An Analysis of Fire Risk Assessment - Report Example

An analysis of fire risk assessment and planning within buildings in the city Customer Inserts His/Her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 21, 09, 2010 An analysis of fire risk assessment and planning within buildings in the city Introduction Different buildings in a certain city have different risk assessment plans according to the design of the buildings and the capacity of people the building can handle. The purpose the building is used for can also dictate the type of risk management and assessment that is to be used to evaluate the building. The study hence tries to uncover and evaluate the effectiveness of the various risk assessment plans in the different buildings within a city. The risk assessment plans are not static but change with different legislations and in tune with increase of risks. For example, when the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 introduced, there was the abolition of fire certificates and in its place the job of evaluating was to be done by a professional and completing the fire assessments. The importance of a risk assessment plan All buildings have very many factors and probable causes of fires. Buildings have electric connections and circuiting that if not well installed or maintained can cause big fires due do short-circuiting or other electric faults. Most of the electric fires usually end up with disastrous results because water cannot be used to extinguish them .An example of a case of lethal electric fires was on the MGM grand casino and hotel in Las Vegas, USA which apart from destroying property worth millions, also caused a number of deaths. There are also other causes of fires in a building like unchecked leakages of gas or spilling of flammable products, which can also cause these fires. With a proper fire risk management plan, the handling of these lethal flammable products can be effective to prevent any accident. In the event of a fire in a building, proper escape routes should be well maintained and labeled to prevent deaths. In most fires, people do not die from the actual fires but from the inhalation of smoke hence, this smoke should have effective exit points. Fire risk management also makes sure that fire-warning system installations are present and fire extinguishers are in good working conditions and installed in the right places and in the right numbers. Having an effective fire risk assessment plan This is an organized effort to determine the types of fire risks in a building and ways to prevent them from ever occurring. They include many aspects of planning because each building has its own risks and unique solutions. The assessment that is first done should include a complete survey of the site with the location and the neighboring obstacles taken into consideration. The next step is the complete review of the existing plans and making of recommendations from these findings. The assessment plan should include the elimination or containment of the various ignition points within the building that also includes the management of the hazardous and dangerous materials. The next step is the education of the occupants of the buildings on the various actions in case a fire accident was to occur which should also include on how to handle minor fires and avoid them spreading. The other plan should include the usage of fire fighting equipments and knowing where their installation location places are. They should be installed in the public places that are easy to access to every member of the building. The installation of proper fire detection system like smoke detectors should also be done and then tested to ensure they are in good working order. The final step is the hanging of proper signs in the fire escape routes and the location of fire extinguishers, which is instrumental in reducing fire risks. The signs are supposed to be illuminator coated to enable them to be visible in case of a blackout during a fire case. Enough trained fire marshals should be available in the building to assist in the evacuation and the containment of the fire before the firefighters arrive. The fire marshals should also be responsible for head counts at the fire assembly points (UCL fire safety and management –fire risk assessment Policy 2008). How to assess fire risks in a building As earlier stated, building fires are very dangerous and lethal. They have been the causes of deadly fires in the past with devastating loss of life and property. Due to this, concern has grown over the increasing cases but prevention of such cases is possible if conduction of enough research and education to stem this catastrophe was done. Buildings should have a team of fire risk management personnel to ensure their complete safety. The process can be done at the professional level by a qualified personnel or in some cases, it can be done by the owner of the building quickly and cheaply. In carrying out this process, there is the use of a template. The template, which is the same as a good fire risk assessment form, should be able to guide the person doing the assessment on what to look for and what to change once the examination is complete. The form or the template usually follows a clear government or local authority guidelines structures. The structures should guide the inspector when looking for the source of risks and ways of recording the findings. The preparation of a fire risk assessment form by the person taking the assessment is possible and if not the forms can be downloaded from the sites dealing with the process of fire risks management. These steps however, are dependent on the size and activities performed in the building (Garrow 2009). For simple buildings like small kiosks, anybody with a sense of safety can be able to evaluate the place and decide on what to do. On the other hand, buildings like factories require detailed knowledge of fire risk assessment process and a professional should do assessment. Once the conclusion of all the assessments is done, the recording of the findings from the analysis and recommendations of the findings is complete. In some countries or states, a fire inspector visits every building at least once every year to validate the findings. The inspector in most cases deals with the auditing of the findings by giving advice on what to do or informing on what the law requires on a particular area. Mostly, insurance companies use the assessment form to pay fire claims and if found to be faulty, it is very difficult to claim any compensation (Casey 2010). The objectives of the study To investigate on the shortcomings of the existing fire risk assessment plans. Investigate and recommend on the good fire risk assessments methods that are both effective and practical. Collect data on the assessments plans of the different buildings and do a comparison on their effectiveness Provide insight on the promotion of the fire risk assessment plans to the public Use the findings to be able to formulate on the future methods of fire risks assessment plans. Offer advice on the government or the relevant agencies on the legislations to formulate concerning the fire risk assessment plans. Problem statement In this report, the task is to carry out the analysis of the different fire risk assessment plan available on the different buildings within a city. There is then the studying of the methods used, the risk points evaluated, and the findings recorded. Literature review There has been conduction of some amount of research concerning this topic. Since fire risks are universal occurrences, over the globe different countries and agencies have taken it upon themselves to able to conduct favorable research and come out with considerable results and offer relevant insight on how to deal with them. In the people’s republic of Laos, there was a study carried on the fire risks. The study was on Vientiane, which is the largest city in the country. Vientiane has a population has a population of about 133,000 people and has numerous buildings both governmental and commercial. The last time the city fire service received trucks, it was from JICA and it was ten years ago so there was a discovery that the city needed assistance due to lack of equipment to offer training to the fire fighters and to upgrade the existing equipment. There was also a need to implement an outreach program to educate both civil servants and workers from the private sector and legal considerations floated to enable the council to extend its mission. On the response areas, there was a decision that an improved alert system was needed to ensure that any response to the fire emergency was done at the fastest time possible to minimize the damage caused by the fire (Fire-RiskAssessment.com 2008-10). From the study, there was a conclusion that; It was paramount to include volunteers in the risk assessment team, as they could be the source of information from one area to another. There should be well planning of the city’s buildings despite the cost to avoid loss of life and damage to property. There was also a conclusion that any risk assessment or fire management process should include the affected stakeholders as much as possible. This include institutions that should be a part of the survey teams. A second case study involves the town of Manchester in England. After some minor and major accidents concerning fires, the government decided to implemented new fire rules and regulations in the year 2006. The regulations require the issuing of every building with a certificate by the fire brigade as to having a fire risk assessment. The official statement stated, “A Fire Risk Assessment must be carried out by the owner of the building or by any person that has some level of control in the premises, taking reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fire” (Casey 2010, p.1). There is following of this rule to the latter, as the owner of the building now has to walk around his building while taking notes of the areas of concern and recording it in the fire assessment form. Occasionally a trained fire fighter visits to ensure that all the required codes are in place and the users of the building are safe then inspects the building (Casey 2010). Other well-define methods exists that clearly explain what to do in case of occurrence of a fire. For example, the fire protection association of London has outlined the following of five methods to assess the risks posed by fire. The steps include: The act of looking for hazards present in the building. This step involves the careful scrutiny of the whole building for any sign of fire hazards Deciding on the person who can be harmed and how he can be harmed Evaluating the risks and making sure that all the safety precautions are present and that they are adequate Recording the findings on the assessment forms or on the templates Later reviewing the assessment to come up with recommendations Research methodology Research methodology involves the process of carrying out a research. Since the proposed study has results that are varying in different buildings and the purpose of the study is for comparison purposes then to give recommendations, then the use of semi-structured interview will give the best results. The advantage of the semi-structured interview is that the researcher has the freedom and the choice of changing the questions asked form one study area to the other each set of questions to obtain the maximum results. The method involves the changing of questions, revising others and even skipping some. The carrying out of the research dissertation can be done as follows: Identifying the areas of study by checking if all the elements that are being researched are present Form the block or area of study where there is identification of a sample of about 20 buildings. The buildings should be busy buildings and if possible, they should be serving different purposes. The researcher can then proceed to the buildings and carry out the fire assessment risks if there is access to the buildings. If not, then the researcher should interview the risk manager of each of the buildings. There is taking of care is while conducting the interview to ensure that all the questions are according to the semi-structured method and are well answered. Once the collection of the data is complete, then the researcher should conduct a qualitative evaluation of the assessment .The evaluation should be able to point out the advantages of a specific method and dissect the shortcomings of the method too. After the evaluation is complete, there is discussion at length of the overall conclusions. Finally, recommendations and the suggestions of the areas to improve are given to the relevant agency or authority for study or implementation. Reasons for the study It is hoped that the study can be of help especially in finding out the greatest risk that are present on these buildings with the intention of learning from the short comings and to develop better methods of avoiding or combating future fire accidents with ease. Relevant authorities should formulate the policies to adopt in an attempt to prevent fire risks and ensuring that all buildings are safe (Risk Solutions International 2006). Estimated time scale for the study One need to plan an effective time of the study so that there cost is estimate and reviewing the number of work force and materials required for the task. The initial stage involves the formulation of the problem and getting the fire risk assessment questions to cover all the necessary areas required by the study. This activity can take up to five days but can be more or less depending on the number of questions planed. The next step would include the actual identification of the buildings and seeking relevant permissions to sample them. If there is denial of permissions, then there should be arrangements with the fire risks officer on the time and date of the interview. The stage can take from five to seven days depending on the cooperation of the relevant people. The third stage is the actual collection of the required data or interviewing the fire officer. This process should be taken seriously and should not be rushed because of the risk of corrupting the results. On this note, each day should be given to specific building hence the process should take a minimum of twenty days. After the data collection, the next stage is the qualitative analysis of the collected information. Depending on the complexity of the data, the process can take from a few days to up to ten days. To save on time summarizing and conclusions should be done concurrently with the evaluation. Finally, the stage of report writing should come at the end. The report should be all inclusive of all the parameters as required. After the conclusions, there should be the forwarding of the report to the sponsoring body or the relevant authority for possible implementations or considerations (SAMPLE FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT 2008). Problems encountered There was encountering of some problems while doing the study. The first challenge would be to deal with the unwilling owners to give permission access to their buildings or the refusal of the fire officers to give interviews. In addition, some of the fire officers may give interviews but give the wrong responses to the questions. This means that wrong information will be compiled giving wrong results. Some unexpected misfortunes may also occur during the study. The researcher or the interviewees may fall sick leading to the extension to the time of the conduction of the research (Zurich n.d). Provisional findings It was found out that although exits stairs and evacuation stairs existed, none of the buildings had any provision for the disabled people. It was noted that the shutters and doors did not release automatically in case of fires as required by the law. It was discovered that some people in the buildings did not know the location of the firefighting equipment and some of those who knew did not know how to use them. It was also noted that some buildings that are required to have automatic extinguishing systems did not posses them. It was found out that some complex buildings did not have schematic fire systems. Recommendations Artificial illumination should be provided in all the sign areas and places of fire escape routes. In case of darkness this signs should be able to be self-illuminated to assist in the showing of the way to safety. The fire escape should also be labeled in big writings FIRE ESCAPE to enable every user of the building to have an idea of the location and the direction. Finally, the fire escape route should be kept as clear as possible to avoid obstacles in the case of fires. Fire extinguishers should be placed in places of most fire probability and they should be within reach of every one. The word FIRE EXTINGUISHER should be written on the top of the extinguishers. Finally, training and proper education should be given to the users of the building on the techniques to use the extinguishers and the different types of extinguishers required to put out different fires. All buildings should practice fire drills at least twice every year. A real fire situation should be simulated and the responses evaluated to ensure in the event of the threat, correct procedures were in use. Additionally fire marshals from within the building populace should be indentified and trained on how to use firefighting equipment when the occurrence of such an emergency occurs. Latest fire system should be installed in the buildings to ensure that adequate warning is given to the occupants of the buildings. The alarm should be loud and linked up to a fire station so that the response is automatic and immediate. The fire alarm system should be tested once in a while to ensure that it is in good working order. References Casey, T 2010, Fire Risk Assessment75, viewed on 21 September 2010, http://hubpages.com/hub/Fire-risk-assessment-a-case-study Casey, Tony 2010, Fire Risk Assessment Procedure, viewed on 21 September 2010, http://ezinearticles.com/?Fire-Risk-Assessment-Procedure&id=2761377 Fire-RiskAssessment.com 2008-10, Fire Risk Assessment - Advice and Guidance, viewed on 21 September 2010, http://www.fire-riskassessment.com/ Garrow, KD 2009, Fire Risk Assessment Template – Advice on How to Carry out Your Own Fire Risk Assessment, viewed on 21 September 2010, http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/fire-risk-assessment-template-advice-on-how-to-carry-out-your-own-fire-risk-assessment-1077184.html Risk Solutions International 2006, industry focus: Real Estate, viewed on 21 September 2010, http://www.rsi-llc.com/industries/realestate.html SAMPLE FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT 2008, viewed on 21 September 2010, http://www.ukfiretraining.com/inp/pdf/sample-risk-assessment.pdf UCL fire safety and management –fire risk assessment Policy 2008, viewed on 21 September 2010, http://www.ucl.ac.uk/efd/maintenance/fire/documents/UCLFire_TN_075.pdf Zurich n.d, Fire risk assessment and management: Product information, viewed on 21 September 2010, http://www.zurich.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0968D429-7B84-4F72-895B-90765A712B51/0/Fireriskassessmentandmanagementproductsheet.pdf Appendix This is how a rough semi structured interview should look like, Does the building have a trained fire risk assessment team? How often and what was the last time the building had a fire drill? How many firefighting equipment are present in the building and in what rate are they tested to ensure they are in working order? What are the main sources of ignition in the building? Are the fire escape routes adequate and well labeled? Are most employees trained on the fire safety techniques? What improvements have been done on the fire risk assessment issues? Read More