Fire Department of National Heritage Safety Management - Example

Fire Department of National Heritage Safety Management NAME: COURSE: TUTOR: DATE: Table of Contents Introduction 3 Fire safety policy statement 3 Fire safety management structure 4 Evacuation strategies 6 Emergency response 6 Fire alarm and detection 7 Sprinkler system (if any) 7 Fire prevention and arson awareness 8 Routine procedures for staff 8 Maintenance and testing of fire safety systems 9 Fire risk assessments 9 Record keeping 10 Audit and updating of this manual 10 Bibliography 14 Introduction This safety plan has been designed to cater for the safety needs of the users of the sports complex of the University of Central Lancashire. It has been laid down as a strategy to put across and stipulate standards of fire procedure as required by the university management. This plan shall be made available to all stakeholders, management and the student's fraternity as a whole. The standards herein are in accordance with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 concerning fire safety. The plan has been laid down such that it will cater for the needs of the current users of the facility and for those that will be future users. It has been designed taking into great consideration the diversity of the population in the university, meaning that that even users with special needs have been adequately taken care of. Fire safety policy statement The following policy statement has been developed from the background of a policy statement by the Bolton Primary Care Trust which was found to achieve similar objectives of any fire safety management committee that could be set up. The fire safety management committee of University of Central Lancashire is hereby committed to provide a safe and secure sporting environment for the sporting complex of the university, for the players, spectators and all other users of the complex. It is our major objective to take great care of all patrons to the complex to minimize any risks that may arise in case of a fire. To make all our objectives come to reality, the management asserts that a fire safety strategy needs a high degree of professional competence, management commitment and adequate resources, in all its endeavours (Phoenix 3). Fire safety management structure After making a research in several universities and institutions, the following fire safety management structure has been compiled with a base and background of Leeds University Fire and Safety Management Structure. The protocol followed is similar though there are deviations in some cases. The top most in the structure is the Vice Chancellor who then delegates his or her duties to others below him. The structure must flow from the top office in the university before it goes down to the sports complex staff. They include: the director of human resources, deans schools and the heads of schools or services. Second in the structure are the heads of schools and services that carry the direct responsibility of fire safety. They ensure that there are enough of well trained and fully competent fire wardens and that they perform their duties accordingly as stipulated in the University Fire Policy. He should finally make sure that routine checks and fire risk assessments are carried out often (Okular 1) The Director of Human Resources is mandated with the responsibility of making sure that a set of specialized staff to carry out the duties of safety advisory. Third in the structure is the Director of Estates who will provide the necessary resources maintenance of the alarm system, fire fighting equipment, emergency lighting, CCTV maintenance, structural fire precaution maintenance, and even implementing any remedial work that arises from risk assessments. Fire wardens follow in the hierarchy and they are mandated with carrying out fire risk assessments, routine checks of dangling fire precautions, train staff and students, organise and implement fire evacuation drills and finally assist during evacuation of the building. There is the head of health and safety services that check on the performance of the safety advisor and reports to the director of well being on issues that might be raised by the fire advisers. There is also the Building Maintenance Manager who ensures that all fire and safety equipments are well maintained. Then we have the Fire Safety Advisors who carry out the fire risk assessment, they audit the fire safety of the complex, make approvals of building plans, train wardens and other fire staff, formulate policies for approval by the committee and investigate major fire incidents and finally they must liaise with regulatory bodies (Okular 1) The Electrical Technical Officer in charge of fire alarms and emergency lighting follows closely, charge with remedial work identified by the advisor and giving a report upon completion. He forwards to the Health and Safety services the following documents: designs for new fire alarm systems, records of fire risk assessment, remedial work for action, records of the wardens' risk assessment and routine check-list forms. The Head of Security and Support Services ensures that all fire officers respond to fire incidents on time and efficiently. Finally Deans or Heads of Service Groups ensure the fire safety issues are followed to the tooth, coupled with providing the necessary resources (both time and money) to ensure that all staff undertake their tasks effectively. He is also in-charge of ensuring that Estates Management authorise all minor building work (Okular 1) Evacuation strategies The health, safety and Environment department of Loughborough University has made excellent contributions towards evacuation preparedness, in their document reviewed in 2010, and this can be used, coupled with others, to lay down strategies. The amount of time spent for people in a fire stricken building to reach a safe place within a building or from the point of fire, should be as minimal as possible(HSE Dept. 1). this will depend on the location of the fire, how fast was the fire discovered and how fast was the alarm raised, the number and type of people present in the building, the number and location of fire exits, the presence of movement restrictors, how fast the fire is spreading, the size of the venue and finally the topology of the area and condition of the floor (HM Govt. 29). Escape routes should be suitable, easily and safe for use at all emergency times. The routes should be adequate for the number of people that are likely to use them, free from any hazards that may cause obstructions and any other barriers. For people with disability it may prove a bit challenging due to may be mobility, hearing or vision impairment. In such cases, the complex may require staff with specialized training and allocated purposely to deal with such people. The staff should be well informed during training sessions about escape routes. Emergency response There should be special training that should be carried out during training sessions to deal with emergencies. Sites where first aid kits are located, what is contained in the first aid kit and how to use them. There should be staff appointed and trained to specifically deal with emergencies. The institution should liaise with emergency and rescue services that can be reached with ease (Furness and Muckett 112). They include fire fighters and medical services that can come in handy in the case of injuries. Staff and users of the complex should be trained on what to do during cases of fire and emergency. These procedures include raising the fire alarm, calming down, use of extinguishers and assembling at the fire assembly point. The Health, Safety and Environment Department recommend that minimum number of emergency features should be linked with the fire alarm system. If they are not then the management should carry out a fresh risk assessment and recommendations given. Such features may include automatic doors and fire dumpers (HSE Dept. 3). Fire alarm and detection HSE continues to recommend that alarm systems should be installed in accordance with BS 5839 standards unless the risk assessment recommends other higher standards. Fire detector heads should include both sound and light so that those with visual and hearing impairment can be alerted. These kinds of systems must be installed at all common points of the building (HSE Dept 3). The alarm system should be linked to a fire response unit via fibre optic or telephone and to a computer system to alert the response team immediately. This should be coupled with constant checks and monitoring of faulty conditions which should be automatically detected in the alarm response unit. Sprinkler system (if any) In case a sprinkler system is installed, which should actually be installed especially in our case of such a large building, the system must be fully functional with an adequate supply of water. The system should be constantly inspected by a professional especially from a government institution. Fire prevention and arson awareness According to the safety measures of the university, the university should conduct fire drills twice every year. The participation of all staff, students and any visitors around should be there without question and should follow the procedure as though it were an emergency. They go on to give guidelines in the case of a fire outbreak. They assert that if one notices a fire the person should hit the nearest red fire alarm point, and then call the number 333 as you exit the building. A person should the use a green or red telephone that is situated outside the main entrance to inform the response unit of the fire location. They insist that a person should only tackle a fire if the conditions are favorable to do so or if adequately trained (Cass 1). This awareness should be provided to the staff working in the complex too. Routine procedures for staff The University, in its safety measures (Cass), indicates that it carries out training to a number of its staff to be Fire Marshals. In addition, the management must provide information and strict instructions to its staff and also the employers of other workers in the building. The information and instructions should be based on an already set emergency plan (HM Govt. 35, 36). These instructions should include what you gathered from your risk assessment, what measured have been put in place to avert risks, are there any staff present in the case of a fire?, the people (and their identity given) that have been given the responsibility of fire safety, and finally the special procedures put in place in case of serious emergencies of people affected by the fire (HM Govt. 36). Maintenance and testing of fire safety systems As it has been highlighted earlier, fire safety systems should be constantly maintained and examined in case of any faults. The university should insist on inspection of its systems according to the fire code of the region. The university could borrow a leaf from the California Fire Code of the State of California (SDFRD 1) which states that fire alarm systems must be tested annually. All valve switches (in the case of sprinklers) and the flow of water must past the inspectors' test which is done twice every year after every six months. As per the State of California, the inspector must be either licensed i.e. C7 or C10 or have received specialised training as per the NFPA 72 guidelines. Fire risk assessments According to the HSE's risk assessment guide, the whole process of risk assessment takes several steps. First and foremost is to prepare an inventory of activity that identifies places that could need assessment. Next is to identify potential causes of hazard for every task or area that you have put down in the inventory. After that it is very important to identify persons who are at risk of being harmed putting into consideration the number of these people that are exposed to risk. The next stage is to evaluate the levels of risk considering the control measures that have already been put into play. It is advisable at this point to include any other additional control measures so that we can reduce the risk to the smallest amount possible. Record all the findings of the assessment followed by revising the assessment and finally communicating the findings to all concerned parties. An eample of an assessment form can be seen on Appendix 1 Record keeping All records from all departments should be kept safely and cross-checked. Records should include: Any hazards that you have encountered, the actions taken, the people affected by the risk, what actions may have been taken to reduce the risks to the people affected by the fire, the details of procedures that have been put n place to take care of risks and a record of people that may have been nominated for particular functions. Finally it is good to include other resources, information or training that the staff and students need. Audit and updating of this manual This manual is not a final script of procedures and instructions or rather strategies of fire management in the sports complex. It is due for correction and audit and updating at any time. This is because every day there is new developments concerning fire and safety management. Shapes Used Exit routes Ventilations Building Maps Bibliography British Standards Institution, 1995. Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for system design, installation, commissioning and maintenance. Building Bulletin 91, 1991. Access for disabled people to school buildings: Management and design guide. The Stationery Office Cass H, 2011. Fire Safety. University of Central Lancashire. Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, 1996. The Stationery Office, SI 1996/1592.,1996. ISBN 0 11 035904 6. Construction Regulations 1996. Health, Safety and Welfare. The Stationery Office Disability discrimination act, 1995. The Stationery Office Fire safety management structure & responsibility http://www.asaha.com/ebook/kNzc4NjM-/Fire-safety-management-structure-responsibility.pdf Furness A, Muckett M. 2007 Introduction to Fire Safety Management Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann Publishers UK, 2007 Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996, SI 1996/341.The Stationery Office, Health, Safety and Environment Dept, 2010. Fire Strategy, Loughborough University Leeds University, 2011. Fire_management_flowchart, http://www.leeds.ac.uk/safety/fire/documents/appendix/fire_management_flowchart.pdf San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, 2011 Maintenance and Testing of Fire Protection Systems. Read More