Popcorn, Fire, Flames, and Thought

My husband a few months ago had an experience with popcorn at work. Being so predictable and sometimes a little lazy, he takes popcorn to work instead of lunch. During his breaks he will eat one or two of his little popcorn treats just to keep his hunger down before he comes home from work. Well, on this ordinary and predictable day went to the office lounge and put in the packet of popcorn. “Always remember to which side to put face down”, he says. To his surprise when he opened the microwave the glass that turns the food was not in there. Oh well, put in the popcorn. Then it happened….the unthinkable. The popcorn caught on fire inside of the microwave. Instinctively he opened the door…big mistake. Adding more air it caused the fame to flare up even more. Now, everyone in the 30 to 40 something year range would know the words “stop,drop, and roll”. Now I didn’t know that referred to popcorn but my husband took the popcorn, stomped it with his feet (mind you he has pants which could have caught on fire) on the carpet of the facility. Now while all of this was happening you ask,” Where were the people during break”. Well, like they always do…people watch. Now after the ordeal, everyone was asking if he was ok. And what was a bit ironic was that there was a girl that was talking on the phone to her friend that happened to also say she burnt her popcorn during the time my husband was playing Fire Marshall Bill. With all that happened to him, where were the fire extinguishers and was anyone prepared for just a situation with fire?

This got me to think about fire safety at work. Did we go over fire safety? Are their bulletin boards that need to be posted by law? Is this something that is recommended for All types of buildings to go over? I just wanted to know something simple as where are the fire extinguishers and how to use them? I decided to go to my county website and find some answers. I was able to find a simple article that talked about safety at work .

Come to find out under this link that there are over 5000 fires annually. That got me to thinking that as adults we are not really prepared to deal with a situation when it comes to fire. It mainly described the basic things that one should do (common sense ) but didn’t give me the essence of laws or bi-laws about having a fire drill at work routinely was necessary. I know that at schools that fire drills (and in certain areas earth quake drills) are routinely done for the safety of our children if a fire was to happen. But again, how about the work place? Well, being someone puzzled, I asked a question with USFA about Las Vegas and if there was a regulation on having fire drills for commercial buildings. Once they have answered, I will post it on my blog and see what it says about fire safety at work. The only thing that I can do now is prepare myself if something like that happens where I work at on my own. I hope they get an answer to me soon.