Tony, real life in a safe training environment at the RAF Manston Fire Training School. You wouldn't stand a chance once it goes and it goes without warning.
That shows the danger and impact pretty impressively.
I've always worked around very densely populated electronic equipment. Having been involved on the periphery of a fire many years ago (and just two seconds away from a Halon dump - a massive injection of inert gas and something you didn't want to be in), I can tell you fire escalates exponentially. On that occasion I was thankful and relieved to be on the other side that door.
We all associate fires indoors as the risk. We were shown the unedited Bradford Valley Parade video as part of our fire awareness training. 56 people died in an outdoor open space because of fire. Very sobering. Like bad weather, when faced with fire, it's to be treated with utmost respect, even outdoors. Unlike the weather, we can minimise the possibility of it happening. It takes only a few simple steps.
One of the benefits of being a fire marshal was that when the fire alarm went off and because seconds mattered, we were well within our rights to swear at senior managers who unbelievably carried on working or took their time getting out. They were very much put in their place afterwards.
I hope everyone does as Andy suggests. Have a great Christmas and stay safe
