Swiss and Iraq fires - lessons learned

 To prevent tragedies, you need prevention and cure. Major fires have happened in the USA, Ireland, Iraq, Brazil. What lessons can be learned? 

Iraq Wedding Fire

Pyrotechnics at a wedding in Iraq in 2023 killed more than 100. The world should have learned from the videos of that. 

Prevention and Cure

The first thing you need and easiest to fix is fire extinguishers. 

They should not be locked away, which renders them useless. It should be a criminal offence to use them when there is not a fire.

Following the instructions, we fitted a smoke alarm in the corridor between the kitchen and the bedrooms.

The idea is to alert you to a fire at night. You should not be leaving food cooking unattended in a kitchen. You set an alarm to remind you to check on it and turn it off. You check all switches are off before leaving a room.

What is the ease of setting the alarm? Some alarms have a button you push. If the ceiling is low, you can reach up. You might think of standing on a safe stool, rather than on a chair, with somebody else to steady you, steady the chair, and check you don't fall, or catch you. Another way is to push up with a broom handle. This means keeping the broom nearby.

Some alarms have a cover which can be removed to check batteries, after the base is screwed to the ceiling. 

Portable Alarms

An alarm which changes colour for carbon  monoxide, and sticks on, can be taken with you and affixed in a rental property. Stick it on the flat surface of a cupboard. Write yourself a note or set an alarm to remind yourself to remove it after your last meal, before leaving the property if you are temporarily overseas.

Got a gap year? Want to increase your skills? Retired? Take a course in plumbing or electricity and qualify. This could be a source of employment and income. Save you time and money. 

If you are not qualified to do the work, you can still save time and money by briefing the workers. Enable you to check that workers are doing the right thing. Help you to choose suitable equipment. Youtube has loads of videos on how to fix simple things like smoke alarms. 

Below are what I have found. Not items I have tried and recommended. But useful links so you can start your investigation quickly.

PS

Rather than only being alerted to a fire after the event, consider fire prevention.

What to avoid? As we have learned from the tragic fire in Switzerland at New Year 2026, keep flames away from anything flammable and if possible, avoid using candles, incense, indoor and outdoor fireworks, pyrotechnics, furniture without a fire label (and don't remove the labels).

Clean Oven To Prevent Fire

The oven should be cleaned regularly. When my son was a student, a group of boys share a flat. None of them cleaned the oven. Eventually the grease built up and the oven caught fire. 

If you have a dishwasher, some of the removable fittings can be washed in the dishwasher. If it does nto clean them completely, after one or two long wash cycles, you may find that the warmth of the dishwasher has loosened the grease well enough to make it faster and easier to clean by hand afterwards.

Useful Websites on Fires

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Monoxide-Detector-Rechargeble-Working/dp/B0DP2DDTPK/ref=s

'Which' UK consumer guides

Wikipedia

Wikihow

Youtube

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/various/vaud-bans-pyrotechnics-in-bars-and-restaurants/90747380?utm_source=multiple&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=news_en&utm_content=o&utm_term=wpblock_teaser-wide-card-query-list

https://www.britishfireworksassociation.co.uk/

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/fireworks/

Update 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15534415/Boyfriend-waitress-killed-Swiss-inferno-reveals-hour-long-battle-try-save-life-truth

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Update on Wedding Fire in Iraq

Flag of Iraq

Mosque.

A new analysis of the situation at the wedding fire in Iraq which killed more than 100 people. Only one main fire exit in addition to the front entrance. People at the back fo the hall had no nearby fire exit.

The pyrotechnics are supposed to be cold. You can put your hands in them. However, if my understanding is right, they still create sparks which can cause fires.

The long tables made it hard to get out in a hurry. Whenever I see a long table, I try to sit at the end. Or pull the tables apart to create an exit.

If you stand up to exit from the middle of the long table, others along the back push back their chairs and you have an obstacle race of chairs along the wall. You often have only three minutes of less before the fire or smoke spreads and lights go out.

In the UK and America the Toastmaster of the Day at a Toastmasters International meeting begins by announcing the location of the exits and toilets and the timing of the breaks and event ending.

Useful Websites

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/27/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-deadly-wedding-fire-in-iraqs-nineveh

 https://www.yahoo.com/gma/video-points-safety-issues-led-091000496.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

https://wikitravel.org/en/Iraq

Please share links to your favourite entertaining or useful posts.