What is the “smoke simulator” house with which Uruguayan firefighters educate on how to act in a fire

Uruguayan firefighters have, as part of their tasks, to work on prevention and action during fires. In this regard, the intention is to highlight the importance of raising awareness among the population about the health hazards posed by smoke inhalation, which is responsible for most deaths.

For this reason, Firefighters performed during the 55th Beer Week, one of the busiest events in the interior of the country, especially since it takes place during the holidays of Tourism Week. They set up an exhibition stand for professional tools and a large inflatable house that functioned as a simulator of smoke behavior in closed environments.

The objective of the stand was to practice smoke situations for all those who would like to participate. “When a fire occurs, smoke is always generated even in the smallest fires, or when flames are scarce,” Fire spokesman Pablo Benitez told Undersina.

In the video shared by Firefighters you can see the troops entering with people and advising them along the way in an inflatable house where there is little visibility. In that sense, the tips that appear are to always walk with three points of support, against the wall, go down with one knee to the floor, put the back of your hand on the floor, contact others through communication, go through the fire situation and look for the way out without squeezing with others.

“In these accidents, smoke is worse for health than the heat of the flames, because it does not affect immediately, like fire, but internal damage is very serious and usually not perceived until it is too late, and it is the main cause of death,” explained the spokesman.

In addition, he warned that “any smoke has carbon monoxide, which is a poisonous gas, which our body assimilates very well and can intoxicate us very quickly, in addition to airborne particles that enter the body, obstructing the respiratory tract, as well as other toxic and hot gases, also making it impossible to visibility”.

“Therefore, we say that smoke is our main enemy in fires, and it is important to prevent and know how to act in such an emergency,” he said.

The smoke

According to Firefighters, four main causes of a dangerous situation appear in general associated with fires. These are the heat, the flames, the lack of oxygen and smoke.

From the point of view of human safety, among the four factors considered, smoke is the one that causes the most serious damage and, therefore, must be the most important factor to be considered.

The components of the mixture of compounds, whether associated or not, that generate smoke have a different influence on people, causing the following effects:

1) Decreased visibility due to light attenuation of the premises

2) Eye and mucous irritations

3) Modification of organic activity due to the acceleration of breathing and heartbeat

4) Vomiting and cough

5) Panic

6) Disorientation

7) Intoxication and suffocation

Reduced visibility is what prevents people from moving, causing them to be exposed for a longer time to toxic gases and vapors. These, at the same time, cause death if they were present in sufficient quantities and if people were exposed for a certain time, making it impossible to breathe.

That is why for firefighters, it is important that the population understands the behavior of smoke in a fire situation and can prevent their own death.

KEEP READING: