What are the differences between fire protection, fire prevention and fire precaution?
Fire Protection
Protection:
1. The action of protecting someone or something, or the state of being protected or
2. A person or thing that prevents someone or something from suffering harm or injury.
Using this definition we could reasonably assume that fire protection is using a number of actions or devices to protect a person or building from fire. This could be anything that limits the spread of fire to something that extinguishes fire.
Your fire alarm system will initially protect you from danger by giving early warning of fire. This will allow you to evacuate the building and stay safe.
After fire detection, you might have a fire suppression system in place to extinguish the fire. A fire suppression system could constitute a sprinkler system or fire extinguishers. These protect by stopping the spread of fire to other areas.
Fire Prevention
Prevention: The action of stopping something from happening or arising.
Fire prevention on the other hand is where a fire is prevented from ever happening in the first place.
In real terms this is difficult to achieve as fires can happen anywhere at any time. However, there are steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of fires starting, these fall under Fire Precaution.
Fire Precaution
Precaution: A measure taken in advance to prevent something dangerous, unpleasant, or inconvenient from happening.
There are many precautions you can take to reduce the risk of fire and reduce the harm and damage a fire will cause.
The first thing to do is carry out a comprehensive fire risk assessment. By identifying areas for improvement and which steps can be taken to make your building safer you will be greatly improving your chances of staying fire-free.
Installing a good fire alarm system is another precaution you can take if you ensure that you maintain and test it regularly.
Training your staff and anyone who uses your premises is a further good precaution against fire. For example, you could train your employees on the risks of smoking on the premises (which is illegal anyway) or leaving electrical appliances on when they’re not being used. Awareness and knowledge is key to preventing fires caused by human error.
By following the guidance of your local fire authority, adhering to fire regulations and generally using common sense at all times, fire can be prevented and lives can be saved.
Discount Fire Supplies sell fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers and emergency lighting.
