Importance of Fire Extinguisher Training

Fire Extinguisher Training in the Rochester MN Area

Fire extinguishers can be an extremely important part of your fire safety plan, but only if everyone knows how to operate the extinguisher properly. If you have a fire extinguisher in your home or at work, you need to understand how it works and how to use it. A training program from Clarey’s Safety Equipment can help people familiarize themselves with the operation of fire suppression equipment.

If you are not holding the extinguisher correctly, you may hurt yourself or have a problem extinguishing the fire. You also need to know by looking at a geometrical symbol located on the fire extinguisher, what kind of fire it is best suited to extinguish. Using the wrong extinguisher on a fire can cause the fire to spread or become larger.

Training large groups of people requires succinct and to the point information. Having people sit in a room and watch a DVD can be extremely boring and people may not pay full attention. An expert should be hired to come to the workplace and give a full and informative presentation.

Each participant should have a chance to touch the fire suppression equipment and familiarize their self with it. When a fire breaks out, people should automatically reach for the correct fire extinguisher and know exactly how it operates. Using the fire extinguisher should be a natural reaction. This is much more likely if people have had hands-on training.

If you work around specific types of flammable or combustible materials, fire extinguishers that are specific to those materials should be available. Employees should be educated on the difference between the types of fire extinguishers, the symbols that are located on the labels, and the types of fires they are best suited for.

In a work environment, it is important to have every employee receive the proper training. If you hire new employees, they should receive training at the soonest possible opportunity. This is also a good time to refresh the memories of your other employees, so you may want to offer this type of training on an annual basis.

Your workplace should have a fire safety plan with all of the employees educated on the proper use of the equipment and a plan to meet outside in a specific location. One or two employees should be placed in charge of the fire safety plan and should also be responsible to count and ensure everyone has made it out of the building safely.

The main point of fire extinguishers is ensuring that everyone knows how to operate them. It is much too late to try to figure out how an extinguisher works when a fire is breaking out and spreading. Most fire suppression equipment operates in a standard way. The gauge on the extinguisher should show that the extinguisher is fully charged and ready for use. The extinguisher may contain a safety pin that needs to be removed before the extinguisher will discharge.

Contact Clarey’s of Rochester Minnesota for all your Fire Extinguisher needs!