Page 40 - Insurance Times December 2023

Fire Hazards, Case

Studies, Safety

Requirements &

Acumens for Insurance Anabil Bhattacharya

Insurance Consultant
Underwriting B.M.E. (Honors) (Jadavpur University)
& F.I.I.I. (I.I.I.), Mumbai,
Former Chief Manager
H.O., N.I.C.L., Kolkata.

The discovery of the fire led to the extraction of metals using smelting techniques and
manufacturing of tools, weapons and machinery from the extracted metals. This results in
succession to the Metal Age from the Stone Age. Mythologies across the world & also in India
depicted the utility of fire.

1. Prologue: believed the fire to be a symbol of divinity, while it was
considered as a symbol of superiority and control in Egypt.
Fire is among one of the early discoveries of mankind. It is
believed to have been discovered in the Early Stone Age by The ancient Greeks believed that Prometheus donated fire
our ancestors. The discovery of fire was the vital turning to the humans for civilization by stealing it from the Gods.
Worshipped as the God 'Agni' in Hinduism, fire signifies the
point for human evolution. Fire has always been an integral
part of our daily lives since the primitive age. It acted as a primordial power to consume, transform and convey and
forms a part of the 'Panchabhuta' which is the basis of
source of warmth for early humans making their survival
material existence.
easy in harsh weather conditions that allowed them to settle
in temperate areas from tropical and sub-tropical areas. It
also acted as a source of light and an aid for protection from Fire is treated as the symbol of purity in many religions and
animals in the dark permitting them to conduct their night- mythologies. It is believed that fire and agricultural
implements helped the early Vedic people to change from
time activities in pitch darkness. Some believed that fire
pastoral to agriculturists' regime and laid the foundation of
initiated the sense of sharing and communal behaviour in
early humans. the Aryan civilization. Through the medieval and modern
times, fire has helped human civilization to flourish and
prosper. While playing the role of harbinger of civilization
Fire was also used for cooking bringing about a shift from
raw food to cooked diet. The discovery of the fire led to the as we know it, fire has also proved to be one of the most
destructive phenomena known to humankind. Fire can be
extraction of metals using smelting techniques and
extremely harmful if not dealt with carefully. It can cause a
manufacturing of tools, weapons and machinery from the
extracted metals. This results in succession to the Metal Age huge number of deaths, injuries and property loss.
from the Stone Age. Mythologies across the world & also in
India depicted the utility of fire. It is considered the As said, fire is a very good servant but a ruthless master. It
can even adversely affect the environment and the
strongest force in the universe and is often associated with
divine origin. For instance, the Chinese and the Hebrews ecosystem by generating a large amount of smoke pollution

36 December 2023 The Insurance Times