Fire Safety

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Fire Safety

• Fire risk assessment

Colin de Jongh Health and Safety Manager
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Regulatory Reform Order(Fire Safety)

• Enacted 1st October 2006
• Fire certificates cease to have effect
• New duty holder Responsible Person
• Must carry out a fire risk assessment

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Responsible Person

• The person who has to any extent the control of
• A workplace the employer, managers, supervisors
  etc.
• The premises owner, occupier or agent

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Responsible Person

• Must appoint competent person(s) to assist with
  fire safety measures
• Take general fire precautions to ensure safety of
  employees and other relevant persons
• Does not apply to domestic premises, ships at
  sea, vehicles, fields or woods, mines etc.
• Does apply to external events.

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General Fire Precautions

• Reduce the risk and spread of fire
• Ensure means of escape at all times
• Fire fighting measures on premises
• Fire detection and warnings of
• Action in the case of fire
• Training and instruction
• Measures to mitigate the effects

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Any questions?
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Main causation of fires (12 months Jan 05 to Dec
05)

• Deliberate ignition - 53
• Electrical - 34
• Cooking - 13
• Friction, heat and sparks - 12
• Smoking materials - 11
• Naked light - 4

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Organisations (12 months Jan 05 to Dec 05)

1. Dwellings - 27
2. Local/national government 25
3. Hospitality food and drink industry - 13
4. Retail 12
5. Chemical Industry - 11
6. Education - 9

gt250K
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Fire safety risk assessment

1. Identify the fire hazards
2. Identify the people at risk
3. Evaluate, remove or reduce, and protect from risk
4. Record, plan, inform, instruct, and train
5. Review

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Any questions?
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1. Identify the fire hazards

• Identify
• Sources of ignition
• Sources of fuel
• Sources of oxygen

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The fire triangle
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Sources of ignition

• ARSON
• Smokers materials
• Naked flames
• Electrical, gas, portable heating equipment
• Hot processes- paint stripping, welding
• Lighting equipment

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Sources of fuel

• Flammable liquid based products
• Packaging materials
• Waste products
• Stationary
• Soft furnishings and furniture
• Some construction materials

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Sources of Oxygen

• The air around us
• Air conditioning
• Some chemicals
• Oxygen supplies cylinder storage
• Pyrotechnics

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Any questions?
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2. Identify the people at risk

• Employees especially those who work alone
• Vulnerable people
• Contractors
• Young people
• Other people in the immediate vicinity
• Fire fighters

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3. Evaluate, remove, reduce, and protect from
risk

• Evaluate the risk of a fire occurring-
• Accidentally
• By act or omission
• Deliberately

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3. Evaluate, remove, reduce, and protect from
risk

• Evaluate the risk to people
• Fire is spread by
• Convection
• Conduction
• Radiation
• Contact or direct heat

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Smoke movement through a building
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Why do we close fire doors?
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Why we do close fire doors
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Evaluating the risks to people

• Consider
• Fires on lower floors can affect escape routes
  for those on upper floors
• Fires developing in unoccupied spaces which
  people have to pass
• Spread of fire or smoke via vertical shafts and
  service or ventilation ducts
• Fires in service rooms affecting hazardous
  materials

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Remove or reduce the hazards - sources of
ignition

• Replace potential sources of ignition with an
  alternative
• Replace naked flame and radiant heaters with
  fixed convector heaters or central heating
• Separate ignition sources and fuels
• Check areas after hot work has taken place
• Take precautions to avoid arson

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Remove or reduce the hazards - sources of fuel

• Ensure flammable materials, liquids and gases are
  kept to a minimum and stored properly
• Do not keep flammable solids, liquids and gases
  together
• Remove combustible waste daily
• Store waste materials securely away from
  buildings.

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Remove or reduce the hazards sources of oxygen

• Close all doors, windows and other openings when
  not required for ventilation
• Shut down inessential ventilation systems
• Do not store oxidising materials next to heat
  sources or flammable materials
• Control use of oxygen cylinders

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Remove or reduce the hazards to people

• Ensure that any risks remaining to people are
  controlled
• Provide systems to warn people and allow them to
  escape in the event of fire
• Provide adequate exits for the number of people
  present

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Fire detection and warning systems

• System will depend on the size and layout of the
  building
• It should provide adequate warning in the event
  of a fire
• Automatic or manual?
• You may/will need special arrangements for people
  with disabilities

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Fire-fighting equipment and facilities

• Can reduce the risk of a small fire (waste paper
  bin) developing into a larger one
• Controlling a fire in the early stages can reduce
  the risk to people
• There should be enough portable extinguishers
  suitable for the risk
• They should be sited throughout the premises at
  suitable locations

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Fire-fighting equipment and facilities

• Co2 Foam Powder Water

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Fire-fighting equipment and facilities

• Class A fire rule of thumb ? one water
  extinguisher for every 200m² minimum 2 per floor
• Additional risks appropriate type number of
  extinguishers. See BS 5306-8

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Other facilities

• Can include
• Access for fire engines and fire-fighters
• Fire-fighting shafts and lifts
• Fire suppression systems sprinklers
• Smoke-control systems
• Dry or wet rising mains and fire-fighters inlets
• Information and communication systems
• Fire-fighters switches

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Escape routes

• Escape routes should be
• Suitable
• Easily, safely and immediately usable at all
  times
• Adequate for the number of people
• Free from any obstructions, slip or trips hazards
• Available for access by the emergency services

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Escape routes

• Suitable
• Fire resistant construction
• Escape routes should not go through other
  occupiers premises
• Doors should open in the direction of travel
• Be fitted with vision panels if over 60 people

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Emergency evacuation of persons with mobility
impairment

• Do not use lifts unless alternative power
  supplies and protected from smoke
• Take to refuge and wait for assistance or begin
  staged evacuation provide communications.
• You must have plans to evacuate without
  assistance
• Consider use of evacuation chairs
• Provide buddy system for those with visual
  impairment
• Visual alarms in cases of hearing impairment

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Emergency escape lighting

• Provided on all escape routes to assist in
  evacuation and should cover
• Exit doors and escape routes
• Intersections of corridors
• Outside each final exit and external escape
  routes and stairways
• Changes in level
• Fire equipment and alarm call points

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Signs and notices

• Comply with British or European standards
• Not mixed
• Be fire resistant

• British Standard
• European Standard

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Installation, testing maintenance

• Installed by competent persons
• Maintained in line with manufacturers guidance
• Tested weekly
• Inspected quarterly
• Records kept for inspection

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Any questions?
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4. Record, plan, inform, instruct train

• Fire risk assessment recorded available for
  inspection
• Actions prioritised and implemented
• Evacuation plans developed, implemented and
  tested at least twice annually or once per term
• Employee groups informed of results
• Employees, visitors, contractors given adequate
  training and instruction

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5. Review

• Review risk assessments, plans etc
• When changes occur changes to work processes,
  alterations to the building or work patterns
• Introduction of new equipment, hazardous
  substances, significant increase in people
• At least annually

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We dont want to end up like this
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Or this
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Any questions?