Definition of Fire Prevention

Practicing fire prevention can help save the lives of you and your loved ones. It means preparing your home or workplace for the event of a fire disaster. Fire prevention is knowing what you can do to prevent a fire in the first place as well as what actions to take in case one happens anyway. There are a few basic guidelines for fire prevention that every person should be aware of.
Hazardous Materials
Prevention is a very important aspect of fire safety. Learn about all the different fire hazards that can be present in your home. Fully inspect all heaters, appliances and electrical work to make sure that everything is functioning properly. It is a good idea to get these things inspected regularly by professionals who can detect problems that you might not be aware of. Store highly flammable and combustible materials, like certain cleaners, chemicals and paints, in a fireproof storage closet far away from heat elements.

Smoke Detectors
The best fire prevention tools you can have in your home are smoke detectors. Install smoke detectors on every level of your house. They are inexpensive and simple to install. Fires can start anywhere in the home, so make sure the smoke detectors are located where they could detect smoke from anywhere. Test your smoke detectors frequently and replace their batteries at least once a year. These alarms could save your life by alerting you to a fire while you are fast asleep.

Extinguishers
Keep at least one fire extinguisher in your home--more if possible. Teach yourself and family members how to properly use the fire extinguisher. The best place to keep one is in the kitchen, where most house fires start. A fire extinguisher can prevent a fire from spreading.

Escape Plan
Practice good fire safety by making an escape plan for you and your family. It is important to know where everyone is in the house or workplace. Make a map of the building, labeling all exit points. Make sure children know how to unlock and open any windows that they may need to escape through. Determine which routes you should take depending on where the fire is. You can draw arrows on the map to show how to escape. It is very important that you designate a place outside to meet up once everyone has escaped. This way, you will know if anyone is still missing and could be trapped inside. Practice your escape plan several times a year. This way, people will be familiar with the procedures and will be less likely to panic in the event of a real fire.

Stop, Drop and Roll
Sometimes even the best fire escape plan can still allow accidents and emergencies. Everyone should know what to do in case their clothing or hair catches on fire. The technique that has been taught to children for years is to stop, drop and roll. Your natural instinct might be to run, but this will only add oxygen to the fire. Practice the stop, drop and roll technique with your family.

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Definition of Fire Safety

Fire safety is a group of equipment and/or behavior designed to both reduce the risk of starting a fire and reduce the risk of injury in the event of a fire. Additional fire safety measures are designed to protect private property and even structural integrity. Conversely, objects that have the opposite effect--i.e., increase the risk of both fire and injury--are known as fire hazards.

Types
A wide variety of home and commercial fire safety devices, plans and procedures are available to consumers and employers. They include:
Maximum occupancy: An occupancy limit imposed on all commercial and some private buildings
Fire exits/exit signs: Making sure a building has an adequate number of properly placed exits, and posting the locations of and routes to these exits in visible areas around the building
Fire extinguishers: Placing devices designed to extinguish fires in visible places throughout a building
Fire alarms: Alarm system designed to alert the inhabitants of a building of a fire
Structural fireproofing: Fire-retardant insulation, usually foam
Fire drills: Evacuation of all occupants of a building for practice

Effects
Maximum occupancy: These laws are designed to allow the population of a building to escape in the case of a fire.
Fire exits/exit signs: An adequate number of fire exits make sure that the occupants of a building can exit the building in a timely manner in the case of a fire, and that no part of the building is too far away from an exit. Posting these exits, and routes to them, ensures that people know to go to them in an emergency.
Fire extinguishers: A fire extinguisher can put out a small to mid-sized fire, limiting the damage caused by that fire and potentially saving property and lives.
Fire alarm: A fire alarm can sense (most commonly) the presence of smoke caused by a fire, which triggers the warning alarm.
Structural fireproofing: This can drastically increases both a building's chances of surviving a fire and the amount of time occupants have to exit the building before the building collapses.
Fire drills: Fire drills can familiarize people with the locations of fire exits and routes, and reinforce a calm exit in case of a fire.

Features
An object or behavior that causes an increase in either the likelihood of a fire or injury due to fire, or that diminishes responders' capability of responding to a fire, is called a fire hazard. Some fire hazards are regulated by law, including disregarding occupancy laws, obstructing fire exits or routes and improper fuel storage. Others are not, like making sure not to overload an electrical system or not blocking heating vents with flammable material, and are up to the individuals residing in a building. Other fire hazards include keeping sources of fire within reach of children and improper storage of flammable material, such as alcohol or cleaning solution.

Considerations
Fire codes, or fire prevention/fire safety codes, are created on a state or local level and enforced by municipal fire departments. Fire codes are part of an overall building code, which every building must meet to be cleared to occupation. Fire inspection is also done on a regular basis on commercial buildings, including the maintenance of active and passive fire safety systems. Inspection in private and residential buildings should be preformed on a regular basis.

Expert Insight
Many fire departments around the nation have fire safety public education programs. While useful to everyone, these programs are generally intended to educate young children about the dangers of fires and the importance of fire safety. It is important to educate the young since they are considered the most at-risk group, just edging out the elderly.
Passive fire protection is fire protection designed to contain fires or slow their spread through a structure. It includes things like structural compartmentalization of the building's floor plan and fire-resistant construction materials.
Active fire protection is a manual or automatic system designed to suppress a fire. It includes fire extinguishers or an automatic sprinkler system.
Fire prevention includes education of occupants and limiting the ways in which a fire can start or occupants can get hurt if a fire does start. It includes proper storage of materials and the posting of fire escapes and routes.

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