Safety meantime topics free?  Why not free safety meeting topics?  Regardless of how it’s searched for, obviously people need something of a safety nature to talk about.  Although I could write a post on just about anything with regards to safety, fire safety is, for obvious reasons, on the top of my list.  Last week, while doing some work around the house, my wife burst into the kitchen from the garage yelling, “our house is on fire”, “get out, our house is on fire”.  As I headed out of the kitchen, into our three car garage, I soon realized this wasn’t a drill.  Off to my left was an entire wall engulfed in flames from floor to ceiling.  Long story short, my neighbors and I were able to extinguish the fire with three garden hoses, leaving only a burnt mass of clothing, collectibles and garden tools for the fire department to sift through. Following an extensive investigation, the fire investigator wasn’t able to determine the cause of the fire.  Mere speculation lead us to assume that the fierce winds that day had blown an ember off my wife’s cigarette and on to some clean towels stacked on a shelf adjacent to the wall that caught fire. My wife had been in the garage about 30 minutes prior to the fire smoking a cigarette, however had extinguished her cigarette outside.

Regardless of how the fire started, it was our lack of notification that keeps playing through my mind like a broken record.  You see, I was only 20 feet away from the raging fire, separated only by an interior wall, yet had no idea what was going on.  If it hadn’t been for my quick acting neighbors who first informed us of the fire, then helped to extinguish it, my entire house and all my possessions would have been engulfed by the flames.

So you’re searching for “safety meeting topics free”?  Please create and outline based on these points:

1. Install smoke detectors in your garage.  Following the fire, I asked my neighbors, family and friends if they have smoke detectors in their garages.  None of them do.  I live in a new sub division and evidently building code doesn’t require the placement of smoke detectors outside of the main dwelling area.  Let me be the first to recommend that you install them in your garage.  In talking with the fire investigator, a garage provides almost a perfect environment for a fire.  Oily rags, chemicals, gasoline cans, furnaces, hot water heaters and oxygen rich – garages provide ample opportunity for either spontaneous combustion or a spark to ignite a fire.
2. Fortunately my neighbors and I have large back yards, therefore a lot of long hoses around our houses.  If it wasn’t for the abundance of 100 foot garden hoses, I would not have been able to control the fire.  Asked where my fire extinguisher was while we battled the blaze, I shrugged and said I couldn’t remember.  After I calmed down, I remembered it was in the back of my police car.  Not a great location when my keys are inside the house and I’m in the garage fighting to save my house.  A fire extinguisher must be located on every level of the house and in the garage as well.  Every family member must know where the fire extinguishers are located and how to use them.  They should be clearly visible so that others can find them in case of an emergency.
3. It’s a good idea to have at least one hose that can reach any portion of your home.  What would you do if a fire broke out in an upstairs bedroom?  Do you have a way to extinguish the fire?  If your fire extinguishers are not enough (a neighbor used two fire extinguishers on my fire and it did little to stop the blaze) a garden hose may be your only hope.
   
4. Place all oily rags in a metal canister.  Oily rags waded up and thrown on a shelf or in the corner of the garage can ignite into a ball of fire, with no help from an outside source.  The chemicals in the oily rag, especially when the rag is in a tight ball, create heat.  Any additional wind or oxygen can cause the rags to spontaneously combust.
   
5. Know what chemicals you have in your garage and keep them away from other combustible materials.  Storing your chemicals in a metal container is always a good idea.
   
6. Smoke outside and not in your garage.

I do not advocate or advise anyone to put themselves in harms way to fight a house fire.  This is a job best left to professional fire fighters.  However, if you can get to the fire quick enough and have the right tools and equipment at your disposal, you may be able to reduce the amount of damage to your home while you await the arrival of the fire department.  Again, should you have any doubt in your abilites to safely maintain the fire, please go to a safe location and leave the fire fighting to the professionals.

Safety meeing topics free – please think about fire safety for your next safety meeting.