Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation-Have We Ignored This For Too Long?

Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation-Have We Ignored This For Too Long?

Article by Adrian Simpson

Domestic and Commercial Fires

In the UK alone there are in excess of 100,000 accidental fires in populated

buildings resulting in over 600 fatalities. Many believe these figures are unacceptable

and that a fair percentage of fire related injuries and deaths are also avoidable.

So what can be done to save more lives?

The Law

Fire safety is now being given extra legal focus which is reflected in new Regulatory

Reform Fire Safety Order which comes into force in April 2006. This new legislation

includes the requirement for employers to carry out a fire safety risk assessment

and act upon its findings.

Risk Assessments

There are many changes organisations can employ to make their buildings safer

and escape procedures better and these improvements are best identified by carrying

out a fire safety risk assessment.

If you have the time and expertise to do this ‘in-house’ then all

when and good but often this task is best left to the professionals. Make sure

that any company offering this service only employs assessors with a minimum

of 10 years experience in the fire brigad. Also their knowledge and efficiency

means that an assessment is usually completed well within a day, if its going

to take longer than that, they may simply not be up to the job. Also remember

that by using outside experts companies usually find that it’s more cost

effective and assures them of legal compliance.

At the end of the survey you should get a user friendly report provided identifying

time saving checks and procedures to keep your organisation‘fire safe’.

Let’s make this clear - a fire safety risk assessment is not meant to

make life difficult for businesses, it is supposed to fit into the time constraints

and the culture of an organisation and this should always be the objective of

any bone-fide company.

The HSE and Fire Service will be carrying out spot inspections. If companies
with 5 employees or more haven't completed a fire safety risk assessment they
will be breaking the law

Companies are unlikely to be insured if they haven't done a fire safety
risk assessment, this could put your organsiation out of business for good

Helping you and your staff

In a real fire situation it is how people react and the assistance they are given that can make the real difference between life or death. The staggering fact is that you are four times more likely to be critically injured from smoke than fire. The theory is if we all knew what to do when I fire breaks out and were provided with (and knew how to use!) a simple smoke filtering device then we would see fewer fatalities.

Smoke masks covering a wide variety of occasions are now available, but you also need the fire safety training that goes with them. By learning about the nature of fires and how to use escape kits and masks, you can give yourself the best chance of escaping a fire safely.

Did you know?

Many fires produce a mixture of both harmful smoke particles and gases
which pose the greatest risk of incapacity in an emergency situation

The first 15 minutes of a fire are often considered to be the most crucial
and therefore knowing your fire safety routes and access to a smoke filtering
device can help you escape a fire or smoke filled room

One of the first and natural human reactions to fires is to panic. An effective
smoke mask can literally provide 'breathing space' to help you escape - the
clearer the thinking the greater the likelihood of safe escape

Recommendations

Book your fire safety risk assessment now, April 2006 is only round the
corner

Get the best smoke hood / mask you can afford for your staff. Better still
opt for Emergency Evacuation packs that contains other evacuation tools as
well

Know how to don your smoke hood / mask and know your escape routes - you
won’t have time to learn if a fire starts near you!

Adrian has been involved in the areas of Health and Food safety for many years, offering consultancy services for both topics. His Health and Safety group is dedicated to assisting business cope with the H&S laws in the UK and to provide them with a cost effective means of purchasing any item required to meet their obligations in this area.