Clarince Joyce L.

Doroy BS ChE 4

February 27, 2013 CHE 428N

Seminar on Fire Safety

We fourth year B.S. Chemical Engineering students of the University of San Carlos taking the subject CHE 428N: Safety in the Process Industry attended a seminar on fire safety last Saturday, February 23, 2013. Our guest speaker was Fire Officer 1 Mario C. Miano from Cebu City Fire Department. The lecture started with an orientation about the BFP or the Bureau of Fire Protection and what they do. The mission of the BFP with the communitys involvement is 75% fire prevention and 25% fire suppression. Fire prevention is done through their programs and campaigns including seminars given to the populaces on how to effectively prevent fires from happening. When fire prevention fails and fire actually occurs, their mission of fire suppression then comes into action. We were oriented about the kinds of fire and how it occurs. The fire triangle is composed of fuel which provides the material for combustion, oxygen which must be in right proportions with the fuel, and the ignition source or heat. These three must be present in order for a fire to start, but for a fire to sustain a chain reaction has to happen which then completes the fire tetrahedron. We were then taught about the 6 kinds of fire namely: Class A Class B Class C Class D Class E Class K - freely burning fire in ordinary combustible materials such as wood, cloth, paper, etc. - flammable liquid such as oils, spirits and petroleum products - fires involving energized electrical equipment - metal fires (magnesium, titanium) - nuclear fires - kitchen fires

After the kinds of fires, we were taught the ways to extinguish a fire. These are: temperature reduction, fuel removal, oxygen dilution, and inhibition of a chain reaction. Coincidentally, a fire drill was conducted that day in the Bunzel building which I believe reinforced the things we were being taught in the seminar. During the fire drill, a member of the warning team was sent to our classroom to inform us about the drill and we were sent out of the room by twos to proceed to the soccer field. Sadly, only a few people really followed the instructions because others were not taking it seriously. We were also taught how to conduct cardiopulmonary resuscitation that day. Contrary to our common belief that CPR involved a mouth to mouth procedure, we were told that nowadays, CPR is conducted as compression only because oxygen in a persons system does not readily get spent so a mouth to mouth is not really necessary. Another very useful thing taught to us was all about emergency rescue and transport or transferring a victim from one place to another safe place. There were quite a number of ways to carry a victim, either by 1, 2, 3 and even 4 men. These techniques were demonstrated to us by the speaker with the help of several people from the class. This part of the lecture was very helpful plus the fact that it was enjoyable. The last part was the simulation of a fire scene where there is zero visibility. We were all asked to wear blindfolds and the classroom was rearranged. Then we entered the classroom and felt our way around to reach to reach the exit. This activity was the most enjoyable part for me. All in all Feb. 23, 2013 was a very informative and enjoyable day indeed. Aside from the fact that we learned so much from our guest speaker, we also had fun with all the activities which I think is an effective way to make learning really stick into a persons mind. Im sure that whatever we have learned that day would stick in our minds and I am also sure that when an unfortunate time would come when a situation would arise that needs those learnings, we would be able to apply them.