Significance of Identifying Fire Risk in the Workplace in the UK - Case Study Example

Fire Safety (Significance of Identifying Fire Risk in the Workplace) i. Introduction Building fires are serious security threat. Fires pose the risk to human life, the probable destruction of properties and the damage caused from smoke and corrosive gases (Gustin 2007, p.202). Fire safety is only one of many safety issues which management must deal with to reduce the risk of injury or death predominantly in the workplace since fire has the potential to harm or kill significant numbers of people very quickly (Odpm 2006, p. 6). To prevent fire and protect the building and its occupants, it is essential to apply security measures such as fire risk assessments. Fire safety legislation is above all concerned with the preservation of life rather than preventing fires from starting or restraining the potential for fire to spread where life safety is not compromised. However, because the standards required fulfilling fire safety legislation normally involve fire-protected staircases, the dividing of large spaces into fire resisting compartments, the use of non-combustible or fire resisting elements of structure etc. have accompanying benefits to property protection (Dennett 2004, p.19). ii. Fire Risk Assessment A fire risk assessment is a planned and systematic look at premises, the activities carried on inside it and the probability that a fire could start and cause injury to those in and around the building. Determining the possibility of a fire is exceptionally complex because there are many aspects that go into such a calculation, such as the threat agent, whether natural or human, the building location, the building contents, and the service supported by the building (Landoll 2005, p.293). Generally, fire risk assessment is to recognize the fire hazards, decrease the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low as practically predictable, and to give us an idea of what physical fire precautions and management arrangements are essential to guarantee the safety of people in our building if a fire does start (Odpm 2006A, p.8). Every employee of any institution should be aware of procedures to follow in case of fire. They should know where the fire extinguishers are situated and how to apply them. They should know where the fire blankets are kept and how to use them or heavy towelling to smother clothing fires. More importantly, they should know the location of emergency exits and be familiar with evacuation routes. Fire spreads swiftly and it is essential for employees to know the fundamentals of what to do and also what not to do if a fire happen so they can respond swiftly and correctly (McCall and Tankersley 2007, p. 103). The best fire risk assessments are site specific. It should identify fire hazards in the workplace. This includes source of ignition, identification of persons at risk from fire, means of escape from the building, fire warning systems, fire-fighting facilities, fire safety procedures, and review of the controls in place and recommendation for enhancement where required (Perry 2003B, p.238). When it is necessary in order to safeguard the safety of relevant persons, the responsible person must ensure that the premises are, to the degree that it is suitable, equipped with proper fire-fighting equipment and with fire detectors and alarms. However, this does not mean the every workplace must have automatic fire detection equipment as in many workplaces; fires can be detected during working hours by observation and smell. During the assessment, concern must be given to the likelihood of fires starting in empty areas of other premises and spreading. Even during working hours, fires could build up undetected and if such fire could considerably jeopardize the safety of employees and other pertinent persons then some kind of fire detection equipment must be provided (Bateman 2006, p.260). iii. Means of Escape Escaping from a fire appears to be the most common response and those endangered by a fire elsewhere appears more eager to stay in their room than those gathered outside the building who often urge them to jump. Their readiness to jump from windows not only suggests the extent of apparent danger from the fire but also the height above grounds and the athleticism or youth of the jumper. In one hotel fire for instance, the only guest to leave his room in order to go after the suggested alternative escape route became the sole casualty. A number of hotel guests following signalled escape route faltered at a bolted emergency exit, unable to work out how to operate the lock (Harmathy 1985, p.415). Organizations may guard their assets from damaging effects of fire through restrictive exposure to fire, installing fire alarm systems, monitoring fire alarms, installing fire suppression equipment, and having fire evacuation plans. The best way to evade fire is by reducing the buildings contact to fire components. For instance, the materials used for construction of the building can seriously affect the combustibility of the building itself. Building construction types are classified according to the amount of time it takes a small fire to grow, consume the building, and lead to collapse. Fire safety standards and building codes for critical buildings call for a minimum fire resistance rating of 2 hours (Landoll 2005, p.294). Specifically in the United Kingdom, any building should be designed and constructed with appropriate provisions for the early warning of fire and appropriate means of escape. This is to make certain that people in case of fire can swiftly go to a place of safety outside the building. There should be adequate quantity of these escape routes advantageously located to enable persons to escape to a place of safety in the event of fire. These routes should be satisfactorily protected from the effects of fire when required and should be satisfactorily lit and signed. It should also have suitable facilities to either limit the entry of smoke to the escape routes or to control the fire and eradicate smoke. The fundamental principles for the design of means of escape state that there should be alternative means of escape from most circumstances. When direct escape to a place of safety is not possible, there should be a substitute route such as protected stairway leading to an exit within a realistic travel distance. However, escalators should not be counted as providing predictable exit capacity, although it is recognised that they are likely to be used by people who are escaping. Mechanised walkways could be accepted and their capacity assessed because of their use as walking route, while in the inactive mode (Stationery Office 2007, p.16). The design of means of escape and the provision of other fire safety measures such as a fire alarm system should be based on an assessment of the risk to occupants should a fire occur. There is always the possibility of the path of a single escape route being rendered impassable by fire, smoke, or fumes. Preferably, people should be able to turn their backs on a fire wherever it occurs and travel away from it to final exit or protected escape route leading to a place of safety. iv. Fire Warnings In most cases, the installation of smoke alarms or automatic fire detection and alarm systems, can considerably augment the level of safety by automatically giving early warning of fire. On the other hand, a fitting method of warning such as visual and audible fire alarm signal should be provided in buildings where it is expected that one or more person with impaired hearing may be in relative isolation and where there is no other suitable method of alerting them. In buildings such as schools, colleges, and offices where the population is controlled, a vibrating paging system may be more appropriate. However, where the only escape route from a work area is through an uninhabited outer area such as storerooms, the provision of a single domestic smoke alarm may be suitable. Such an alarm should conform to the British Standard 5446. Similarly, such domestic smoke alarms can be interlinked to provide protection in slightly more complex situations. However, higher risk workplaces will need more refined and dependable detection systems conforming to British Standard 5839 or ‘Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings Part 1’ (Bateman 2006, p.260). Research into the efficiency of voice warning systems has concluded that, although instructive messages are exceedingly useful, it is even more significant to provide a sufficient means of escape and support training. Visual alarm systems or beacons are used to supplement audible warning signals in situation where an audible system is probably to be useless, for instance, where the ambient noise levels in the building would make it hard to hear a perceptible signal. Beacons must be provided where ambient noise levels exceed 90 dB (A), or in areas where hearing protection is worn or people with hearing impairments may be present. When beacons are required, it should be distributed so that they can be seen from all normally accessible locations and under all normal lighting conditions. Flashing at a rate of 30 and 20 flashes per minute and can be easily distinguished from other visual signals used in the building. It should be bright enough to attract attention, but not so bright as to cause difficulty with vision due to glare. More importantly, is mounted at a height of 2.1m, but no closer than 0.150m to the ceiling. Fire alarm warnings for people with impaired hearing may also be provided as portable equipment, for instance, a radio page, or other systems using radio communication. It is possible to provide portable alarm devices to supplement the primary means of giving warning in case of fire (Furness and Muckett 2007, p.252). When an electrical fire-warning system is necessary then a simple arrangement usually includes a manual call points or break glass call points, electronic sirens or bells, and a control and indicator panel. A substitute system of interconnected combined manual call points and sounders may be satisfactory. In buildings where there are areas where a fire could develop unnoticed or where people work alone and might not see a fire, then it may be crucial to upgrade a fire-warning system to incorporate automatic fire detection. However, if, for any reasons, the system fails, management should guarantee that people within the premises can be warned and escape safely. A temporary arrangement such as gongs, whistles, or air horn, combined with proper training may be satisfactory for a short period pending system repairs (Odpm 2006B, p.21). v. UK Building Regulation Building Regulations in the United Kingdom set down standards to which new and refurbished buildings must conform in terms of construction design and safety. These building regulations are in conformity with the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and the amended Fire Safety (Workplace) Regulations 1997. The purpose of Building Regulation is to secure reasonable standards of health, safety, energy conservation, and the convenience of disable people (Baden-Powel 2001, p.52). According to Perry (2003A), the fire safety aspects of this regulation are means of escape, fire alarms, fire spread, and access and facilities for the Fire Service. Regulations are enforced by the Building Control Department of the Local Authority and a failure to comply with requirements could lead to fines and an enforcement notice (p.18). It is important to consider that compliance with the Building Regulations is above all for life safety, and offers only a realistic standard of property protection in case of fire. Therefore, it may be needed to incorporate additional measures subject to clarification from the building insurers. For instance, the provision of firewalls, sprinkler protection, and fire-resisting external walls is appropriate (Polley 2001, p.30). The building regulations set functional requirements, which must be met in order to gain Building Regulations approval (Dennett 2004, p. 23). Therefore, anyone wanting to carry out building work, which is subject to the regulations is required by law to make sure that it complies with the regulations (Booty 2006, p.86). vi. Conclusion Building fires can turn valuable properties to ashes and end thousand of lives in a matter of minutes. To minimise the risk of injury or death, we therefore need to prevent fire and protect the building and its occupants. Fire risk assessment or the process of methodically identifying fire hazards helps us construct fire precautionary measures and arrangements to ensure the safety of people in our premises. New and old buildings particularly in the United Kingdom are required by law to conform to reasonable standards of health and safety and therefore must provide satisfactory escape routes in case of fire. They must also install warning and fire control devices in various strategic points of the workplace to minimise the casualties of fire. Compliance with fire safety regulations coupled with carefully planned fire risk assessment can save lives and therefore indispensable. vii. 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