Fire Safety - JB Firth Building - Assignment Example

Fire Safety Plan Name Course Name Institution Executive summary It is apparent that fire is the major risk that many organizations experience. It is therefore vitally important that this organizations to continually assess risks and create plans to assess them. A risk management plan is a kind of document that is prepared with an aim of foreseeing risks, estimating the effects of risks, and creating response plans to alleviate them. It comprises an examination of probable risks which have both low and high effects, in addition to strategies aimed at mitigating such risks in order to prevent or avoid such risks. This report has encompassed fire management plan for the University of Central Lancashire for their new JB Firth Building. Among the things discussed are fire safety policy statement, fire safety management structure, evacuation strategies, and emergency response, fire risk assessment among others. Introduction A risk management plan is a kind of document that is prepared with an aim of foreseeing risks, estimating the effects of risks, and creating response plans to alleviate them (Philand Ferrett, 2009). Besides, it also encompasses of a risk assessment matrix. It is true that risks are intrinsic within organizations and as a result, it is important for individual responsible to continually assess risks and create plans to assess them. A risk management plan encompasses an examination of probable risks which have both low and high effects, in addition to strategies aimed at mitigating such risks in order to prevent or avoid such risks (Philand Ferrett, 2009). It is essential for the team responsible to periodically review the risk management plan in order to make certain that the analysis mirrors the actual likely risks. This report will assess the new building at the university, JB Firth Building, which is meant to be the new school of forensics and investigative sciences. The JB Firth Building is constructed on a sloping site near the Maudland Building. The building majorly constitutes of staff offices, research as well as teaching laboratories and fire laboratories. The JB Firth Building will have four levels. Each of these levels will be linked by a series of voids. The building’s main entrance will be at the third level and will be accessed from the Maudland Bank. Additionally, the building will be linked to the existing Maudland Building at the 1, 2 and 3 levels by a bridge link. The building also have a smoke detector, CCTV camera, shelter, chemical lab on each floor, an automatic door close in case of fire or smoke and a swapping card to indicate the number of people trapped inside in case of a fire outbreak. The aim of the report is to prepare a fire management plan for the University of Central Lancashire in accordance to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In order to achieve its goal, the report will mainly use the BS999, HSE and fire safety strategies. This is a fire safety code of practice for building design, management as well as use (Greenand Joinson, 2008). It gives the guidelines for obtaining fire safety legislation via a flexible approach to design. Additionally, BS999 offers a risk based structure, which takes into consideration different human factors. This includes enhancing the emergency exit routes for the disabled. The code of practice is used both the new and existing buildings (Green and Joinson, 2008). Fire safety policy statement A fire safety policy sets out the fire safety objectives of an organization and provides an order to the employees to execute the right fire safety procedures (Roughton, 2002). The University of Central Lancashire understands that fire is a major risk to its employees, members, students as well as the members of the public who pay visit to the premises. Moreover, risk because of fire impedes continuing research and any teaching functions underway in the university. Therefore, the university guarantees that fire safety is a priority in all the areas under its control. It will also ensure that far as is reasonably practicable that fire risk management will be in accordance to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Fire safety management structure This is a document containing detailed roles as well as responsibilities and the procedural guidelines which are necessitated to guarantee an effective execution of the fire safety policy to ensure fire safety management and the reduction of risk (Great Britain: Department for Communities and Local Government, 2006). The University of Central Lancashire will assign roles to its employees in order to ensure effective fire risk management. In addition, it will also train its employees on how to use the fire fighting to ascertain that the plan works out as expected. Evacuation strategies Evacuation strategies are a set of actions that ought to be undertaken by the staff in case of fire incidents and the procedures to call a fire brigade as necessitated by the Fire Brigades Act 1938 (Das, 2006). The university should ensure that it carries out fire execution exercises within the building each term for instance after every three months. This will ensure that it educates the employees and students the appropriate way of evacuating a building in case of a fire incident. In addition, it will ensure that the organization meets the legal obligations. The evacuations will be performed under the guidance of a fire safety officer (Arthur, 2003). The university will also ensure to make provisions for the disabled to safely evacuate from the building. Due to the people with disabilities, special equipment should be installed to the JB Firth Building. This includes smoke alarms with a vibrating pad or a flashing light for those who have a hearing impairment (Safelincs Ltd, 2011). Besides, the university will ensure that the corridors are clear to ease the evacuation. The fire evacuation strategies of the JB Firth Building should be in accordance to the procedures established in the fire emergency plan. In case of a fire alarm outside the operating business hours, all the employees and staff should evacuate the building(Arthur, 2003). The university will sensitize the fire procedures to the staff, students and the visitors. Emergency response A fire emergency response plan is a detailed documentation of the procedures to be followed in case of a fire incident to minimize injury and loss. The university will ensure that it sensitizes all its employees on the emergency response plan in accordance to the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (Grice, 2009). All the employees and the students should be made familiar with the procedures of responding to fire emergency such as pulling the closest fire alarm in the event of a fire incident, contacting the fire brigade, using the existing fire fighting equipment and appropriate evacuation form the building(Arthur, 2003). Fire alarm and detection It is apparent that fire alarm and detection systems allow for a fire to be detected in time and a warning given to allowing people to evacuate for the building safely and the emergency services notified(Das, 2006). The building in question has a smoke detector, CCTV and an automatic door close when there is fire or smoke to alert people of the fire incident. Fire prevention and arson awareness Prevention of fire is a very important function of any department and the University of Central Lancashire is no exception. The main aim of fire prevention is to create awareness to the public and or the arsons on the right precautions to be undertaken in the event of a fire and to educate them on how to survive potentially harmful fires (Roughton, 2002). The university will ensure that it has a fire prevention officer in accordance to the law whose main responsibility will be to ensure fire prevention. Routine procedures for staff It is necessitated by the fire safety law that all the employees to be guided on the steps to undertake in the advent of a fire incident (Grice, 2009). The university should publish a fire routine procedure in a form entitled for instance “Fire Action” to be used in the building with proper instructions of the actions to be taken. The university should also ensure that the routine procedures are evenly distributed in the building Selection and control of materials The selection of the materials to be used depends on the kind of risk (Das, 2006). According to the law, the university should are appropriately maintained to ensure that fire safety is attained. The university should also exercise control over the equipment in that they should only be used by competent persons for the right task. Maintenance and testing of fire safety systems The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 necessitates that a fire safety program be adopted by all public buildings. Therefore, the university has a responsibility to ensure that it has a fire safety program whose aim is to ensure maintenance tests and procedures are performed to guarantee that the fire safety and detection devices are in good operating conditions. In order to achieve this, the university will ensure that in accordance to the law, all its fire fighting devices are inspected and tested at least every year by the Environmental, Health and Safety Services (Christian, 2003). Decoration, alterations and extensions The university well understands the Health & Safety and Fire Regulations. Therefore, it is going to ensure that it comply with the legal requirements for constructing and designing new buildings (University of Michigan, 1998). The regulations provide for the health, safety as well as welfare of people, the conservation of energy and fuel and access for persons with physical impairments (Safelincs Ltd, 2011). Staff training and fire drills According to the law, all the staffs are entitled to sufficient and suitable training in fire safety. The university fire officer should ensure that fire safety training that covers all the aspects in fire safety is offered to the staff at consistent intervals. Moreover, it is vitally important that all the fire drill comprising of the fire alarm system as well as the planned arrangements for evacuation from the building be tested per year (Das, 2006. Fire risk assessments A risk assessment can be defined as a careful examination of the hazards in the workplace that can cause harm to the employees, in order to size up if the organization has taken adequate precautions or more should be done in order to prevent the harm(Great Britain: Department for Communities and Local Government, 2006). The organization has the responsibility of protecting its personnel form any harm that may be caused by a failure to undertake realistic control measures. The law does not expect organizations to eradicate all risks, but it necessitates organizations to protect its employees as much as it is sensibly practical. It is apparent that, risk assessments are very vital in all organizations as they form a fundamental part of an efficient occupational health and safety management plan (Christian, 2003). It is recommended that all organizations need to perform risk assessments in order to: Creating awareness of risks and hazards Identifying individuals at risk (personnel, contractors, visitors, cleaners or the public) Determining whether the current control measures are enough or whether more should be put in place Preventing illnesses or injuries when carried out at the planning or design stage Prioritizing hazards and control measures (Yung, 2009) Steps of fire risk assessment Identify the fire hazard Fires occur because of ignition, oxygen or fuel. There are a number of potential sources of ignitions which include the deliberate ignition commonly referred to as arson, naked flames for instance matches and smokers materials as well as hot works such as electrical materials among others(Das, 2006). Identify people at risk The greatest danger in the event of a fire is the spread of this fire, smoke as well as heat throughout the premises. Those people living in the premises can be adversely affected by the products of combustion especially if the fire grows beyond control and the house has no fire escape. Identifying people at risk entails assessing the speed of spread of fire, the number of people in the premises as well as the arrangements to give people warnings in case there is an event of fire (Das, 2006). In this case identifying the people at risk will entail assessing the nature of the university and the people present including the staff, students and the visitors. Evaluating the risks After identifying the hazards and the people at risk, an assessment of the impacts of the hazard must be done. This assessment should take into consideration the control measures in place. This is to determine whether more control measures are required to minimize the risk. Evidently, the further control measures are in a number of categories, which include; means of escape, safety management systems for fires, fire-warning systems and staff and student training (Das, 2006). Recording your findings Recording the findings of your risk assessment is of paramount. The record should entail specific people at risk and the control measures undertaken to minimize the risk. Moreover, it should indicate whether the control measures taken are adequate or more are needed to bring the risk to some acceptable level (Das, 2006). Revising and reviewing the risk as assessment It is evident that the fire risk assessment is process that is continuous and it necessitates monitoring and auditing. In addition, effective control measures should be maintained to help minimize the risk of fire. To ensure that you keep track of the any changes in the risk assessment it is significant to revise and review it regularly (Das, 2006). As is necessitated by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the university will provide a fire risk assessment in case of a fire incident, which comprises an emergency evacuation, plan for all the persons probably in the building including the physically impaired as well as how the plan is to be executed. In addition, it will ensure that its fire risk assessment documents are available for inspection by the fire and rescue service. Record keeping As is evident from the risk assessment, recording the findings of a fire risk assessment is very important. The record should entail specific people at risk and the control measures undertaken to minimize the risk. Moreover, the record should entail the control measures used (Grice, 2009). Audit and updating of this manual Fire risk assessment is a continuous process, which requires that a frequent auditing is done and the details updated. This will help the university in the future in the risk assessment and control measures in the future. It will also enable the university keep track of the fire incidences to be able to develop new control measure in the future. The manual is then handed in to the health and safety department for filling. The manual should also be available for inspection by the fire and rescue service (Grice, 2009). Conclusion It is apparent that, risk assessments are very vital in all organizations as they form a fundamental part of an efficient occupational health and safety management plan. It is recommended that all organizations need to perform risk assessments in order to ensure a safe working environment. This report has encompassed fire management plan for the University of Central Lancashire for their new JB Firth Building. Among the things discussed are fire safety policy statement, fire safety management structure, evacuation strategies, and emergency response, fire risk assessment among others. In conclusion, for an effective fire safety program the university should ensure it enhances a collaborative working towards ensuring fire safety in all areas under its control. Moreover, they should ensure an effective safety culture within the University. References Arthur, E. C., (2003) Operation of Fire Protection Systems NFPA (Series), Jones & Bartlett Learning, London Arthur, E. C., (2003) Organizing For Fire and Rescue Services NFPA (Series), Jones & Bartlett Learning, London Christian, S. D., (2003) A Guide to Fire Safety Engineering, BSI British Standards Institution, London Das, S. 2006, Risk management, Volume 1, 3rd Ed., John Wiley and Sons, Oxford Great Britain: Department for Communities and Local Government, (2006) Fire Safety Risk Assessment: Educational Premises, The Stationery Office, London Green, M. and Joinson, J., (2008) BS 9999:2008 Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings. Accessed on May 8, 2012. http://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030158436 Grice, A, (2009) Fire Risk: Fire Safety Law and Its Practical Application, Thorogood Publishing, London Phil, H, and Ferrett, E. (2009) Introduction to health and safety at work, Butterworth-Heinemann, London Roughton, J. (2002) Developing an Effective Safety Culture: A Leadership Approach, 1st Ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, London Safelincs Ltd, 2011, Fire Safety for Special Needs Groups. Accessed on May 8, 2012. http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-safety-for-special-needs-groups/ University of Michigan, (1998), The Architects' journal, Volume 207, The Architectural Press ltd., Michigan Yung, D., (2009) Principles of Fire Risk Assessment in Buildings, John Wiley and Sons, United Kingdom Read More