Staff Putting Out Fires
- August 26, 2020
Staff were invited to take part in a portable fire equipment training session on the College oval after school last week. Twelve support staff attended.
The presenter explained that fire comes from a reaction between oxygen, fuel and heat and that removing any one of these elements will extinguish a fire.
A fire was lit especially for our training, so it was with some trepidation we put into practice the use of a fire blanket to deprive the fire of oxygen. Taking note of the direction of the wind and carefully holding the blanket as shown, we all successfully extinguished the fire calmly and safely. I am sure without this training I would have thrown the blanket at the fire instead of placing it in a controlled way.
Next we moved onto the use of fire extinguishers, the various types identified by a coloured band, are for the six different types of fires. This information is especially pertinent to our Science, Home Economics and Visual Arts departments, Catering and ICT. We all used the extinguisher to put out our practise fires, having been reminded to aim at the base of the fire and not the flames.
Most, like me, hope never to use the new skills acquired to extinguish or contain a fire. However, that was not to be the case for one of our staff who had to put out a fire in his own kitchen that very night. He commented that he felt completely calm and was pleased he knew exactly what to do.
Thanks to Kate Jenkin from the Santa Maria Property and Maintenance team who organised this session.
Anne Leslie, College Receptionist
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Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.