It is of utmost importance to ensure your building has fire protection and is well maintained to protect property & lives, as well as the environment. Below are the most common impacts fires have on our environment.
- Fires pollute the air with emissions harmful to human health by releasing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere
- Greenhouse gases trap heat contributing to climate change. This in turn contributes to extreme weather, wildfire, droughts and food supply disruption
- Fires inflict adverse consequences to the natural environment. These include contamination via the fire plume & its subsequent diffusion likely to contaminate soil & water
- Water runoff from fires being extinguished is a major source of water pollution. As the water runs along a surface, it picks up litter, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizers, and other toxic substances
- Fire effluents in water, air and terrestrial environment can have short-term hazard and long-term exposure concerns, depending on the size of the fire, and the chemicals and pollutants involved
Play your part! Protect your building to protect the environment
Examples of fires that have had an impact on the environment
- December 1995, Somerset West (South Africa), a massive fire of a sulfur stockpile used by three different companies in industrial applications. A unique proof that fire toxicity is a lethal threat, even in the open environment
- October 1995, Wilton (UK), Polypropylene warehouse fire on a chemical complex, which raged for 12 h, due to fault in the lighting system. Some of the fire protection features did not operate correctly as a result of the smoke ventilation system prevented the fusible links of the fire doors to close. The incident generated large quantities of smoke, but an on-site risk assessment considered the smoke non-toxic.