Causes of fires:
- Arson by criminal miners.
- Electrical faults.
- Cutting and welding operations.
- Igniter cord, fuses and explosives.
- Contraband.
- Friction
Types of fires
- Flammable material (timber, LHD tires, Conveyor belts, rubbish and waste, Cables and plastic.
- Flammable fluids. (Diesel, paints, degreasing fluids, oil and grease)
Extinguishing a fire:
- Once a fire has started it should be extinguished as soon as possible. The longer a fire is permitted to burn, the greater the danger of exposing employees become and also more difficult to extinguish it.
- Always have first line of fire fighting equipment ready.
- Remain calm and act quickly.
- Send somebody to report and call for assistance.
- Extinguish by means of fire extinguisher, water hose, water bucket, water spray, smouldering by using sand or mud etc. (Don’t use water on an electrical fire)
- When the fire gets out of control and it becomes unsafe to continue with the fire fighting, follow escape procedure to nearest place of safety.
Fire risk assessment process:
- A specific risk matrix to assess the significance of a fire has been used.
- P = PROBABILITY OR LIKELIHOOD
