Fire Service and Safety - Coursework Example

Insert Title: Name: Institution: Instructor: Module: 07TH MAY, 2009 Fire service and safety Table of contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………3 The law in UK and how it operates internationally as it applies to the fire service…………3 The role of globalization in effecting the legislative and substantive work of those in the fire and rescue service………………………………………………………………………………...4 How Ethical considerations are dealt with in the fire and rescue service and the role of the practitioner in a changing world environment………………………………………………..5 Ethical impact to the Abu Dhabi fire …………………………………………………………5 Better public education, fire prevention and better building standard………………..5 The role of fire safety practitioner……………………………………………………….....…8 UAE law on fire safety…………………………………………………………………….….9 NFPA standards……………………………………………………………………....9 UK Law on fire safety ……………………………………………………………....10 UK Law and emirates standards…………………………………………………….10 How community and fire safety policy is communicated in both Abu Dhabi and UK……..11 ABU DABHI…………………………………………………………………...…...11 UK …………………………………………………………………………………..12 Ethical impact of new civil defense stations better equipped to deal with emergencies…..…12 Conclusion................................................................................................................................13 References................................................................................................................................14 Introduction Community safety is the expression that is used to cover prevention and protection. All the services are delivered by competent staffs of various organizations that are based in geographical areas. These can further be divided into groups comprising fire stations and a group support team. Rogers (2001) argues that emergencies can occur almost anywhere. Prevention and protection activities effect on all people in all places, therefore we have to use information and intelligence to target our resources to ensure that they have the most effect. Staff in our headquarters departments is responsible for devising strategies, developing policies and supporting service delivery by the provision of information. They link with colleagues in the region and nationally to identify good practice, and to help devise processes that ensure that we deliver a consistent, effective service. We all have the right to go about our daily lives in safety. Improving community safety is one of our highest priorities. We believe that keeping communities safe involves more than just preventing crime and disorder - we must also create social and economic change. But if we are to make our communities safer, we must all work together. The law in UK and how it operates internationally as it applies to the fire service The UK law on fire service came into effect in October 2006. It replaced was aimed at replacing over 70 pieces of fire safety law. The fire safety law was established and applies to all non domestic premises in England and Wales. It also applies to the common parts of blocks of flats and houses in multiple occupations. The people affected by the law are the ones who are responsible for business premises, employers or self employed people with business premises. People who are responsible for part of a dwelling where the particular part is used for business purposes are also affected. The law also affects charity or voluntary organizations as well as contractors with a degree of controlling over the premises (Davis 2000). It also affects the people who provide accommodation for paying guests. The people responsible are required by the law to carry out a fire risk assessment and implement as well as maintaining a fire management plan. The role of globalization in effecting the legislative and substantive work of those in the fire and rescue service Regulations in different countries contribute a lot to the effectiveness in the legislative and substantive work of those in the fire and rescue service. The global regulations require the people in this department to create a safe, fair and safe caring place for their staff as well as developing the competencies they require to fulfill their roles. They should ensure high standards of corporate governance and organizational effectiveness through commitment in tackling the inequalities, discrimination and harassment faced by disabled people. The global regulations require clear, strong and consistent leadership in the fire service departments to enhance effectiveness and meaningful change in dealing with fire instances. Fire service department staffs are encouraged to train and develop more at all levels within the organization. They should aim at working in partnership and procurement with other people. The department is required to efficiently use resources to ensure the change in the department where equitable services are provided in a fair working environment. The fire service department is demanded to analyze current situations in the organization. The person responsible in the fire safety department should carry out a fire risk assessment and indentify any dangers or risks that are vulnerable to occur in the organization. The law requires these people to take into consideration of the people who might be harmed. The risks are highly found with the disabled employees and people working with hazardous chemicals. The law requires that, fire precautions to be put in place to deal with any fire risks that are persistent in the organization (Hughes 2005). Businesses are required to make sure there is protection incase the use of flammable or explosive materials. There must be a plan to deal with emergencies in the organization and make sure that findings are recorded and reviewed often by the fire department. How Ethical considerations are dealt with in the fire and rescue service and the role of the practitioner in a changing world environment Ethical impact to the Abu Dhabi fire The fire tragedy occurred in September 2008 where many people were injured. Women including children suffered injuries from the fire that occurred at a storey apartment building in Abu Dhabi. The people did not help in putting down the fire due to lack of knowledge on fire prevention. People were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation which is an indication that there were no control measures that were available to prevent the fire breakout in the apartment. Forty patients were affected by the carbon monoxide from the smoke; some were given first aid while others were taken to hospital by ambulances. A lot of property was lost through the fire since there were no immediate efforts made to put down the fire (Marcourse 1999). Better public education, fire prevention and better building standard. The loss incurred due to the fire breakout in the apartment building at Abu Dhabi led to the fire safety service to take actions that can be of help in future. The public needed to be educated on safety measure incase of fire breakout. Publics were advised not to keep easily inflammable items in their houses. They should ensure that children are monitored in the house and they should not leave ant fire item unattended in the houses. These measures will ensure that residents in the apartments prevent any fire breakouts in future. Land lords were advised to build apartments with fewer numbers of floors. Ethical considerations are dealt with in different ways in the fire and rescue service. Firstly, the department ensures that continuous communication is done concerning community fire safety and resilience. The fire safety service unit is working to reduce the deaths, injuries and damage wreaked by fires. There is a nationwide campaign to address all the communities on fire safety. The fire safety service is prepared for major emergencies that may arise in order to improve capability and enhance capability in the fire and rescue service. Communities and local government are aimed at reducing the level of damage, injury and death which is caused by fire by working closely with the fire and rescue service as well as supporting its on going modernization. The community and the local government are aiming at improving the service on a wider role. They are more focused on fire prevention and protection of the public from a range of risks that comes with fire break out. These risks include road accidents, floods and other civil emergencies (Hughes 2005). There is full support of the national campaign on fire kills which is aimed at developing a long term national fire safety strategy of prevention, detection and escape. Communities are encouraged to push the button incase of fire out brake in the campaigns. They are reminded to check their smoke alarm batteries as part of their regular household routines to ensure that the batteries are working. The campaign is promoting fire safety messages of put it out, right out which are related to smoking to reduce smoking related fires. The fire safety rescue service has the ability to detect, prevent and respond to all kinds of fire emergencies. Communities and local governments are working together to ensure that the fire and rescue service is equipped and trained for a disaster where local organizations are fully prepared. The fire and rescue service is well equipped through the new dimension programme to provide the best possible response to any major incident. There is a fire control project equipped with the latest technology to improve communications, sharing of data and making it easier to deal with major regional or national incidents. There will also be improvement in mobilizing response across boarders through the identification of the nearest appliance regardless of the country boundaries. The fire rescue service has introduced the fire link to improve communications by replacing individual fire and rescue service radio systems with a single wide area digital radio system (Moris et al 2000). The disables are at high risk of fire and much effort has been employed to cater for these people. There is a disability equality scheme which is a strategy and a time tabled plan to cater for the disabled people during a fire breakout. The scheme will be able to identify the most effective ways of involving the disabled people in the development of this scheme and action plan to deal with fire risks. The department is able to identify the barriers faced by disabled people and unsatisfactory outcomes. The scheme is able to reduce the number of deaths and injuries in the community. It will also be able to reduce the number of incidents and their impact in the community and environment. This will ensure that community safety is achieved through reduction of risk and education. The scheme is also helping in managing the risk and responding effectively and efficiently to emergency incidents. This is achieved through improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the department deployment by making use of resources effectively. The department is also able to plan effectively in order to reduce and manage risk in the communities. The scheme delivers a modern, well managed and effective fire and rescue service by creating a safe, fair and caring workplace for the staff and developing the competencies needed to fulfill their roles. As required by the disability discrimination act the fire rescue service takes into consideration to promote equality of opportunity between the disabled and non disabled people. The scheme is intended to eliminate any unlawful discrimination. It also eliminates harassment of disabled people that is related to their impairment as well as promoting positive attitude toward disabled people. The disabled people are encouraged to participate in public life. The role of fire safety practitioner To meet the changing needs arising from IPDS and National Occupational Standards for Fire Safety, we are constantly reviewing our FSAED programme. The modules are designed to cater for the diverse requirements of individuals looking to develop their Fire Safety technical skills. To assist this, the practitioner must use their knowledge to undertake the more complex tasks. They are in charge of safety solutions in commercial buildings and higher life risk buildings. The fire practitioner must design methods of meeting specific technical development needs. They are responsible for fire alarms and detection systems and lighting. They must ensure that there are available operating building regulations, fire engineering principles are followed, fire safety sprinklers as well as Fire Safety Residential Sprinklers and Smoke Controls are installed in the building. Comparison of the UAE law in relation to UK law and compare standards and regulations used by the different kingdoms and departments UAE law on fire safety The purpose of the UAE law and the system of fire safety is to prevent and protect against loss of life and property from fire. It is aimed at minimizing damage from fire and similar disasters for the preservation of peace and order as well as promoting the public welfare. The standards used in UAE Law and system of fire safety. NFPA standards These are American standards which could have been used to reduce the world wide burden of fire and other risks for the purpose of maintaining quality of life. The codes should be applied on every building process, service, design and installation by all countries of the world. The NFPA standards require people to replace or repair loose and damaged cables on all electrical devices. People should not run extensions cables across doorways and under carpets. All wall sockets at home should have plastic safety covers. Manufacture’s instructions must be followed by every person when plugging an appliance into a receptacle outlet. People should avoid overloading outlets. Warm switches should be switched of and checked by an electrician. It is necessary for people to avoid the use of cube taps and other appliances that tolerate the connection of multiple appliances into a single receptacle (Moris et al 2000). The law requires that all flame retardant items including curtains and carpets that are used in fire impediment property such as high rise buildings, underground arcades, theaters, hotels, to have flame hindering management that exceeds the standards prescribed by Cabinet Order. People who have the intention of setting up any hazardous material facilities for handling hazardous materials beyond a specified quantity must get consent from the municipal mayors or other competent authorities in advance. According to William et al (1998), the law requires that the transportation of any hazardous materials must conform to the related standards regarding the packagings, the loading materials and the transportation methods of those hazardous materials. The fire equipment used for fire fighting must conform to the set regulations provided by the order to guarantee that the specific fire equipment has definite performance and other qualities. UK Law on fire safety UK Law and emirates standards The standards regulate the construction of buildings and the law demands that these regulations be considered when constructing buildings. Companies who do not comply with the set regulations will be fined for lack of enforcement of the law. Domestic houses such as single-story warehouses are required to have a maximum unsprinklered compartment size. Residential care homes are guided to use sprinklers (Kaysen 2003). The occupants of a building should be alerted on their building’s fire protection measures. This would enable them to get prepared for fire risk assessment. The owners of the buildings must provide an additional clarity by introducing extra plan freedoms and flexibilities with better regulation except for dwelling houses. Building should be authorized through certification by a competent person to ensure that they comply with the standards. People responsible for the management of the buildings covered by the regulatory reform must be provided with fire safety information. The law demands that any one who enters in a business premise, be either an employee, customer, contractor or visitors is responsible for fire safety. The business should have a legally designated person who is responsible for risk assessment. People must share the responsibility of fire safety if the premises are shared by different people. The law requires that the person responsible for the whole premises who might be the owner of the business, the owner of premises which are shared among a number of businesses or individuals within a multiple occupancy building like self employed people if they control someone in the premises. If there is no one responsible for fire in the business, then the law requires the local authority to decide who should be responsible (Moris et al 2000). The law requires that where there is more than one person responsible for the premises to cooperate with the other responsible people where necessary to comply with the regulations. They must ensure coordination is achieved among them to comply with the measures required with the regulations. They should share information with each other. How community and fire safety policy is communicated in both Abu Dhabi and UK. ABU DABHI The application process of the community safety is administered on behalf of the Area Committee by the relevant Area Co-ordination Teams. Upon the completion of the appropriate documentation, approvals may be considered at Ward level. One elected member has the power to agree funding for projects within the Community Safety Fund. Applications for financial support from the Community Safety Fund can be made from internal Council Departments and from external public, voluntary or community bodies provided they are properly constituted and are able to satisfy the appropriate rules of grant. According to Kaysen (2003) the Community Safety Fund has been specifically established to enable Elected Members to support local projects for the benefit of the local community. It is acknowledged that local initiatives may not always be confined to the geography of a single Area Committee and may, accordingly, involve communities from adjoining Area Committee areas. Applications are not eligible if received from individuals or from profit making enterprise(s) and neither are applications eligible that are demonstrably for the benefit of an individual or private enterprise. The Community Safety Fund for 2006/07 can only be utilized for Capital expenditure. No project can be agreed unless there is a clear agreement regarding the subsequent maintenance costs required (where applicable), should these fall to the council. This agreement must be explicitly outlined within the documentation prior to formal consideration of funding. UK Community and fire safety policy in the UK is communicated through a statement of policy by the management organization for health and safety. The management organization for health and safety ensures that there is effective monitoring and implementation of the policy. It ensures that the people responsible for risk assessments in businesses do their work through workplace inspections. It also enhances training for the responsible people in workplaces on fire prevention and reduction. It also advocates for consultations to be made where the people responsible for fire safety at workplace are faced with difficulties. Ethical impact of new civil defense stations better equipped to deal with emergencies This is a new programme which provides the capacity to respond to the increased threats arising from a ‘new dimension’ of emergency. For instance threats include major incidents involving chemical, biological or radioactive materials, which would require a mass decontamination of large numbers of people, or rescue from collapsed structures (Drucker 1999). The programme is also a response to increased risks from non-terrorist emergencies, such as major flooding resulting from changing climate patterns. In the UK, over the past four years we have faced the challenge of large scale flooding, the fuel crisis and a major epidemic of Foot and Mouth Disease. So we need to be able to cope with and recover from a range of unexpected disruptive events, for example building collapse, or natural disasters.   All community safety officers in civil defence will need to be familiar with community safety legislation, theory and practice. Prior experience of working in the public sector and / or in managing crime prevention and community services will be a great asset. Knowledge of performance monitoring is often desirable, but the key skills required by these posts are: strong organisational capacity, and the ability to maintain calm under high pressure. Conclusion The Community Safety Fund has been specifically established to enable elected members in supporting the local projects in benefiting the local community. It is acknowledged that local initiatives may not always be confined to the geography of a single Area Committee and may, accordingly, involve communities from adjoining Area Committee areas. All applications for Community Safety Fund resources must clearly identify how the success of the proposed project will be measured. It is important that the council is able to demonstrate the impact of the fund locally and that such information is available to justify the continuation of funding. As outlined earlier in this policy statement, the Community Safety Fund is provided from council core resources. Approved projects, therefore, must not be contrary to agreed Council policy. Any proposals which aim to do this will be ineligible for funding support. All initiatives supported by the Community Safety Fund must recognize this assistance in any subsequent publicity. References David. M. 2000. The Community Developmental Projects. Oxford University Press. Mikhail. B. 1995. Application of technology in community safety. London: Simon and Schuster. 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