Fire Safety Management and Legislation - Term Paper Example

Note: 2 references are not available even in UCLAN so they are not included. If you need a marked plan just tell me and I will mark them for you. Thanks! Fire Safety Management and Legislation Media Factory Fire Safety Management Plan Table of Contents Contents Contents 2 1. Introduction The Media Factory of the University of Lancashire was built to provide students and business with opportunities to grow and develop their skills and talents through state of the art offices, studio, theatre, cinema, and high technology. However, since such complex building will be occupied by large number of people including the very young and the elderly, people with disabilities and others, fire safety is of great of concern. These include complying with laws pertaining fire safety and in particular the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, guiding documents for fire safety risk assessment for educational premises, means of escape for disabled people, and others. The following sections detail the proposed fire safety management plan for Media Factory. 2. Policy Statement Similar to other buildings, the Media Factory is vulnerable to fire and its negative effects particularly in people’s well-being and property. Came into force in 2006, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 must be followed in order to protect not only the occupants of Media Factory and its facility but neighbouring area from the devastating effect of fire. For this reason, this fire safety management plan take into account the reduction or complete elimination of fire hazards, strategic placement of fire protection devices, development and implementation of evacuation strategy, consideration to the physical and cognitive ability of occupants, suitability and reliability of fire protection measures. This fire safety management will also ensure that regular audit and update is implemented particularly when there are changes such as alterations and modifications in Media Factory’s structure. 3. Management Structure The head of the University of Lancashire will lead the implementation of this fire safety management plan. He is the responsible person who will ensure that low level management understand and take full responsibility of their roles in keeping the Media Factory safe from fire. The fire safety management structure includes: The Human Resources Director of the University will be responsible for fire safety management plan development and implementation Deans of school who as a team will be responsible for allocating resources for all teams mentioned in this fire safety management plan. The Head of Services will lead all services personnel working in the building and ensure that these personnel understand their role in fire safety and evacuation strategy. Trained in different evacuation phases, the selected Fire Marshalls must carry out their duties and responsibilities as specified in the evacuation strategy. Fire risk assessment for the Media Factory will be conducted by the Health and Safety Department. The team (headed by its manager) from this department must be able to advice other building personnel on fire safety. The Head of Property Service will take full responsibility on the maintenance of fire safety equipment and other works required in order to reduce risks of fire in the building. 4. Strategy for Evacuation Aside from considering the adequacy of means of escape and quality of safety measures, this evacuation strategy also takes into account the possibility that there disabled people who need assistance and temporary place of safety or refuge (Means of Escape for Disabled, 2007, p.7). Moreover, since Media Factory is considered part of educational premises, it will comply with the building regulation’s guidance for this type of facility such as providing fire-resistant refuge, adequate escape routes as determined through the number of people that will be using the building in a particular time, raising awareness about fire safety and evacuation procedures, installation of fire safety and evacuation signs in escape routes, fire drills and training for staff particularly those that will be involve in actual evacuation (Educational Premises, 2007, p.108; (BS 5499, (2000), Part 4). 5. Emergency Response and Procedures Providing a safe of means of escape and ability to reach the place of safety is the main aim of life safety strategies (BS 7074, 2004, p.5). This fire safety management plan requires the creation of emergency response team that will execute the evacuation strategy and assist Media Factory’s occupants in case of fire. Following the guidance on Open Air Events and Venues (2007, p.65), the main responsibility of this team is to ensure that: All occupants are alerted of the fire The fire is reported to the responsible FRS or Fire and Rescue Service Fire alarm and emergency lighting in escape routes are activated The evacuation plan is executed in a systematic and timely manner Disabled people are assisted including that are having difficulty finding their way out of the building or having medical problems People from outside are prevented entering or re-entering the building Training and fire evacuation drills are conducted on regular basis. 6. Fire Alarm and Detection Following the guiding documents for education premises, the recommended fire alarm and detection for the Media Factory include sophisticated form of fire warning and detection system (Educational Premises, 2007, p.23). These include automatic smoke and fire detection system, loud electronic sirens and voice alarms, strategically installed manual call points, visual beacons and vibrating devices for those with hearing disabilities, alarm receiving centre and control panels, strategically posted schematic plan, and false alarm prevention mechanism as specified in BS 5839-1. These include supervised call points, stage alarm system implementation, protective covering for call points, and other measures that it will make it difficult for anybody to trigger a false alarm (Education Premises, 2007, p.57). 7. Sprinkler System Depending on budget and approval of the University management, sprinkler system may be installed on critical area of the building where fire is likely to originate. According to the guidance for education premises, fire sprinkler system not only reduce the growth and spread of fire effectively but eliminate management’s large expenditure on portable fire extinguishers and insurance premiums. This is because fire sprinklers as recommended in BS EN 12845 and BS 5306-2, with proper maintenance and installed by a qualified contractor have the ability to control and eliminate fire completely from its origin (Educational Premises, 2007, p.61 - p.62). 8. Fire Prevention and Arson Awareness Combustible materials scattered around the building and easily accessible to anyone can be use for starting a fire. For this reason, this fire safety management plan take into account fire prevention through arson awareness. These include raising awareness on the danger of highly flammable substances and the need to store them properly, locking of all storage facilities, safety procedures and precautions, reporting of potential arson attack, and elimination of likely ignition sources as identified in the risk assessment. For instance, smoking should not be allowed inside the building or assign a safe smoking area, regular maintenance of office equipment, and dispose content of rubbish bins regularly (Educational Premises, 2007, p.17; Todd, 2000, p.6)). 9. Routine Procedure for Building Staff Building staff has an important role in this fire safety management plan and these include ensuring that all likely sources of ignition and fire is reduced or completely eliminated, fire safety measures are regular checked and maintained properly, remove obstructions on escape routes, check availability and reliability of fire extinguishers and call points, practice fire safety routines and be aware of other fire safety restrictions being imposed in the premises (Educational Premises, 2007, p.118). 10. Selection and Control of Materials Combustible materials are generally fire hazards if not handled correctly and all of those identified as potential risk to the safety of the occupants must be controlled including materials commonly used in building materials such as glue, paint, thinner, and so on. These materials should be check and stored in small quantities in locked rooms and away from electrical equipment, wiring, and other potential sources of ignition (Educational Premises, 2007, p.109). 11. Decoration, Alterations, and Extension Work Some decorations are flammable thus they should be placed on safe areas where ignition is unlikely. Alterations of building structure can result to damage or weakening of existing fire safety measures such as compartmentation that rely on fire-resisting ability of surrounding walls. Similarly, alterations or extensions can affect the length of existing escape, increase the travel distance required to reach a place of safety, and impact on the overall fire strategy such as use of building and alterations (BS 9999, 2008, p.35). For this reason, this fire safety management recommend consultation with Fire and Rescue Service before any alteration within the building is implemented. This is to avoid complications that arise particularly between the existing fire safety measures and procedures and building structure (Educational Premises, 2007, p.112). 12. Training and Fire Drills for Staff The emergency team will not be effective if they are not aware of best practices in fire evacuation procedure thus training and regular evacuation drills should be conducted. These include activities that must be undertaken with care during a fire such as control and mitigating the effects of an on-going fire. Take necessary actions based on their role, duties, and responsibilities specified in the emergency plan, timely, incident reporting, and safety measures required to facilitate smooth evacuation such as activating the fire alarm and emergency lightings, assisting occupants along the escape routes, prevent congestion in fire exits, and helping the disabled reach a place of safety (Educational Premises, 2007, p.114; BS 5266, 2005, Section 4.2). 13. Risk Assessments for Fire Safety Identification of potential risk is one of the most important activities in the fire safety management plan. This is the result of fire risk assessment can help in the development and effective implementation of fire safety measures in the Media Factory. Moreover, a well-conducted fire risk assessment can lead to reduction or complete elimination of fire hazards such as highly combustible materials (fuel) and potential sources of ignition (faulty electrical equipment, lightings, and so on). More importantly, a fire risk assessment also identifies vulnerable people and areas where fire is likely to originate (Furness & Muckett, 2007, p.87). Knowledge of fire risk assessment and understanding of its result can help management identify which actions to be taken, the appropriate detection and warning system to be installed, the required fire fighting equipment for this type building and occupancy, enable realistic design and planning of escape routes, development of the most appropriate emergency plan, and acquisition of proper fire fighting equipment for the Media Factory (Educational Premises, 2007, p.11-13). 14. Recordkeeping UK’s fire safety law require details of fire safety initiatives thus records of compliance such as fire protection installed, result of escape route test and evacuation drills, technical specifications of fire safety equipment, and so on must be recorded and stored in a safe place. Although there is no format recommended, records of fire safety initiatives must in the form understandable to everyone and contain detailed information about fire safety activities such as actions taken to ensure safety after a certain building alteration, result of safety audits, mitigation done to resolve fire safety issues and others (Educational Premises, 2007, p108; Large Places of Assembly, 2007, p.114). 15. Fire Safety Management Audit and Updates Similar to the importance of training and evacuation drills for the emergency team, a fire safety management plan should be regularly updated. This can be done through frequent fire safety audit of the Media Factory and assessment of the needs of the occupants. These include audit of existing fire safety measures against alterations or modifications, checking the practicality of existing fire safety procedures against newer hazards or current fire safety requirements. There should be continuing control and audit procedures to ensure the effectiveness of the existing fire safety measures against the use of building and other changes in the occupancy (BS 9999, 2008, p.227) 16. References/Bibliography BS 5266-1, (2011), Emergency lighting: Code of practice for the emergency escape lighting of premises, BSI British Standards BS 5499-4, (2000), Safety Signs, including fire safety sings: Code of practice for escape route, BSI British Standards, UK BS 7974, (2004), The Application of Fire Safety Engineering Principles to Fire Safety Design of Buildings, BSI British Standards, UK BS 9999, (2008), Code of Practice for Fire Safety in the Design, Management, and Use of Building, BSI British Standards, UK Educational Premises, (2007), Fire Safety Risk Assessment, HM Government, UK Furness A. & Muckett M, (2007), Introduction to Fire Safety Management, Routledge, UK Large Places of Assembly, (2007), Fire Safety Risk Assessment, HM Government, UK Means of Escape for Disabled People, (2007), Fire Safety Risk Assessment- Supplementary Guide, HM Government, UK Open Air Events and Venues, (2007), Fire Safety Risk Assessment, HM Government, UK Todd C, (2000), Fire Precaution: A Guide for Management, Gower Publishing, UK Read More