Introduction
Fire safety is a state of protection of an individual, property, and society from fires. It includes a set of measures aimed at securing property values and people from the risk and likelihood of hazardous fire situations, including the consequences of a fire. Special conditions of a social and technical nature, established for the purpose of ensuring safety, are critical aspects to comply with both at the organizational level and at home. The importance of fire safety lies in an opportunity to protect against unforeseen situations and prevent casualties or loss of property as a result of careless handling of fire or flammable objects.
Principles of Fire Safety
The principles of fire safety established within the framework of both an individual organization and society as a whole are regulated by the relevant supervisory authorities. According to McNay et al. (2019), these rules “are a result of a consensus between rule givers (i.e. regulators) and rules takers (i.e. operators, designers)” (p. 102859). In the context of responsibility for safety, special training is carried out regularly in organizations of different profiles. Its main goals are to convey to employees the basic requirements of behavior, study the fire hazard of technological processes of production and equipment, introduce fire protection means, and identify people’s actions in case of a fire (McNay et al., 2019). At the same time, even when delegating responsibilities, control measures are competencies of heads and administrators. This means that some individual parties are responsible for the safety of property and people, which explains the accuracy and regularity of relevant training briefings. Therefore, special regulatory rules exist for both workers and citizens and for those who supervise the appropriate observance of fire safety standards.
Importance of Following Fire Safety Measures
One of the key reasons explaining the urgent need and importance of following fire safety measures is the high risks associated with neglecting these rules. In addition to the elementary standards, certain principles require specialized knowledge, for instance, when working with electrical appliances. Kodur et al. (2019) emphasize the importance of educating the population at the present stage of development when the mass of electrical appliances assembled in multi-storey buildings increases the risks of hazardous fire situations. With the appropriate knowledge of how to act in case of a fire and what steps to take to help others, people are safer. Therefore, Kodur et al. (2019) argue that “developing cost-effective fire suppression systems and rational fire design approaches, characterizing new materials and developing performance-based codes” are crucial tasks to introduce (p. 1). Otherwise, numerous human casualties are inevitable, and examples from world practice, when weak measures were taken to ensure all the required security standards, prove this. Thus, control over adherence to the existing regulations, the identification of responsible parties, and an adequate resource base are important conditions for integrated fire safety.
Conclusion
The need to prevent potential casualties and critical property damage is the primary reason for following fire safety norms based on the existing legal regulations. Responsible persons in enterprises are to conduct regular training briefings and allocate material resources aimed at creating a secure environment for work. In everyday life, citizens’ safety standards include keeping people aware of potential threats and how to avoid them. Adequate fire safety is the key to saving lives and helping those in need if necessary.
References
Kodur, V., Kumar, P., & Rafi, M. M. (2019). Fire hazard in buildings: review, assessment and strategies for improving fire safety.PSU Research Review, 4(1), 1-23. Web.
McNay, J., Puisa, R., & Vassalos, D. (2019). Analysis of effectiveness of fire safety in machinery spaces.Fire Safety Journal, 108, 102859. Web.