Legislation, Theories, and Principles of Fire Safety Risk Assessment - Essay Example

FIRE SAFETY REPORT Abstract Fire safety risk assessment is the measure of ensuring the safety of building occupants from occurrence of fire. It also addresses the measures necessary to allow for an efficient and safe evacuation of building occupants in case of fire. Addressing the presence of means of escape is one issue that fire safety risk assessment ascertains. Fire safety is a very crucial issue in building management which encompass the concerns both of the legislator and the public. The passage of Fire Safety Order 2005 is a crucial step in integrating fire safety assessment measures with other legislations concerning building construction and others that promote health and safety of the public inside the premises of a given building. Implementation or compliance with the Fire Safety Order 2005 is a crucial issue that government authorities should follow through. INTRODUCTION Rationale and Background Incidence of fires reported in the United Kingdom for a 12 month period from August 006 to July 2007 revealed that sixty percent of the 121 fire occurrences that were reported happened in commercial establishments wherein majority of these fires started from faulty electrical systems, smoking materials, and industrial equipments (FRM Journal, 2008). Each of these fires contributed a reported damage of £250,000 totalling to a total of £120.1M. These statistical information shows that most of the fire cases reported in the United Kingdom are caused by factors that can actually be prevented in the first place. Thus, this report outlines the process of fire risk assessment to show how fire prevention as well as fire safety can be best implemented by mitigating fire risks from factors that can be controlled. Fire safety risk assessment is an “organized and methodical look at the premises, the activities within the premises, the potential for a fire to occur and the harm it could cause to the people in and around the premises” (Scottish Government Police, 2008). It also refers to constant evaluation of existing measures of fire safety in any building and its premises to assess whether it is enough to prevent fire as well as enough to address needs of people in the building for safety in the occurrence of fire. Its assessment particularly pinpoints on hazardous factors that can increase the risk of occurrence of fire and increase the probability of causing death or injuries to people within the premises. Avoiding these two scenarios is specifically the goal of fire safety risk assessment. Objectives The report has the following objectives: a. To present theories and principles related to fire risk assessment. b. To discuss legislation related to fire risk assessment particularly the “Fire Safety Order 2005”. c. To present the various applications of fire risk assessment to ensure fire safety. Theories and principles of Fire Risk Assessment Fire Models As early as 1960s, fire models have already evolved to predict the occurrence of fire. These models used mathematical equations to “create a complex computer code capable of giving an estimate of the expected effects of a fire based upon its input parameters” (Beall, K., 1996:81). The Consolidated Model for Fire and Smoke Transport or CFAST, for example, showed that growth of fire is not that much sensitive to smaller changes in inputs such as temperature, room size or level and room pressure (Beall, K. 1996) which means that the fire can easily be mitigated when it is still at its low level or contained in a smaller space. This has an impact to effectively addressing fire occurrence at its early stage to avoid its spread to other areas. Supersoft Decision Theory Supersoft Decision Theory is decision analysis model that is being tried to address fire safety problems particularly in situations where there is notable high uncertainty. It is a decision analysis model to help people dealing with fire situations to address fire problems at hand using probabilities to help choose which among the various alternatives on fire safety is best to use in certain commercial buildings (JOhansson, H., 2004). Fire Risk Indexing System In contrast to complicated fire safety models such as CFAST and Supersoft Decision Theory, fire risk indexing systems simplify the process to ascertain fire risk by using analytical processes and hazard score tools as considerations to quickly arrive at an estimate of risk in fire safety within building premises (Fire Safety Institute). Suffice it to say, fire risk indexing is cheaper means of evaluating fire safety risk assessment particularly in creating compliance to building codes. Principles of Means of Escape The principles of means of escape from fire are series of guidelines to ensure that people occupying the building have a means of safely evacuating from the building premises with special attention provided to people with disabilities. Means of escape is defined as the structural design of a building that provides an escape route to people towards outside building premises in case of fire without external assistance (The Fire Safety Advice Center). It is a plan lay out by building management that is inherent in its structural design that put in mind the safety of people in case of fire. Thus, legislations require a means of escape route for every building approved for construction to ensure fire safety for building occupants. These means of escape should be known to building occupants prior to the incidence of fire. Time of evacuation, travel distances, number of occupants, calculation of exit widths and calculation of minimum number of exits are the information needed in designing a structure for means of escape (The Fire Safety Advice Center). Time of evacuation highly depends on how the building is constructed particularly in relation to combustion. Ideal evacuation time must last three minutes at most. Travel distance is the distance from the building where occupants evacuate to a place of safety from fire. Number of occupants is necessary to design effective means of escape. If there no is direct data on number of occupants, it can be calculated using the formula: area of room or storey divided by floor space per person. Calculation of exit widths and calculation of minimum number of exits are important to determine how many people can a certain fire exit can handle to guide how many exits will be designed for the building. The section on Fire Safety Order 2005 discussed below will present various means of escape within building premises. Legislation related to Fire Risk Assessment Fire Safety Order 2005 The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005, otherwise known as RRFSO 2005, is the integrated and enhanced Fire Safety Legislation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain which states that all responsible persons concerning commercial building management must “carry out a fire risk assessment of the premises/place taking into consideration all employees and all other people who may be affected by a fire…. And to make adequate provision for any disable people with special needs who use or may be present in the premises”(RRFSO 2005). It applies to all types of building, structure and even open space structures with the exception of premises or areas purely occupied for domestic purposes by a family. This order replaces all other legislation of United Kingdom related to fire safety. It orders the person or authority in control of a building to follow the fire safety risk assessment guidelines it outlined. It deals basically with prevention from fire and avoidance of accidental injury or death from the occurrence of fire by exercising certain precautions outlined by the order. Means of Escape The provision of means of escape is specifically outlined in RRFSO 2005. The salient parts on means of escape from the order is presented briefly in this report into three categories i.e. (1) types of means of escape, (2) methods of warning people of fire within the building, and (3) tools to address fire occurrence. Types of Means of Escape. Horizontal and vertical escapes are travel routes that will lead people out of the building in case of fire. These routes should be cleared from impediments to allow for effective emergency evacuation. Vertical escape routes include evacuation lifts, stairs and ramps, and refuge points for disabled people who cannot escape through the other vertical routes earlier mentioned (Access Code). Methods of warning people in the building should fire occur. Warning people about fire safety during the occurrence of fire involved the installation of fire alarm systems comprise of fire alarm signals and lighting. RRFSO 2005 recommends the use of fire flashing lights or paging or vibrating units for people with hearing impaired conditions (cited in Access Code). Another way of warning people about fire safety is even in the absence of fire which is done just to create awareness among occupants of the building premises of the various locations of means of escape in case there is fire. Exit signs, fire door keep shut signs, general fire action notices, fire fighting equipment such as fire extinguishers, and door operating signs are tools that help create awareness among people which will come in handy in the event of fire consequently implementing a smooth emergency evacuation (Humberside Fire and Rescue Service). Building Regulations of Great Britain The Building Regulations 2000 for England and Wales is closely connected to the principle of fire safety since it provide provisions to ensure “the health and safety of people in and around all types of buildings” (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2005: 6). In fact, fire safety is outlined as the second of the fourteen parts of Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations which shows that fire safety in building construction is given prime importance in Building Regulations 2000. Fire Risk Assessment Application Implementation of fire risk assessment boils down to the review of structures and designs within the building premises that will prevent or increase the risk of fire. Thus, crucial things being looked at are the mechanical and electrical means in protecting buildings from an outbreak of fire Mechanical and Electrical Fire Building Protection Electrical safety is outlined in the Schedule 1 of Building Regulations 2000 indicating its important role in ensuring safer components of building structures and its role to mitigate risk of fire in building premises. It is for this reason that the building regulations only authorize competent people to carry out electrical works in the construction of buildings (Letlink, 2008). Electrical equipment is recognized potential source of fire if not used and maintained properly. Overheating, misuse or incorrect installation, located near combustible materials, and sparking of electrical equipments are identified as the major source of accidental fires (Scottish Government Police and Community Safety Directorate). Likewise, there are also mechanical and electrical means used to protect buildings from an outbreak of fire such as using a fire alarm system, sprinkler, standpipes, and smoke management systems which is partly designed by fire protection engineers (Hurley, M., 2008). These are also examples of early warning fire methods to arrest the spread of fire. Each building should have these types of early fire warnings to ensure safety of building occupants as well as allow concerned personnel to act in swiftly and accordingly to save the lives of the occupants. Conclusion Fire safety risk assessment is a necessary process that should be initiated by government through regulations to ensure that all owners or managers of all types of buildings comply with the call for ensuring safety of occupants from fire hazards. The Fire Safety Order 2005 ensured this need of the public for fire safety precautions; hence it integrates all the legislations of the government to ensure that these regulations are in accordance to the need of the public for safety in living and working inside building premises at work, leisure or at home. Fire risk assessment is a sound inclusion in legislations of the government that should be followed through by its constituents. If it followed thoroughly by building managers, fire risk is cut to a minimum if not none. Thus, it is crucial that effective implementation be done by government line agencies to ensure that the legislation is thoroughly followed. This report outlined a three fold objectives at the start to present the principles, legislation and application of fire safety risk assessment. These objectives are basically addressed mostly by the Fire Safety Order 2005 which rationalizes the theories or principles related to fire prevention or safety in lieu of legislation. The legislation consequently outlines the applications for fire safety provisions by guiding appropriate authorities on how to implement the various ways to prevent fire and protect health and safety of people in the occurrence of fire. Thus, the three objectives of the report are related to each other with the Fire Safety Order 2005 as the key factor in summarizing it. Further, focus given in integrating the discussion of the report on this Order is crucial to its overall relevance. Bibliography Access Code, 2008. Buildings: Means of Escape. RSSFSO 2005 Section 6. Available at http://www.accesscode.info/buildings/6_15.htm Beall, K.A., 1997. Thirteenth Meeting of the UNJR Panel on Fire Research and Safety. Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology. Fire Risk Management Journal, July 2008. Statistics on Number of Fires. Fire Safety Institute, 2008. Fire Risk Indexing. Available at ttp://firesafetyinstitute.org/fireriskindex.html Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, 2008. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005: Fire Risk Assessment/Information Guidance. Hurley, M., 2008. Whole Building Design Guide Fire Protection Engineering. Available at http://www.wbdg.org/design/dd_fireprotecteng.php Johansson, H., 2004. Application of Supersoft Decision Theory in Fire Risk Assessment. Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, Vol. 14, No. 1, 55-48. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2005. Building Regulations:Explanatory Booklet. Scottish Government’s Police and Community Safety Directorate, HM Fire Service Inspector for Scotland, Scottish Building Standards Agency & Health and Safety Executive, 2008. Practical Fire Safety Guidance for factories and storage premises. Available online at http://www.infoscotland.com/firelaw/files/GUIDE-FSP_chapter10.html The Fire Safety Advice Center, 2008. Note for Guidance: Basic Means of Escape from Fire. Available at http://www.firesafe.org.uk/html/guides/basicmoe.htm The Letting Center: Resources and Supply for Residential Letting and Property Management in the UK. Fact Sheet 37: Electrical Safety and the Building Regulations. Available at http://www.letlink.co.uk/letting-factsheets/factsheets/factsheet-37---electrical-safety--the-building-regulations.html Read More