Fire Safety And Emergency Planning

Have you ever wondered how your organisation would cope in the event of an emergency such as a fire? Do you know who is responsible for fire safety in your workplace? Don’t leave it until it’s too late – plan today for a fire emergency!

Who is Responsible for Fire Safety in Your Workplace?

In England, the person responsible for fire safety in a building is typically known as the “Responsible Person” under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

If you are an employer or business owner, you are most likely the Responsible Person for fire safety in your place of work.

Where the premises are not under the employer’s control, then the Responsible Person is most likely the owner, landlord, occupier, or anyone else with control of the premises, for example, the facilities manager or the building manager.

See more here about who is responsible for fire safety.

What are the Main Duties of the Person Responsible for Fire Safety?

The person responsible for fire safety will need to properly manage the following:

• A fire risk assessment of the premises which must be reviewed regularly
• Fire evacuation planning
• Staff information, fire safety instruction, induction and training
• Putting in place, and maintaining appropriate fire safety measures
• Safe storage of hazardous materials and control measures to prevent ignition
• Maintaining escape routes

Read on to find out more.

Fire Risk Assessment

The Fire Order requires the responsible person to carry out a “suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks on the premises …” If you are the Responsible Person, you are required to carry this out. If you are unable to, or if you feel underqualified, then you must arrange for a competent person to do so for you.

A fire risk assessment of your premises identifies any hazards so that they are dealt with before any emergency arises.

It will also identify anyone who is at risk and those who need their own personal evacuation plan (PEEP).

Once the assessment is completed, an action plan will allow you to eliminate or reduce any risk by implementing appropriate safety measures such as fire doors and emergency lighting.

It is important to share findings: staff or their representatives must be aware of any risks identified in the fire risk assessment

Plan when to review the assessment at regular intervals or when changes are made i.e. building alternations.

Fire Evacuation Planning

At the very least, a basic fire evacuation plan must show you have provided the following:

• Fire alarms – Clear instructions about sounding the alarm must be visible to anyone in the building.
• Delegated person(s) for calling emergency services – There must be a clear understanding of who calls 999. Without a designated person, you risk being in the unthinkable position of no one calling 999.
• Escape routes – In premises where staff or visitors may be unfamiliar with the layout of the premises, use maps to enable people to quickly identify key escape routes. Any map used for this purpose must show clearly marked escape routes and emergency exits. Passageways to escape routes must be clear and easy to pass through.
• Emergency exits (fire exits) – You must have a sufficient number of exits. Any designated emergency exit must not be obstructed at any time. Everyone must know the location of the exits and they must be easy to navigate to. All emergency exit doors and any doors leading to them must be unlocked at all times.
• Emergency lighting – You will probably need to provide emergency lighting. The legal requirement is that non-domestic buildings must be safe at all times, even if a power failure occurs. Therefore, nearly all business premises must have compliant, emergency lighting fitted.
• Meeting place and roll call – All staff and visitors should be made aware of the designated meeting place should an evacuation take place. The nominated person must take a roll call once everyone has congregated to determine everyone is present.
• Designated person(s) to liaise with emergency services – A nominated person is a liaison between your workforce and the emergency services who will need to be informed immediately if a person is missing. Liaising may include traffic management of emergency vehicles. A fire risk assessment will identify any requirements needed here.
• Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans – Required for anyone who needs additional help to evacuate the building in an emergency.
• Location of firefighting equipment – Siting the extinguishers in conspicuous positions so that they can easily be seen. You don’t want to draw people further into the building so site them on escape routes, near doors and stairs. Extinguishers must also be placed in hazardous areas i.e. cooking areas.

Staff information, instruction, induction and training

It is up to the Responsible Person to ensure that staff are adequately trained on what to do in the event of a fire. You must be sure all occupants are familiar with emergency procedures including escape routes and assembly points.

Basic Fire Safety Training Everyone in your workforce needs to know how to prevent fire and understand what actions to take in the case of an emergency.

A Fire Safety Training Course will provide this instruction. It should cover the types of fire, common causes of workplace fires, how fires spread, raising the alarm and basic evacuation procedures.

In addition, a fire drill should be carried out annually at least. This provides a good opportunity to ensure everyone knows the drill in an emergency.

Fire Warden Training Your organisation must also have designated fire wardens (fire marshals). Your fire risk assessment will identify how many you need on your premises. Numbers depend on the level of risk and the number of people employed.

Staff appointed as fire wardens should attend an accredited Fire Warden Training Course to ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills needed to deal with an emergency.

Fire Safety Measures

• Ensuring that appropriate fire safety measures are in place based on the findings of the fire risk assessment.
• This includes installing and maintaining fire detection and alarm systems, emergency lighting, fire extinguishers, and fire doors.

Safe Storage of Hazardous Materials

• Managing and safely storing hazardous materials to minimize the risk of fire.
• Implementing control measures to prevent ignition and spread of fire involving these materials.

Maintaining Escape Routes

• Ensuring that escape routes are kept clear and unobstructed at all times.
• Making sure that escape routes are clearly marked and easily accessible.

Don’t learn the hard way. Make sure you plan for emergencies. Hopefully, you will never need to put these plans into action, but if you do, you will be very glad that they are in place.

Remember, preparation can save lives and your business.