Fire Safety when it comes to Reptile Keeping.

[donnak0125]

Yes, that's the next project I'm doing on my home. I worry about elec. fires a lot due to the age of my home.

 

[Kansascity]

I am writing this from the perspective of being a firefighter/emt for nearly 20 years. Possibly the most important thing you can do to avoid a fire in your reptile area or room is too not overload your electrical outlets. GFCI outlets are good to have if there is water in the area. Extension cords should be of sufficient gauge, high quality and as short as practicable. Multi-outlet devices should not be piggy-backed onto other multi-outlet devices. Surge protectors protectors save electronics from spikes in line voltages. They provide no fire safety function.

Items that get hot or even warm such as light hoods, wires, pumps, etc should not be placed near draperies or other combustibles. Extension cords and wiring should never be covered up by rugs nor should they be kinked, knotted or stepped on. This causes mechanical damage to the wiring, causing increased resistance which in turn makes the cord much hotter. Add that to being close to or covered and insulated by something combustible and you have a lot of potential for trouble.

Smoke and CO detectors save many lives every year. Folks normally succumb to smoke inhalation and CO poisoning long before they are burned. It is a good idea to change the batteries in your detectors twice a year. Many people do it when they set their clocks ahead or back.

If you have a fire already burning it is too late to worry about turning the electrical off. As far as the surge protector being another way off turning off the power, maybe - provided the fire wasn't caused by the wire powering the s/p. but that is really irrelevant. Cutting the electricity will do nothing if there is already a fire burning.

Baking soda is for small grease fires in a pan on the stove. Once a fire starts, things go from bad to "Oh $hit!" very quickly. It is a good idea to have a 2A10BC fire extinguisher in the house for emergencies, such as a very small fire that you might have just started yourself somehow. A 2A10BC is for use on Class A (trash, wood & paper), Class B (liquids & gases) and Class C fires (energized electrical equipment) and cost around $80. You can get them smaller and cheaper than that if cutting costs are important. You shouldn't throw water on an electrical or grease fire, BTW (when the local FD does, it is at around 150 gpm). It's always best to get you and your family out of the house as fast as possible and call 911 immediately. A smoldering fire can turn into a fully involved room fire and then flashover in less then five minutes. Do not delay calling 911!

Obviously prevention is way more desirable then even the most effective suppression. But, if you are going to try to put out a small fire yourself, you still need the proper tools. Have the correct fire extinguisher handy. If a fire is allowed to grow there will be far more to worry about then getting dry chem on your pets.

AGREED! It is a scary situation. My damper wasn’t open, and I didn’t for some stupid reason check to make sure that it was! Long story short for the first time in my life I was scared as crap thought I would loose my house everything. Got the kids out safely let the dogs out back opened doors grabbed the phone and the extinguisher, and smoke inhalation sucks. Never want to go through any type of fire again!! EVER!

 

[steelheadchaser]

Was it your damper being closed and smoke backing up into to the room or did something catch on fire as well?

It is a terrifying situation to watch as your house is burning and it always seems like the fire dept is taking forever to get there. Glad that you kept a good head and got you and your family out right away.

Doors should get shut on the way out in order to help confine a fire and also limit the availability of oxygen.

 

[Elizadolots]

If you have a fire already burning it is too late to worry about turning the electrical off

ummm...I realize you have been a firefighter, but surely you are forgetting something here. The first thing to do in any electrical fire is cut the electricity. Failure to do that could be disastrous. Imagine hitting a live electrical fire with water. And, no, hitting it with way more water would only make it way more dangerous. Water is a really terrific conductor of electricity...you might put the fire out, but as long as the electrical was going, that water would create a death trap.

Shutting off the electrical will not stop the fire, but it is essential to do. So much so that it should be considered the number one priority.

Spikes can cause shorts which can cause fires, hence, surge protection provides (wait for it) protection. Further, they will trip off if overloaded which is once again, a protection against fire.

Smothering is one of the better approaches to a small fire.

I don't know if any research has been done on how well chameleons withstand the chemicals in fire extinguishers, but I would try hard not to make the test myself.

That said, as noted, I have a fire extinguisher in the next room (and, my house doesn't have doors downstairs except for the bathroom...it's the 1970's "open" look) and strongly recommend everyone have at least one in their homes regardless of whether or not they have reptiles with special lights.

 

[steelheadchaser]

ummm...I realize you have been a firefighter, but surely you are forgetting something here. The first thing to do in any electrical fire is cut the electricity. Failure to do that could be disastrous. Imagine hitting a live electrical fire with water. And, no, hitting it with way more water would only make it way more dangerous. Water is a really terrific conductor of electricity...you might put the fire out, but as long as the electrical was going, that water would create a death trap.

Shutting off the electrical will not stop the fire, but it is essential to do. So much so that it should be considered the number one priority.

Spikes can cause shorts which can cause fires, hence, surge protection provides (wait for it) protection. Further, they will trip off if overloaded which is once again, a protection against fire.

Smothering is one of the better approaches to a small fire.

I don't know if any research has been done on how well chameleons withstand the chemicals in fire extinguishers, but I would try hard not to make the test myself.

That said, as noted, I have a fire extinguisher in the next room (and, my house doesn't have doors downstairs except for the bathroom...it's the 1970's "open" look) and strongly recommend everyone have at least one in their homes regardless of whether or not they have reptiles with special lights.

I not only was, but remain a full time, professional firefighter and work in a city of close to 600,000. I also work with code enforcement and have spent time with the fire investigation unit determining C&O. And no, I am not forgetting anything here. I have no idea where you are getting your information. Most of it is incorrect. Some of is just plain dangerous. I am curious as to source of your information. I do have some bona fides in this field and stand by what I have previously posted. If the matter wasn't so serious, I would just let it drop.

Electricity is the cause of many fires, but once started, is not what is doing the burning or keeping the fire active. Electrical fires in the home are fought by firefighters with water. They are not smothered or "turned off." Breakers trip and fuses get blown and that is what turns off the power in the event of a short or overload. Turning off all the "juice" to a house is done by the utility company when they get there in the city. In places where the utility dept is delayed, firefighters may dc the meter head, cutting power to the occupancy, but that is not done before water is put on the fire. This is standard operating procedure with all fire departments.

 

[Elizadolots]

ummm....sorry, but didn't you just say what I said?

Breakers trip and fuses get blown and that is what turns off the power in the event of a short or overload. Turning off all the "juice" to a house is done by the utility company when they get there in the city.

In the assumption that it is a small fire that you can put out yourself, shutting off the electricity is paramount.

If the initial plan is "bail out and call emergency" then sure, don't bother with turning things off, but me, I try to put out small fires before they get big. I have that sort of affection for my property and the beings that live there. Silly of me, I'm sure. I've put fires out, but I guess that's also silly.

And, when a whole house is engaged, the likelihood that the electrical is still working is greatly reduced. Which, of course, you know.

Would you point a hose at a known active electrical source during a fire? I'm guessing the answer is NO. In a big house fire sparked by an electrical fire, 99% of the fire is not, in fact, electrical, it's just fire.

That's nothing at all like seeing a fire start in your lamps.

I have no idea why you are arguing this. I suspect you are looking at it from a very "big picture" perspective. However, the topic was pretty "small picture" and if a small electrical fire starts in your house the first thing you should do is shut off the power to that fire, then put the fire out. Again, no idea why you would argue that.

 

[steelheadchaser]

ummm....sorry, but didn't you just say what I said?

No

In the assumption that it is a small fire that you can put out yourself, shutting off the electricity is paramount.

This is incorrect.

If the initial plan is "bail out and call emergency" then sure, don't bother with turning things off, but me, I try to put out small fires before they get big. I have that sort of affection for my property and the beings that live there. Silly of me, I'm sure. I've put fires out, but I guess that's also silly.

It can be. I have been to more than one fire that burned an entire apartment complex to the ground by people with the same attitude. At one of them we found 13 exhausted fire extinguishers laying about. And no, it wasn't an electrical fire.

And, when a whole house is engaged, the likelihood that the electrical is still working is greatly reduced. Which, of course, you know.

No, I don't know this. The assumtion we make is that everything is "hot" until proven otherwise. I have received more than one shock while in a house fire. Getting burned is my primary concern.

Would you point a hose at a known active electrical source during a fire? I'm guessing the answer is NO. In a big house fire sparked by an electrical fire, 99% of the fire is not, in fact, electrical, it's just fire.

Your "guess" is once again incorrect. The water is directed towards the area on fire, regardless of whether or not electricity is present in the area. Water in a broken stream is not a good conductor. Contrary to popular opinion, one can not receive a shock by urinating on an electric fence. Same principle at work in hose streams while firefighting.

That's nothing at all like seeing a fire start in your lamps.

The lamps don't burn, per se. They start other things on fire. Not sure what your point is here.

I have no idea why you are arguing this. I suspect you are looking at it from a very "big picture" perspective.

I am not arguing. However I feel compelled to point out that nearly all of your advice, no matter how well intended, is incorrect.

However, the topic was pretty "small picture" and if a small electrical fire starts in your house the first thing you should do is shut off the power to that fire, then put the fire out. Again, no idea why you would argue that.

Most big fires start out as small fires. Again, I am not arguing. I am compelled to point out that the advice you are espousing is incorrect, if not dangerous.

I am sorry, but at the risk of being rude, IMHO you should refrain from doling out fire safety advice to others on an open forum, unless you can provide either some credentials or cite current professional sources, standards or best practices supporting your opinions.

 

[melric]

Half my house burned down 10 years ago when we first moved in. It started from the garage and we never found out what started it. I'm just grateful to the fire fighters that saved most of our belongings. We did lose all of our pictures. But, we all made it out safely. It happened in an instant and the three minutes it took for the fire dept to arrive seemed like a life time.

Stealheadchaser thanks for the great info and for putting your life on the line for the rest of us.

 

[steelheadchaser]

Your most welcome, and thank you for the kind words, Melric.

It seems people never fully recover from a fire. Things can happen so much quicker than anyone can imagine. Even when everyone gets out safely, it is hard to recover from losing ones irreplaceable treasures such as family pictures, baby teeth, your kids first teddy bear or lock of hair from a first haircut. I have held nasal cannula up to dogs, cats and even a parrot I pulled out from a rooming house fire years ago. Unfortunately, I have also carried out those that were not so lucky, both pets and people. Even now I truly can't say I know what a victim of a fire in their house is going through. Needless to say I am vigilant in my own home, but even that is no guarantee.

 

[Elizadolots]

http://www.pcec.coop/Manage-Energy/Electrical-Safety/Electrical-Fire.html

If you smell smoke or see a flame, unplug the appliances involved or turn off power at the main breaker or fuse box.

http://www.hometips.com/diy-how-to/house-fire-what-to-do.html

Faulty electrical systems can quickly become house fires. At the first sign of a hot, burning, smoking, crackling, or buzzing electrical outlet, switch, or light fixture, quickly trip the breaker that governs that circuit. If you don’t know which breaker or fuse to turn off, shut off the main circuit breaker. Call 911 and report the problem.

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-should-i-respond-to-an-electrical-fire.htm

If an electrical fire starts, you should immediately turn off power to the circuit and the rest of the structure. The easiest way to do this is to access the electrical main, cutting power off entirel

http://web.uconn.edu/ehs/Word Docs/Electrical Safety in the Lab.pdf

Know the location of electrical panels and disconnect switches in or near your laboratory so
that power can be quickly shut down in the event of a fire or electrical accident. To enhance
safety, post the location of the electrical panel on the equipment it services.

http://www.benselectrical.com/fire-and-safety.php

If you see smoke or fire, or smell a strange odor coming from wires, appliances or electric motors,
CALL 911 immediately
Turn off the appliance
Pull out the plug (if possible)
Turn off the main switch at the circuit breaker or fuse box.
Use "C" rated fire extinguisher (always keep accessible in kitchen location)
Throw Baking Soda on fire: if no Fire extinguisher is available
DO NOT THROW WATER ON FIRE: YOU WILL BE ELECTROCUTED

http://nasdonline.org/document/978/d000818/electrical-fires-prevention-and-extinguishing.html

If an electrical fire starts at a wall outlet, pull the plug by the cord or turn off the main switch. Call the fire department, give them your address and tell them it's an electrical fire. If the fire is small, use your home CO2*fire extinguisher.*

I could go on and on. It's the thing to do if you are right there when it starts and can hopefully prevent your house from going up in flames.

Of course, it's good to know that if you do have to evacuate, the power will be shut off by other forces.

While I have infinite respect (and a fair amount of awe) for what you do, I do think you are looking at a "big picture" in which the home owner should really just get the hell out and let the professionals handle the fire. That has merit. However, lots of small fires are stopped short of the family standing on the curb watching the house burn, worrying about the pets. And, in the case of an incipient electrical fire, cutting the power is the proper first course of action.

 

[Kansascity]

Was it your damper being closed and smoke backing up into to the room or did something catch on fire as well?

It is a terrifying situation to watch as your house is burning and it always seems like the fire dept is taking forever to get there. Glad that you kept a good head and got you and your family out right away.

Doors should get shut on the way out in order to help confine a fire and also limit the availability of oxygen.

Damper was closed fire was gong almost with- in 3 minutes of starting it (which I was impressed with at first till I released the damper was not open!) I opened the doors because my baby was still upstairs in our bedroom our house is 6400 Sq Feet! And I already couldn’t see anything from the smoke and using the fire extinguisher. I had thought my sister had gotten her (she is 24 and was here visiting from NY) though she didn’t so I was spraying and on the phone with 911 and ran to get the baby I was sick for at least 4 days from the smoke! The house was so smokey I couldn’t see!!!

 

[Travas]

So, we had a power failure last night.
The kids moved the lights off the cages of the chameleon and the bearded dragon.
Covered them with blankets for the night.
Well when the power came back on in the early morning hours, the beardy lights didn't get unplugged.
Thank God for the fire alarm.
We have a bunch of damage but, we all got out ok.
Just my little story, I hope it helps people to remember where the lights are, and good battery in the smoke alarm.