How To Manage Fire And Other Emergency Situation

By Author: Jo Alelsto
Total Articles: 405
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A disaster is a catastrophe which is man-made, produced accidentally or by design, such as a hostile enemy act, or which is of natural origin. Man-made catastrophes like fires can take its toll in its own particular way — property is damaged and destroyed; people are injured and killed.

In most cases, fires are considered more intense than the others and cause great panic to everyone involved. By the application of principles learned in safety trainings, every individual is able to administer emergency responses to other individuals and to the situation itself.

It is equally important to learn how to deal with other people's reactions to disasters. Statistics show that nearly 65% of most casualties, when investigated, are due to panic. Hence, it is vital to learn how to deal with disasters and learn how to interpret information perceived during emergencies such as fires.

Reactions to fires can be classified into three categories:

1. Normal

Some obvious signs of disturbance are shown, such as trembling, profuse perspiring, feeling weak and even nauseated. Composure is gained fairly ...
... soon after the first impact of a trying experience.

Through safety training, you will be able to assess this type of reaction and guide the concerned individual to the most appropriate response.

2. Individual panic

Judgment seems to disappear and to be supplanted by an unreasoning attempt to flee. This type of reaction occurs in a very few individuals; its danger lies in the fact that it can excite others and may result in mass panic.

3. Depressed reactions

These individuals react as though they were numbed; they are unable to help themselves without guidance.

4. Overly active responses

These responses are poorly directed because the individual is easily distracted as he or she jumps from one task to another. Often, he is intolerant of any ideas other than his own and may cause disturbances.

5. Bodily reactions

Severe nausea, vomiting, and hysteria

Knowing these five individual reactions to disaster will help you assess your feelings as well as that of the other person's. During emergencies, it is important to understand how an individual will react to the situation and respond accordingly. Experts say that the first reaction of individuals without proper safety training is to act on impulse. Usually, these persons act without thinking, which in the end results to greater casualties. With proper safety training, you will be able to handle difficulties and decide accordingly.

To better understand other people involved in the situation, one should learn how to accept the other person's right to have his or her own feelings and understand his or her limitations as real. In times of panic, it is important to understand that other people may not behave as calmly as you could especially if they have not undergone training. Hence, the only way to help him snap out of it and evacuate the place immediately is to understand his feelings and guide him to whatever appropriate action you think is applicable.

Consequently, you must learn how to understand yourself as well. Even with proper safety training, your feelings may go overboard during emergency. It is vital to understand your weaknesses well enough to handle them in a time of crisis. Are you impulsive and easily angered? By understanding yourself reasonably well, you may hope justifiably to control and even to divert reactions into some more effective channel.

Learning these things will not just help you save yourself but also save other's lives as well. Fires as man-made disasters, intentionally or not, can happen anytime. The important thing is that people know how to deal with the situation and help other people cope up with the tragedy as well.
Jo is an author and publisher for ‘Phoenix Safety Services Ltd' (http://www.phoenixsafety.co.uk), a well-known expert in bespoke Health and Safety Training that are given to a diverse range of customers throughout UK and Europe. If your business is looking for experts who can offer Fire Risk Assessment Training to your delegates and equip them with the practical information and skills to perform fire risk assessments and prepare fire safety procedures or if you would like to curb the danger of fire from taking place in your office then have a look at Phoenix Safety Services Ltd.