slight shift towards a window or door, where air currents move.
Smoke detectors can be installed on a wall at a distance of 10 to 30 cm from the ceiling. Installation closer than 50 cm to a corner is not recommended.
Smoke detectors can be installed independently. To do this, simply attach the detector with two screws to the ceiling. Additional information can be found in the operating manual supplied with the detector.
It should be noted that since January 2004, according to the construction norms of Belarus, residential rooms of buildings must be equipped with autonomous smoke fire detectors, and in accordance with clause 13.6 of the "Fire Safety Rules of the Republic of Belarus for Residential Buildings, Dormitories and Individual Garages", the tenant or owner must maintain the smoke detectors in proper working order. Violation of this rule leads to administrative responsibility in the form of a fine of up to 30 base units.