. . . Lauds Management on Security Consciousness
By Michael-Jude Nwolisa and Mercy Hill
The management and staff of Fides Communications were on Monday, February 4, trained on Safety Management and Fire Prevention Measures by a Safety Expert and Business Consultant, Mr. Chinecherem Oguegbe. The training organized by Fides Management was aimed at equipping the staff with safety management measures and basic fire prevention skills, both for the workplace and homes in general.
In his lecture, Mr Chinecherem Oguegbe urged all to be safety conscious and avoid neglecting subtle signs from faulty electrical connections. He explained that fire always gave warnings before breaking out. Such warnings, according to him, could range from little sparks from wires or electrical connections or burning sensations from electrical gadgets, to foul smell from cooking gas and other highly inflammable substances.
Mr Oguegbe warned that neglecting those signs would in most cases result in fire outbreak.
The safety expert went ahead to identify the three elements of fire which, he said, formed the Fire Triangle. He listed the three elements as oxygen, combustible materials and heat. He explained that the coming together of these three elements would resulte in fire outbreak.
‘Unfortunately, we cannot control oxygen which is everywhere around us. We also have little control over combustible materials such as clothes, documents, etc, which form parts of our daily lives. However we can control the third element of fire which is heat,’ he said.
Speaking on fire extinguishers, Mr. Oguegbe urged the participants to get one handy, whether for homes or for offices. He advised that fire extinguishers should be kept at safe and accessible zones of the house or office, where they could be easily reached in case of fire outbreak.
The safety consultant further demonstrated how to handle a multi-purpose fire extinguisher using his PASS strategy, which demanded that one who want to use a fire extinguisher should do the following:
- Pull the safety pin out
- Aim the spray nozzle at the base of the fire
- Squeeze the discharge levers and
- Swipe the spray hose at the base of the fire, to the left and to the right.
Concluding, Mr. Oguegbe urged all to take immediate actions in safe guarding their immediate environments by identifying where the fuse boxes of their homes and offices were located.
This singular action, he said, would aid one to know where to cut the power supply from, in case of fire emergency. He then advised all to ensure their homes and offices were well arranged such that one did not get caught inside the premises during a fire outbreak.
In his vote of thanks, the Deputy Director I of Fides, Rev. Fr. Obinna Dike, appreciated Mr. Oguegbe for the ‘quality and mind-blowing safety management training.’
Fr. Dike further appreciated the management of Fides for their interest in human capacity building, which, he noted, had motivated them to organize the training. He then called on all the participants to put what they had learnt into practice so as to ensure a safer environment, both at homes and at the offices.
Mr. Chinemerem Oguegbe demonstrating how to use an extinguisher during the training.