Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lepid gecko]

last night we were making dok-pokki for the students, and there were portable burners in 3 classrooms. perhaps unwisely, newspaper was put under the burners on each table. so i was sitting back talking to some students in the corner, when some bright spark lifted the newspaper up under the burner, naturally it caught alight, and spread pretty fast.
without thinking much i beat it out with my hands. and there were just a few burn marks left on the table.
but it got me thinking about potential scenarios, and i wondered how i would have reacted if it had got any worse. newspaper fire is fast but could have been enought time for a student's jacket to catch fire... would i try and beat it out, take the jacket off, smother it by using my clothes or roll them on the floor..etc..
anyway that's all hypothetical but my point, and biggest concern afterward, was that i didn't know exactly where the nearest extinguisher was. should there be one in each classroom?
this incident has got me far more aware of potential hazards.

[trevorcollins]

The potential dangers here are horrendous.
Right now the bathroom at my school is freezing.
Bosses solution - sit an electric heater IN THE BATHROOM SINK!!!!!!!

[d503]

A little bit of first hand fire know-how. (Lets say there might have been a couple of fire related incidence growing up ) My dad also installs fire extinguishers and system, so I have been around this stuff all my life and have watched more fire safety videos than I care to think of.

First most fire extinguishers you find in a classroom would be a Water based Class A kind--ordinary combustibles. So you shouldn't use it on a burner (these extinguishers are water based, which cause bad things to happen when they meet electricity) So smothering it or using a Dry chemical extinguisher (rated for A,B,and C kinds of fire) would have been your best bet. Good job for smothering! On a personal note, dry chemical extinguishers are really messy, I always encourage smothering first. Also if you are using an extinguisher attack the fire at its base and in a sweeping motion. You will feel the need to spray at the top if the flames but you should spray at the bottom.

In the case of a persons clothes or hair catching on fire. The best way to handle it is smothering combined with water. Stop, drop, and roll as they say, should the fire not be extinguished right away, douse with water and try to smother with a flame-retardant material (lets say not your polyester jacket.)

I don't know what system Korean Extinguishers use but you should always know what kind of extinguisher you are using prior to using it. Using an extinguisher on a fire it is not rated for can cause more harm than good.

[lepid gecko]

some good tips there. important to know when there's no time to think.
i've noticed a kind of blase attitude about electric gadgets etc...
also those open gas heaters..last winter some student chucked a piece of paper into the window of exposed flame because he wanted to watch it burn of course.