The Fire Safety Management and Fire Protection Measures - Term Paper Example

Fire Safety Building regulations are specific to the nature of construction such as a cinema theater, multistory apartment, office space or commercial space, the safety measures for these buildings will differ accordingly. Fire safety management is a process that starts from the initial design and structure of the building and aims at minimizing the occurrence and appropriate safety measures taken to ensure the safety of the people. (Fire safety, 2006).Effective fire safety management helps in Spreading awareness of the fire safety To take appropriate behavior to reduce the number of causalities Training staff and inclusion of a well planned evacuation program in place to ensure all the occupants get out of the building in time To have frequent checks to ensure the safety measures are in working condition and all the safety measures are available(Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Fire alarm and fire detection systems Every building should have minimum requirements of fire protection measures which help the occupants in a timely escape in the event of fire. The building should have both active and passive fire protection in place to ensure safety. This includes alarms, fire detection and safe escape strategies. Placing fire alarms and fire detections are the minimum requirements for any premises. The premises should have better and sophisticated system in place which will help in performing the following functions such as- Power plant and air conditioning plant to be shut down Releasing fire protection equipment in the event of fire Activating ventilation systems Provide emergency escape lighting which will help the occupants locate the fire exits. Provision of fire alarm detectors can help in providing early warning for the building occupants. Fire alarm detectors help in increasing the occupant’s response time. The warning system helps in making the right decision for the occupants to evacuate or hold position in the building. The provision for fire alarm detectors is an additional fire safety and it depends upon the level of management and the number of occupants in the building. Voice alarm will help increase the speed of the response even if the occupants are not familiar with the building layout. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Fire Procedures: It is essential that the fire procedures take priority in the event of fire. Trained staffs should be available to be able to guide the occupants to a safe area. The escape flights should be constructed of materials which have limited combustibility. The escape stair should be broad enough to accommodate and have the capacity to a fit large number of people during an emergency evacuation. The fire safety procedure should also have a preferred method of evacuation for disabled people by horizontal evacuation. Provision of sprinklers is also recommended for hotel buildings. In the event of a fire, all the provisions and procedures are implemented to help in taking corrective course of action. The escape routes should be made available for use at any give point of time and should be free from obstruction. Fire safety signs, boards, extinguishers, manual call points, escape lighting are basic safety measures which are mandatory for any building. Planned inspection, audit and maintenance are very critical to ensure the systems in place are operating effectively. The evacuation procedure should necessarily ensure that The staff or the fire safety manager ensure no one is left behind in the premises All the occupants are assembled in a place which is safe It is very essential that fire instructions and procedures are accessible and easily understood by the people. Pictorial representation of the fire exits will also be helpful for the people along with the written instructions. Videos with subtitles will also help the disabled people to understand the safety procedures better. Fire safety manual should also be a part of the fire safety procedure. This should contain all the design information. It should clearly explain the fire safety planning, constructions, protection systems available, and any explicit assumptions made regarding the building. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Training Staffs for fire evacuation Staffs are to be trained to help in dealing with situations which would support in assisting occupants in evacuating the building as soon as possible. In the event of a fire breakout, the staffs must instruct the people to leave in an orderly manner and without much panic. The floor marshals or trained individuals should, Help in supervising the evacuation in the building and to ensure all the occupants have left the building Brief the fire service team with the necessary information Ensure people do not re-enter the building until the fire service team has authorized them to do so Instructing the people to move cars from the parking lot to avoid damage to physical property The staffs must be aware of disability awareness and the carry down procedures. The number of staff employed for fire safety service depends upon the usage of premises and the number of occupants. Good building structure and design, orientation information and proper training to staffs helps in assisting people with disabilities such as blind and people with cognitive disability. The management should ensure that the staff employed to help the disable people are fully trained in the techniques. Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is also recommended for people who require assistance to leave the building during an evacuation. The management should decide on the number of staff if PEEP is required to support. . It is recommended to maintain staff training records which includes dates of training provided and nature of training. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Fires training for the staffs are classified into 3 levels- Level 1: Adequate staffs are employed and trained in evacuation procedures, handling safety extinguishing equipments and in fire prevention techniques Level 2: Ensure sufficient numbers of staffs are trained in all the aspects in fire safety measurement. Level 3: General awareness and general training to the people and the staffs is provided on a periodic basis. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Human Behavior Any crowded area will have more additional risks involved because of the number of people and the irrational behavior. The width and the fire exits should be determined by number of occupants or people and depending upon the occupancy load factor, the exits width is determined. The following steps are recommended to ensure safety of the people and to avoid panicking. All exit doors are free from obstruction so that in the event of a fire, bottle necks and stampedes are not formed. All emergency safety measures are in working order The trained staff are available to assist other employees and to help disabled individuals There should be sufficient number of trained staff on the premises to ensure that the number of people admitted does not exceed the number that the premises are designed for. The emergency doors and exits must be designed and equipped in such a way that the occupants easily make their way through the exit doors. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Management Input The duty of the management team is to ensure that the fire safety systems placed will be appropriate. Effective management will ensure and contribute the protection of the building and the Occupants in many other ways such as- To avoid and prevent fire occurring in the building and taking all necessary preventive actions To reduce the risk, monitoring the fire prone risks areas and taking necessary course of action Being aware of the number and type of people inside the building (disabled, children, pregnant women) position and encompass necessary staff. Ensure all the fire safety measures are in place and in working condition and have periodic checks and audits to ensure that all the safety measures are in working condition Training adequate staff and planning the evacuation plan and ensure all the occupants leave the building if the event of fire (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Staffing requirement The staffing role is a very crucial and an important element in fire safety planning. The number of staff recruited for fire safety depends upon the category of building, number of occupants and the type of occupants. In place where the building has a high number of occupants, the staffing level will be high. The management will maintain sufficient trained staff with adequate training and take additional arrangements for disable people. Buildings such as hotels will require such staffing requirement although there are passive and active fire precautions. The management will also provide contingencies for sickness and other unexpected leaves. Another type of system will not have any contingency arrangements and will have any provision for regular patrols. A risk assessment program must be carried out which would take into consideration The occupancy level and this should be lower Management of the building and check if adequate staff are available to respond to emergency situations The fire safety precautions and measure must be good. Fire alarms, detections systems, fire exits, emergency lightings should be available The occupants must be a position to self evacuate by looking at the signs boards. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Communication Effective communication between the management, staff and occupants is very critical and the potential loss of assets, lives can be saved and it is considered as an essential part of the effective fire safety management. The safety manager should ensure all the necessary actions are in place and there is good flow in the chain of communication. The voice message should be used and the language of communication should be selected Auditing the communication systems used by the building as a part of the overall testing of fire safety procedures Business continuity plan should also be made available to ensure the work is not affected Pictorial representation and simple use of language for instructions must be used. Communication to disabled people and taking the appropriate course of action It is also recommended to have a communication procedure in place which would state the parties to be involved in the event of fire between the management, support team, occupants and the fire service team. In the course of any fire breakout, all the parties involved should be informed immediately with all the relevant information. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Lightings: All the escape exits must have good artificial lighting system which helps in illuminating the route even if there is a power supply breakdown. It is recommended to have additional protected circuits which would be useful to function even during fire accident. Find below the recommended lighting systems to be used for various types of buildings. (Fire safety ,2006) Light diffusers can also be installed which allow light to pass through. However, thermoplastic lighting diffusers should not be used in fire resistant ceiling. (Fire safety ,2006) Signs and Notices All building except flats must have escape routes and sign boards marked distinctively. Signs with pictorial representation of the exits and general fire safety instructions are the general rules. Depending upon the building type, additional signs may be required under the legislation. Fire safety notices should be exhibited in all floors of the hotel building so that the occupants are made aware of the actions to be taken upon the fire accident and also provides the calling procedure that should be maintained. Notices should be made available in readable format and language and pictorial representation should also be considered. Safety fire notices are used to inform: Occupants on the procedure to be taken and provides all the passive fire protections and safety measures The occupants on the necessary course of action to be taken with respect to fire alarms, voice messages and emergency planning. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) Fire Extinguishers Training should be provided to both the management and the staffs regarding the operation of suitable fire extinguisher. A separate person should be involved to carry out the fire fighting equipment is highly recommended for a hotel construction. It is the duty of the fire safety manager to check if the fire extinguishers and hose reels are in a working condition on a periodic basis and any damage to the unit should be immediately replaced. If the extinguisher has been used for fire fighting purpose, it needs to be replaced immediately. Fire fighting equipment and portable fire extinguisher must be placed in the position as specified by the risk assessment findings. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) CONCLUSION: For all buildings, fire protection measures are very essential and the building plan should have the following details Escape routes Fire doors and other relevant hardware’s Escape strategies, business continuity plan Risk assessment and analysis to be done for the building Sprinkler system and other fire control mechanisms Fire alarms, fire detectors, installation of CCTV in all the hotel floors, fire extinguishers and other fire fighting equipments The fire safety management plays a critical role of designing, managing the issues and events arising out of fire safety of the building. They help in Effective management and control Proper designing and execution of fire management strategies Preparing fire safety manuals Segregation of high fire risk areas in the building For hotels, the above measures need to be kept in mind for fire safety protections. Literary References Fire safety (2006) the building regulations 2000, retrieved 15th march 2010 http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_App_Doc_B_v2.pdf Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings(2008), BSI British Standard retrieved 15th March 2010 http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_App_Doc_B_v2.pdf Read More