A-Infos (en) UK, London, Reduction of Fire Hazard - Leaflet http://www.geocities.com/nowar_buttheclasswar

[Worker <a-infos-en@ainfos.ca>(No War But The Class War)]

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      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
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In the event of Firefighter Strike or War Against Iraq

A guide for employees, passengers and residents

Her Majesty?s No War But The Class War Office

NWBTCW/FP/7/A

With the ongoing dispute between the firefighters and the
employers, and with the continuing threat of war against
Iraq, the No War But The Class War Office has decided to
issue this information leaflet to help employees, residents
and passengers on urban transport systems to minimise
any threat of fire.

Employees

Fire risks at work are many, but can be considered to fall
into two groups, inflammable materials, and hazardous
social organisation. There are many measures that can be
taken to reduce the hazard of fire in working environments.

Slow down

Speed causes friction and increases stress, both of which
increase the likelihood of fire. Where possible, work slower
to prevent fires from starting.

Avoid using machinery or tools

Do not use vehicles, or any equipment of any kind if at all
possible.

Reduce stationery stocks to a minimum in offices.

Most people who work in an office will already have a stock
of Post-it Notes[tm], envelopes, notepads and Jiffy Bags[tm]
at home, provided for free and unwittingly by employers.
During a firefighters? strike or war, it is necessary to store
as much office stationery at home as possible. Remember:
its not just paper that burns. In the heat of an office fire,
items such as staplers, hole-punches, telephone handsets
and computer equipment can also add fuel to the
conflagration. These items too should wherever possible be
removed from the office.

It may be necessary to remove potential fire hazards
surreptitiously. Managers, supervisors and employers are
charged with the administration of a business unit rather
than with meeting and increasing human needs. They must
therefore maximise profits and minimise costs where
possible rather than provide a safe environment through
fire prevention methods as outlined above.

Phone in sick

In the event of war or firefighter strike, it is best to avoid
the workplace as much as possible.

Take industrial action

Going on strike is another way of avoiding the workplace
that may be an option for some employees. Don?t worry
what the issue is (remember that in the 1970s car workers
went on strike to demand that management provide mugs
for tea-breaks).

Permanently reduce fire risk

Reorganise social life to meet human needs rather than
maximise profits. This will entail the abolition of work as an
activity separate from the rest of life.

Commuting to work

There have been many serious accidents involving public
transport. In order to be aware of ways of reducing fire risk
it is necessary to consider why we commute in the first
place.  At present, work and life outside work are separate
in a way they were not in the past nor would be in a
reasonable organisation of social life. The present situation
requires that employees commute to work for hours each
day on mass transportation systems such as the London
Underground. This means travelling every morning with
thousands of strangers who we have no connection with
either at work or outside of it, leading to the typical
situation of social isolation characterised by the crowd of
commuters all sitting quietly, not talking and avoiding eye
contact. This social isolation is itself hazardous, as in the
event of a fire, the crowd acts as a mass of isolated atoms,
each acting for him or herself. This is a much more
dangerous situation than a crowd that has some social and
human bonds of friendship and solidarity.

Reduce social isolation

Today?s ?lonely crowds? are the product of a commodity
society in which human beings are a resource to be exploited
rather than a purpose. To overthrow that society of isolation
will require the abolition of  the commodity form of human
activity: wage labour. In the mean time try the following.
Strike up a conversation with a fellow traveller. This may
seem hard due to lack of practice and due to the fear of
being assumed to be mad. Bear in mind that it is a society
based on waged work (and so the separation of work from
the rest of life which requires commuting in the first place)
that is insane. It is also true that madness is a common
response to a mad society. For suggestions on how to go
about it, write for the leaflet ?How to talk to people on the
tube with minimal social embarrassment?
NWBTCW/TT/10231. Or if you have any good ideas yourself
on how to do this, write and tell us, because we don?t really
know either.

Avoid unnecessary commutes

As commutes are journeys to work, the same measures
outlined in the section on employment can be used to make
commuting safer. To recap:

    Phone in sick
    Take industrial action
    Abolish work

At home

There are many measures that can be taken in the home to
reduce the danger posed by fire in wartime or in a
firefighters strike. Again, its worth remembering that social
isolation is a hazard, as it is in commuting for example.
Although isolation at home is often not as acute as on the
Underground, it is still severe. The existence of capital and
wage labour means a break up of society into individual
citizens, who each work in a different enterprise from their
neighbours, reducing the amount of sociability dramatically
compared to any other previously existing, or desirable
future society.

Avoid using the television

This device dramatically increases individual isolation.

Invite friends to visit

Also visit friends and neighbours

Phone in sick

Or take other measures to minimise time at work, as
outlined above.

In the event of a Firefighters? Strike

Whatever measures you take, fire hazards remain: for
example, electrical faults, lightening strikes and
spontaneous human combustion (SHC). To minimise danger,
in the event of a firefighters strike, go regularly to the
picket lines, where firefighters will be on hand to assist in
combating SHC and other unforeseen events. The picket
lines are also sites to reduce hazardous social isolation,
through chatting with/up firefighters and other members of
the public who go along.

Advice for military personnel in the event of a war
against Iraq

    There would be little or no danger of fire in the United
    Kingdom as a result. Iraq poses no military threat to the
    UK.
    There is a dramatically increased risk of accident in the
    Armed Forces. For example helicopter crashes are quite
    common during large scale operations, as witnessed
    prior to the Falklands War.
    There is a likelihood that US armed forces will again
    bomb British forces, as happened during the 1991 Gulf
    War.

Considering these points, the main fire hazards in the event
of a war put at risk two groups: Armed Forces personnel
and Iraqi civilians and conscripts. It is outside the scope of
this brochure to provide advice for Iraqi citizens but the
following recommendations can be made to Armed Forces
personnel:

Avoid hazardous situations

Do not put yourself in close proximity to helicopters,
armoured vehicles, weaponry or military installations. This
will reduce the likelihood of accidents and of attack by US
or Iraqi armed forces.
It will also reduce the likelihood of incineration of Iraqi
citizens.

Publicly condemn the war

This may undermine morale and make war less viable.
Israeli troops have done this, so far to small but significant
effect.

Phone in sick

Go absent without leave (AWOL) or desert. Fraternize with
the Iraqi troops, perhaps organise a between the lines
football tournament. Consider staging an armed mutiny.

When considering fire prevention measures, bear in mind
that class warfare is an effective way to bring major
conflagrations to an end.

                            No War But The Class War Office
                    www.geocities.com/nowar_buttheclasswar
                           nowar_buttheclasswar@yahoo.com


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