WITH AN AUTOMATED SECURITY SYSTEM IN PLACE, YOU CAN OPERATE HOUSE...

10.

With an automated security system in place, you can operate house lights and appliances or

trigger the alarm siren with a hand-held remote con trol device.

A.

True

B.

False

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Chapter 14

FIRE PROTECTION

Locksmith and Security Professionals’ Exam Study Guide

112

Locksmith and Security Professionals’ Exam Study Guide

ying with Canada during the past two decades, the United States continues to have one of the

worst fire death records among industrialized countries. Most fire deaths in North America

occur in homes and could have been avoided if the victims had taken simple precautions.

Many people in the United States and Canada don’t take fire safety seri ously. During school fire

drills, for instance, teachers and students stand out side talking and giggling. We tend to feel sympa-

thy for a person who experiences a home fire. In Great Britain and other countries, fire victims are

penalized for their carelessness. Perhaps the contrast in attitudes has something to do with the dif-

ference in fire death rates.

This chapter looks at how home fires occur, and how people can avoid and survive them. You

need this information to help your customers best choose and use fire safety products. You also need

this information if you want to be known as a security consultant, instead of just a locksmith, safe

technician, or alarm systems technician.

Causes and Cures

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, most home fires can be traced to smoking, cooking, heat-

ing equipment, and electrical appliances. More civilians die in fires related to in-house smoking than

any other type of fire. Over 90 per cent of fire deaths each year are the result of someone falling

asleep or passing out while holding a lighted cigarette or while a lighted cigarette was burning out

on a nearby furniture surface or in a wastebasket. Mattresses, stuffed chairs, and couches often trap

burning ashes for long periods of time while releasing poisonous gases. Many people are killed by

the gases rather than by heat.

The best way to avoid smoking-related fires is not to smoke in the home. If your customer is a

smoker or allows other people to smoke in their home, they should be sure that sturdy, deep ash-

trays are in every room in which people smoke. They should also always douse butts with water

before dumping them in the trash, and check under and behind cushions for smoldering butts before

leaving home or going to bed. No one should smoke when they’re drowsy or while they’re in bed.

The kitchen, where people work with fire most frequently, is the leading room of origin for home

fires. Here are some simple things anyone can do to virtually elim inate the risk of ever having a major

kitchen fire: