Fire is oxidation of an object in the exothermic chemical process of burning thus releasing heat, light and other tangible products such as ash. According to the international fire service training association, there are four fire stages. Incipient, growth, fully developed and decay are the primary stages of fire. The paper seeks to explain the four stages of fire and its safety phases.

Foremost, incipient is the first stage of fire which starts when there is a combination of heat, oxygen, and fuel. The combination brings about a chemical reaction hence causing a fire. The stage is also known as ignition and is typically represented by an insignificant fire which mostly goes out on its own. Incipient stage of fire can be contained and put off before it causes damage. The growth stage is the second phase of fire where the structures fire increase and oxygen is utilized to fuel the fire (Stahlschmidt et al., 2015). Several factors are influencing this stage. Where the fire started, the nearby combustibles, the height of ceiling thermal layering potential are the influencing factors of fire in the growth stage. The flashover of fire mostly occurs at the growth stage. However, the growth stage of fire determines the intensity of the fire. Growth stage is dangerous since it may suffocate and kill firefighters.

The third stage is known as a fully developed stage. At this stage, the fire has already reached its, and all combustible objects have been ignited. It is the hottest stage since all flammable materials are on fire. Finally, there is the decay stage which is deemed as the longest fire stage. It is characterized by a decrease in the amount of oxygen or rather fuels thus depicting the end of the fire (Ghosh et al., 2016). Presence of non-flaming combustibles is the most common danger in the last stage of fire since it can potentially start a new fire if not put off.

Fire safety is done in phases to ensure proper prevention measures of any fire outbreak. The first phase is the fire detection equipment such as fire alarm systems which should be tested and inspected after every six months (Chen et al., 2015). They should be tested as well as updated to ensure sensitivity and sufficient sound levels. The equipment and the systems are closely monitored by trained personnel 24/7. Due to advancement in technology, firefighters should be equipped with contemporary knowledge of putting off fire especially when occurring in tall buildings.    Housekeeping procedures for managing flammable, as well as combustible waste, is another safety phase inspection. Combustible materials should be kept appropriately to prevent any fire outbreak. The orderly keeping of flammable materials makes an environment to be secure from any danger other than fire. Arguably, fire doors of places stuffed with flammable substances or materials should always be kept closed. The closing of fire doors should be checked regularly preferably every day.

Fire drills are crucial for enhancing the safety of individuals in a given area or building. It is imperative for people in certain places to know how to react to a fire outbreak. Ideally, all buildings are prone to fire outbreaks; therefore, necessary for people to have a skill of maneuvering from such place when fire accidents happen. Lastly, fire evacuation and procedures are fire safety inspections. Buildings should have fire evacuation plans to help firefighters, as well as rescuers, save people from fire accidents. Fire safety inspection should be conducted on how fire evacuation would be done in case of a fire emergency.

References

Chen, H., Pittman, W. C., Hatanaka, L. C., Harding, B. Z., Boussouf, A., Moore, D. A., … & Mannan, M. S. (2015). Integration of process safety engineering and fire protection engineering for better safety performance. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 37, 74-81.

Ghosh, S., & Ghosh, K. (2016, December). Overview of the FIRE 2016 Microblog track: Information Extraction from Microblogs Posted during Disasters. In FIRE (Working Notes) (pp. 56-61).

Stahlschmidt, M. C., Miller, C. E., Ligouis, B., Hambach, U., Goldberg, P., Berna, F., … & Conard, N. J. (2015). On the evidence for human use and control of fire at Schöningen. Journal of Human Evolution, 89, 181-201.