Fire Protection Tips

Consejos de Protección Contra Incendios

Document text as follows:

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FOREST FIRES

Before the Fire

1. Be aware of the risks of living in or near a forest and how a fire can affect your home.
2. It is important to analyze the risk factors:
   1. Structure and type of surrounding vegetation.
   2. Accessibility to the urbanized area and movement within it.
   3. Specific infrastructure for active defense: hydrant network, water points and firebreak areas.
   4. Identify the vulnerable areas of each home.
3. Improve the fire resistance of my house.
   1. Keep the area around your home free of combustible materials.
   2. Avoid using flammable construction elements.
   3. Keep garden vegetation away from the home.
   4. Keep access points closed: vents, chimneys, doors or windows.

During the Fire

Fire detection

1. If you see a fire or outbreak, call 112 immediately and provide as much information as possible.
2. Notify your neighbors by any means available: door-to-door, mobile phone, or other available means.

Personal self-protection measures

1.  The most important thing is to listen to the emergency services and immediately follow their instructions.
2. In your house:
   1. Dress appropriately. Avoid burns by covering as much of your body as possible. Wear long-sleeved cotton clothing, closed-toe shoes, and a wet face mask or bandana. ¡Avoid synthetic fabrics!
   2. Lock everything. Close doors, windows, and openings (chimneys, vents, etc.), as well as gas, diesel, and other fuel shutoff valves. Disconnect automatic door opening and closing mechanisms. Place wet towels under the doors.
   3. Store water. Gather buckets and containers and fill them with water. Fill the bathtub and sinks as well. Keep hoses connected to the water supply.
   4. Remove combustible materials. Both from around the house (furniture, tarps, buckets) and from inside the house, especially near doors and windows (curtains, blinds, furniture).
   5. Smoldering fires: Immediately extinguish embers and sparks with hoses, buckets of water, branches, or sand.
   6. Vehicles. Place them in a protected position with respect to the direction of fire travel. Always do not compromise your safety.
   7. Moisten vulnerable elements. When a fire is approaching your home, moisten the roof and other sensitive elements closest to the flames. Activate sprinklers and the automatic irrigation system just moments before the fire hits to prevent a drop in the community's water supply.