Fire Safety Laws in UK and Its International Application - Coursework Example

Assignment Topic: A comparative case study On Fire safety laws Of UK and UAE Submitted By: Submitted To: Dated Table of Contents Page # 1. Introduction 3 2. Fire Safety Laws in UK and its international application 4 3. Fire Safety Laws in UAE 5 4. Comparison of UK and UAE in relation to Fire Safety Laws 5 5. Globalization and Fire & Rescue Services 6 6. Ethical considerations within Fire & Rescue Services 7 7. Practitioner’s role in changing world 8 8. Community and Fire Safety policy communication in Abu Dhabi and UK 9 9. Ethical Impact of better equipped civil defense stations 11 10. Ethical Impact of fire broke in apartment of Abu Dhabi 13 11. References 14 1- Introduction As per World Fact Book estimation, figures for population will be 61.11 million and 4.79 million for UK and UAE respectively at the end of July 2009. Total area for both countries is 244,820 and 83, 600 sq km. This paper’s main focus is on comparison of UK and UAE fire safety laws and issues. Communities and local governments in UK aim to create a place where people like to live work and raise a family. They have intention to create a community which offers equal opportunities, respect and freedom to all. Thus communities and local governments are working hard to create a sustainable environment. They also set polices on fire and rescue. All seven emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Ajman, Ras Al khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwan of UAE are required to follow laws of fire and safety made by UAE government although each emirate is independent. However as per constitution each emirate gives authority to federal government on some important issues like unification of armed forces in 1970. The purpose of this case study is to compare and analyze UK and UAE fire safety laws while assessing UK and UAE legislation on fire safety issues; How UK fire safety laws operate internationally; Comparing UAE and UK Fire safety laws and services; What could be the role of globalization on fire and rescue services; how fire and rescue services deal with ethical issues; what could be the role of practitioner in changing world; what is the procedure to communicate community and fire safety policy in UK and UAE and ethical impact of better equipped civil defense stations to deal with emergency. And finally ethical impact of a case study, on fire broke out in an apartment building in Abu Dhabi is also discussed in this paper. 2- Assess law in UK and its international application for Fire Service The fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 emphasizes to protect property in case of fire, to promote fire safety, give advice to prevent fire and its spread in premises, limit damage while using fire fighting measures. In addition to this the authorities are required to get information for risk assessment to support fire fighting operations. The Fire and Services Act 2004 enforce four main responsibilities on Fire & Rescue Service; community safety from fire, fire fighting, road traffic accidents and handling other emergences like floods, and other natural and manmade disasters. Fire and Safety in England and Wales is in accordance with Regulatory Reform (Safety Order) 2005. This order has replaced almost 100 legislations on fire. It came into force from October 1st, 2006. According to this the owner of the building must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of fire and must have an evacuation plan in case of fire. The main elements of fire safety order are to prevent fire by reducing the risk of fire. Fire safety order provides protection to all who use premises or are in surroundings. Lot of countries like UAE are using British standard while formulating laws on fire and rescue services. 3- UAE Fire Safety Laws Legislation on Fire and Safety in Abu Dhabi is made by government of United Arab Emirates. UAE government considered British, Australian and Hong Kong standards while doing legislation on fire and safety. However developers in UAE like to adopt NFPA (National Fire Protection Authority) standards of US. Engineers prefer UK standards on fire and safety. Department of civil protection (Defense) perform duties for fire and safety in the country. This department is responsible to regulate laws on fire and safety issues. 4- Comparison of UAE and UK Fire Safety Every year there are more than 50,000 accidents caused by house fires in UK. Fire Service Authority is in process to reduce deaths due to house fire by 20% and arson by 10% by March 31, 2010. They also want to equip country to handle emergency situations created due to terror attacks and natural disasters. To achieve it they are giving all type of support equipment and training. Local governments and communities have intention to reduce damage, deaths and injuries caused by fire so working closely with fire and rescue services. There are total 426,200 fires recorded in UK in 2006. Deaths due to fire were 491 in same year. Attendance by Fire and Rescue authorities at false alarms were 435,900. These figures are key statistics on fire attended by Fire & Rescue Services UK in year 2006 – The above figures were released by communities and local government on Friday 30 May, 2008 and approved by UK Statistics Authority. Total number of fires dropped in UAE however magnitude of big fires increased. Total fires reported in Dubai were 595 and 22 big fires in year 2008. Most of fires occurred in labor accommodations and vehicles. On an average 50 fires took place every month in UAE. According to Civil Defense Authority the most of the fires are due to safety violations. 5- Role of Globalization on legislation of fire and rescue services On the topic of Globalization Rothenberg (2002) states ‘Globalization is the acceleration and intensification of interaction and integration among the people, companies and governments of different nations’. Globalization has connected the whole world. It is acting as driving force for change in business. Professionals who understand big picture collect key information for leaders to device policies and strategies accordingly. United States, Europe, UK, Japan, Australia, Korea and Canada are using IT to share information on health and safety globally. If they collaborate on technical issues – it will bring success for business and labor both. Multinational organization adopts standards of their origin country as well as of the country they are operating in. It is considered as good business practice. Only small portion of business survives in case of major fires. So to assess the risk of fire is not optional but a legal requirement by a competent person. Employer, owner or agent is responsible to take all precautionary measures to prevent fires. If someone says that he does not know the law is not defense point. In case of fire responsible person is required to prove that as per law all conditions are fulfilled to save the life of employees and public damage to property. 6- Ethical considerations within fire and rescue services In UK, to meet the requirements of Fire Safety Order, every company must have an Emergency and Disaster plan to manage difficult situations. The plan must be implemented as per Major Accident Hazard Regulations. The Emergency & Disaster plan reduces the impact of emergencies on community because of omission by others. The emergency and disaster planning in any organization is regarded as moral duty of management to ensure the safety of people working there. It is also their ethical and legal obligation to safe guard the interest of employees. The plan is helpful for companies to assume its corporate social responsibilities towards society. Such a plan makes regular assessment of risks, provide safe working system and develop cooperation between employer and employee on safety issues and applicable standards. In a work place emergencies could be like fire, explosion, release of toxic gas or liquids, danger due to natural disasters like earthquake and manmade problems like short circuiting. Emergency situation has a direct effect on human’s health immediately or at later stage. It also damage premises and plant and equipment. People present at situation require calling rescue teams, first aid and police etc. at time of emergency. The result of emergency could be lot of casualties and injuries require hospitalization. UAE Fire Safety requirement is to install the most technological advanced fire fighting systems in premises at the time of construction. Old buildings need renovation as per law. It is not their choice to reject – this is law, they are forced to apply – if they will not, the building plan will not be approved. Companies are required to practice free drills on regular basis and conduct demos to evacuate the premises in case of fire. 7- Role of practitioner in a changing world environment Today’s firefighter/practitioner is exposed to lot of emergencies like road accidents, house fires, business fires, chemical fires and fires associated with terrorism. A practitioner is required to have basic knowledge of handling emergency situations. He must have ability to stay calm and by using his problem solving skills resolve issues quickly. The problem is not only to tackle fires but also rescue people being trapped due to fire. Thus he or she should be very sensible and sensitive as dealing with distressed people. He also works very closely with community, schools, colleges and voluntary organizations to educate people about fire safety so can prevent such happenings before their occurrence. He advises people how to adopt an escape route in case of fire. He must understand people are different and educate them as per their understanding. A practitioner must have some qualities important to work as fire fighter. He must be confident, able to communicate effectively, have flexibility and adaptability as per situation, and committed to do job. With the changing world – a world of technology, his role is continually changing. He is required to have knowledge about advancement in new techniques to handle emergency. He must go for continuous training to refresh his knowledge about fire fighting. He is required to maintain his physical and mental fitness because of demanding work. 8- Communicating Community and Fire Safety Policy in UK and UAE UK Fire and rescue authorities are responsible for enforcement of statutory requirements of fire legislation; however fire and rescue authorities come under (HSE) Health and Safety Executive. According to Health and Safety at Work Act, HSE is responsible for working premises where there is risk of fire. Communities and local governments are responsible for general fire safety in non residential premises, common areas of apartment buildings and houses occupied with lot of people. Fire safety legislation uses risk based approach for community, industrial and business premises. According to the legislation a responsible person is required to carry out risk assessment, accordingly adoption of appropriate measures for precaution and protection and finally maintenance of fire management plan. The responsible person could be the landlord or tenant of premises or anybody appointed by two. The procedure to enforce the fire and safety order is through periodic inspections of premises by fire and rescue authorities Fire and Rescue service also advise community – general public on safety issues. They also provide free smoke alarms and their fitting. They also ensure home safety by free checks. Educational material like DVDs and broachers on fire safety are also available for public. UAE The minister of civil defense is responsible for all fire and rescue services in UAE. The police and fire services work together and handle emergency situations. The police provide Quick Intervention team (QIT) in case of emergencies to handle high risk of personal injuries. QIT handled incidents like explosion in warehouse killed five people and seventy buildings damaged by fire in Abu Dhabi. Civil Defense, Environment Agency and Rescue services work together to implement fire safety laws and regulations in the country. Civil defense is required to issue fire safety certificates for new projects. Issuance of certificates for new buildings as per law is not a problem but if someone converts an old building into hotel then to get safety certificate as per latest regulations involve lot of cost and time. In old buildings they can’t carry alarm tests and evacuation drills. For new buildings, Civil Defense department recommends Tannoy system so that announcements can be made in case of fire if people ignore fire alarms. Government and Military hospitals are not legally required to go for inspection and safety audits. However private hospitals are required to conduct 1 formal safety audit and inspection. Fire Safety authorities visit housing blocks after every two years. Housing blocks are also not required to report on faults of fire alarms. Fire authorities are required to visit hotels two times a year – one formal and other unannounced visit to check their compliance with fire and safety regulations. UAE people burns oud in houses for smell however smokes detector installation is not the requirement of fire safety authorities. 9- Ethical impact of new and better equipped civil defense stations to deal with emergencies After bombing in London in July 2005, the need arise to enhance UK ability to handle disasters. Fire and Resilience mission statement is “Our ability to detect, prevent and respond to all kind of emergency is known as resilience. This is the responsibility of communities and local governments to make sure that fire services are well equipped and trained enough to manage disasters. The September 11 attack on twin towers force our government to improve our ability to handle difficult situation in best interest of general public. In UK there is 16 country council fire and rescue authorities, 23 combined fire authorities, 6 metropolitan fire and civil defense authorities, and the London Fire and emergency planning authority. All are engaged to reduce community risk and enhance well being of general public. Communication on fire has improved through Firelink project (wide area digital radio system) which replaced individual fire and rescue service’s radio system. With this system communication with brigades and other emergency services are possible. The new system has more clear voice as based on digital technology. It has direct links between vehicles and control centers. This system even can locate a caller using mobile phone. The system allows talking directly between officers’ car and appliances. According to news dated 27 April, 2007 states that one third of England’s fire appliances are fitted with new high tech radios. UAE government legislation on fire and safety is as per international standards to keep pace with economic growth emirate is witnessing. The civil defense has introduced a new system to communicate about fire. This new system can save your house or premises from damage by fire. This is a fire alarm system which connects your premises to the civil defense control room. In case of fire just press the switch similar to door bell and the team of fire and rescue will at your door step to save lives and property. Its cost is even not very high – only AED 300/=. 10- Ethical impact of a fire broke out in an apartment block of Abu Dhabi Absal, (2008) of Gulf News “Five workers suffer serious burns in Abu – Dhabi apartment fire”. He narrated the story as under. According to the police, five men got serious burns when a fire broke out in an apartment located at second floor; block A of Khalifa Complex opposite Abu Dhabi Mall in Tourist Club Area. All men were Indians and working as cleaners – cleaning the apartment after being vacated on Sunday afternoon. The incident happened when they were removing glue with some solvent from the flour used by the previous tenant for carpet fixing. The apartment damaged completely however further damage to building was reduced by timely intervention of police and fire and rescue authorities. Four out of five men got third degree burns. The actual cause of fire is still unknown. However, according to an eye witness the fire was trigged by a cigarette. The possible cause of fire in above case was smoking and inflammable material. The ethical impact of this case study is that smoking during working hours and with solvents which can catch fire at work place – means violation of safety rules and regulations. All employees are required to follow code of conduct strictly at work place. They must be given essential ethical practice training to ensure not only their safety but of people around them. Employer is also responsible to make sure that workers are following code of conduct while on job and receive adequate fire safety training on regular basis. Construction of buildings as per safety standards is very important to avoid disasters / emergencies in future. The authorities approving construction plans / maps should adhere to standards of safety strictly. Proper training of workers means how to do a particular job and that in case of emergency they must know how quickly to react for their personal as well as safety of people and assets in surroundings to minimize the loss. References 1- Absal, R., 2008, Five workers suffer serious burns in Abu Dhabi apartment fire, Gulf News.com [Internet], June 22 2- Communities and Local government, Available at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/publications/all/ 3- Rothenberg, E., L., 2002. Globalization, The Three Tensions of Globalizations, The American Forum for Global Education, New York 4- Seabrook, K., 2006, An International Briefing: Global issues in Workplace safety and health, [Internet] The American Society of Safety Engineers, Published in Proceedings of 2006, Available at: http://www.asse.org/practicespecialties/articles/seabrook.php 5- The World Fact book, Central Intelligence Agency, Available at: https://www.cia.gov/index.html 6- UAE Emirates Year Book, 2009, UAE Interact, Available at: http://uaeinteract.com/news/default.asp?ID=281 7- Wilson, B., & Dawson, A., 2007, New Fire legislation to be enforced, Arabian Business.com, [Internet], March 26 8- Xpress, 2009, Drop in number of fires in 2008, Gulf News [Internet], March 01 Read More