Prevention with care

In the Orsha district, the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations regularly conduct raid activities, paying special attention to households registered under various types of accounting. These include large families, lonely elderly people, citizens leading an antisocial lifestyle, and those whose homes have already come to the attention of rescuers due to violations.

The purpose of such visits is not punishment, but assistance and prevention. Specialists in uniform visit homes to remind about safety rules, help identify potential risks, and eliminate them together. They check the functionality of heating systems, electrical wiring, and the presence and operability of autonomous fire alarms. Special attention is paid to the accessibility of evacuation routes.

Smoking in bed: an invisible enemy. A separate and extremely important topic of every conversation is the deadly habit of smoking in bed. Rescuers explain with real examples why this is unacceptable:

• Fatigue and alcohol— a frequent cause of falling asleep with a cigarette.
• Smolderingof blankets or mattresses begins unnoticed, and the toxic smoke from synthetic materials quickly leads to loss of consciousness.
• An unextinguished cigarette butt,falling on the floor, can cause a fire when a person is already asleep.

Emergency Ministry employees strongly recommend designating a safe place for smoking, using deep ashtrays, and never smoking in bed, especially when tired or under the influence of alcohol.

The main outcome of this work is a trusting contact and confidence that preventive words can save much more than the most prompt response to an already occurred disaster.