The Occupational Safety and Health Committee of the Centre for Foundation Studies of Kampar Campus organised a virtual talk titled “Types of Fire, Prevention and Emergency Response” on 24 July 2021 via Microsoft Teams. The webinar received a total of 182 participants in attendance.

The virtual talk was delivered by Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology lecturer ChM Ts Chin Kah Seng. Chin is a Certified Safety and Health Officer, a professional technologist of Malaysia Board of Technologists and a registered chemist of Malaysian Institute of Chemistry. His areas of expertise include occupational safety and health, and climate models assessment.

The webinar aimed to raise awareness on the types of fire, their common causes as well as to provide some insights on fire prevention and safety.

Chin started his talk by introducing the concept of fire triangle, its components and various scenarios where fire hazards can be present and how they can occur without warning. He said, “A fire accident can happen anywhere and it can happen unexpectedly. It can happen in the industrial factories, inside vehicles, forest areas, domestic areas, or even in commercial buildings.”

Moreover, Chin elaborated on the common causes of domestic fires such as cooking, heavy use of electrical appliances, careless smoking habits, burning candles, faulty batteries in electronic devices or children playing with fire without adult’s supervision. Fire accidents also frequently take place during pandemics where working and studying from home become the new normal practice, leading to constant exposure to fire hazards.

Apart from that, Chin enlightened the participants on several precautions and protection that can be taken to prevent fire accidents when we are cooking. He encouraged the audiences to have a proper set-up for the kitchen, store flammable liquids safely and conduct regular maintenance for the gas tank regulator and the hose. As for electrical appliances, he stressed the importance of only using appliances that are recommended and certified by the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM). Furthermore, he also pointed out that overcharging electronic appliances could lead to faulty batteries which can lead to explosions and fire accidents. 

In addition, he also mentioned the importance of installing a proper smoke or fire detector and having a functional fire extinguisher at home. He also stressed the importance of having fire escape windows and escape routes in every room in case a fire breaks out at home. Next, Chin shared some videos on how fire spreads in a short period of time, especially within a confined space, and the common mistakes people make when encountering the unfortunate incident.

The talk ended with interactive Q&A and group photograph sessions.