R a c e fire drill8/13/2023 People in the immediate area of the fire should have already moved out. If a small fire is in an area remote from where the people are and it can be quickly extinguished, go ahead and put it out, using a fire extinguisher (see below). This depends on if the congregation is in any danger, including smoke. Whether to evacuate could be a judgment call. It gives others in the building more time to evacuate. This is to hinder the spread of the fire. For a Church Safety Team in an occupied building, this includes notifying the rest of the team with a "Code Red" call. This is where pulling the fire alarm (direct line to the fire department) or calling 911 comes in. For example, getting everyone out of the kitchen if there is a range fire. This Rescue is removing people from the immediate vicinity of the fire. This is not the same Rescue as in the types of evacuations (removing people from an environment following an emergency). The Sheepdog Church Security training course "Arson Prevention and Fire Drills for Churches" has this advice: "If there is a fire in the church, respond by using the acronym RACE: Rescue, Alert others, Confine the fire, Evacuate and/or Extinguish (Kiurski, 2008)." Rescue These churches had a community relationship which led to watchful neighbors. How they did it in Cambridge was not stated (the members were outside), but in Hempfield a fire extinguisher was used.īerkeley - Neighbors saw the fire being set and called 911 (a neighbor also responded in Cambridge). Persons outside were trying to get in while those inside were trying to get out.Ĭambridge and Hempfield - Members who were present immediately put out the fires. No planned and practiced evacuation plan.In an emergency there is not enough time to unlock the door. The building should have been evacuated until an All clear after all traces of the fire were out.They should have made certain the fire had not spread.No follow-through in putting out a fire.Separation of open flame from combustibles not maintained.The only door was about 23⅔ inches wide, and there were 130 persons inside. No feasible evacuation route for the number of occupants.Lessons from the News StoriesĬostești - This is a sad story of what should not be done. It is important to know what to do if and when a fire starts in the church. What if you are in the sanctuary with 300 people, and your earpiece says, "Code Red, Room 12, 911"? Looking in you see a paper decoration leaning against a table lamp smoldering. It's coming from a vacant classroom - the kids are down the hall in the Youth Chapel for Children's Church. If Fire Breaks Out.Īs a member of the Church Safety Team, you are on duty during the morning worship service. By the time firefighters came, members had put the blaze out with a fire extinguisher. Hempfield, Pennsylvania, Thursday, MaHoly Thursday Mass was interrupted when a trash can in a side room caught fire. The suspect was soon arrested by Berkeley police. Several neighbors saw the fire burning or being set and called 911. īerkeley, California, ApBerkeley firefighters put out a fire in debris piled against the front door of a church. Members came, and extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived. A neighbor spotted the fire early in the morning, and called a church member. Ĭambridge, Maryland, SeptemA person or persons unknown set a fire in the doorway of a church. The door was too narrow, and it was locked. That was put out, but wreaths in the attic had also been ignited without anyone noticing.įire expanded rapidly, and the roof collapsed. A candle ignited the braid hanging from a wreath. (They) quenched the power of fire (Hebrews 11:34).Ĭostești, Romania, April 1930 - The small wood church in Costești, built in the 1700s, was crowded with children, their leaders, and some elders for the Orthodox Good Friday service, while their parents listened from outside. For lack of wood the fire goes out (Proverbs 26:20). Save others by snatching them out of the fire (Jude 1:23). “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution (Exodus 22:6). Your safety team should have a plan in place and prepare your congregation through practicing fire drills. Most church fires begin when no one is there, or only a few people, but sometimes they start when there is a packed house. Safety under Fire October is National Fire Prevention MonthĪs a member of the Church Safety Team, are you prepared to respond if a fire broke out in your church while you are on duty? Smooth evacuations of burning buildings do not just happen.
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