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FIRE SAFETY
This is to confirm that I have the document, answered the questions and
have discussed my answers with my assessor.
Candidate …………………………………………………….
Assessor ………………………………………………………
Date ………………………………………..
Fire Personnel
In an emergency situation, there is potential for confusion and irrational
behaviour. In order to be prepared for a fire, people in a workplace should be
given specific responsibilities.
1. A senior person should be designated, especially in large premises or where
there are likely to be non-staff present. The senior person will be a senior
member of the organisation, and should be able to remain calm during an
emergency. He or she should be responsible for fire training, relevant fire
contacts and the fire record system. In the event of a fire, he or she should be
easily identified as being in a position of authority, e.g. by wearing a hard hat and
a fluorescent jacket.
2. Fire wardens should be appointed to assist in evacuation. They should be
responsible for:
(a) Checking their area is evacuated if the alarm is sounded
(b) Carrying out fire-fighting, if appropriate.
(c) Closing doors once the area is evacuated, proceeding to the assembly point
and liaising with other wardens to make sure the whole building has been
evacuated
(d) Ensuring that everyone is accounted for at the assembly point
(e) Notifying the fire brigade of anyone missing, and details of the fire
(f) Helping to move people to another assembly point if necessary.
3. Reception staff should proceed to the assembly point if the alarm sounds,
taking the staff, register and visitor’s book with them. They should help to ensure
that everyone is accounted for. Deputies must be appointed for the senior person
and fire wardens, to ensure adequate cover if the usual personnel are absent,
e.g. holidays, sickness or working off-site.
Fire personnel should receive training in how to carry out their responsibilities,
including practice in evacuation, i.e. fire drills. All staff should receive appropriate
training in what action to take in the event of a fire. The following is an example
of a training note.
WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE
If you discover a fire, you should do the following:
1. Raise the alarm at once breaking the glass on the nearest fire alarm operating point.
2. Tell reception where the fire is. If you feel you can tackle the fire, use the appropriate fire
extinguishers provided. Do not take any risks.
3. Do not stop to collect anything. Do not use the lifts
If the fire alarm sounds leave the building quickly and calmly by the nearest escape route. If possible, help
visitors to evacuate the building. Do not stop to collect anything. Do not use lifts. Do not re-enter the
building until you are told to do so by a fire warden or other responsible person.
Assembly point is in the car park. If the assembly point needs to be changed in the event of a fire, you will
be directed to the alternative assembly point by a senior person, fire warden or other responsible person.
Fire Drills
Fire drills to evaluate the building should take place at least once a year, and
preferably every six months or as specified in the fire certificate. Evacuation
training should include:
Knowledge of the fire alarm signal
Knowledge of the nearest escape routes and fire exits
Knowledge of how to help disabled people
Knowledge of the location of the nearest assembly point
Realisation of the importance of attending the roll call, and reporting
anyone who is still in the building or missing
FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT
Portable Fire Extinguishers
Portable fire extinguishers of an appropriate size and type should be sited:
As close as possible to the fire risk
Next to the fire exits
On escape routes
At the same location on each floor in uniform buildings
In groups forming fire groups
Away from extremes of temperature
Anyone who needs a fire extinguisher should not have to go any further than
30m in any direction to find one. Fire extinguishers should be fixed securely to a
wall, and there should be no obstructions. Fire blankets should be provided in
high risk areas.
Fire extinguishers should be checked monthly to ensure that they are sited
correctly, has not been discharged, and do not have any obvious damage. They
should be inspected annually by a maintenance engineer or suitably trained
person. Water, foam and powder and equipment (Gas cartridge or stored
pressure, except primary sealed type) should have a discharge test every five
years. Carbon dioxide, powder (primary sealed type) and halon extinguishers
should have a discharge test every 10 years for the first 20 years, and every 5
years after that. (It should be noted that halon extinguishers are subject to the
1987 Montreal protocol due to their Ozone depletion potential, and advice should
be sought on their replacement)
British standard BS 5423 specified different colours for different types of portable
fire extinguishers, such as red for water, cream for foam and black for Carbon
Dioxide, etc. However, BS EN 3 portable fire extinguishers have superseded that
standard, and impose a Europe-wide colour scheme. This applies to
manufacturers of portable fire extinguishers, and specifies that all fire
extinguishers should be red in colour (see figure 3 below). Further details on
portable fire extinguishers are provided by BS 5306 Fire extinguishing
installations and equipment on premises Part 3: 1985 code of practice for
selection, installation and maintenance for portable fire extinguishers.
Hose Reels
Hose reels should be fitted where floor areas are larger than 800m square. They
are normally connected to mains water, and there should be sufficient pressure
to throw water from the highest reel a minimum of 6m. BS EN 671-H 1995 hose
reels with semi-rigid hose provide guidance. Hose reels should remain
unobstructed and available for use at all times. Hose reels should be inspected
monthly to check that the inlet valve, the automatic on/off valve, glands, tubing
and the shut-off nozzle are sound and free from leaks. It should be completely
run out and subjected to operational water pressure once a year. A flow test
should be carried out.
Sprinklers
Water sprinklers may be appropriate, especially in large, un-compartmented
buildings, or buildings that are sometimes unoccupied. Sprinklers would not be
appropriate in premises containing chemicals and equipment that are
incompatible with water. Sprinklers are covered by BS5306 Part 2 Specification
for sprinkler systems.
Other Fixed Installations
Fixed flooding systems using extinguishing media other than water may be used
for hazardous areas, such as those containing electrical equipment, e.g.
computer rooms, flammable liquids storage, etc. It should be noted that carbon
dioxide is not suitable for extinguishing fires involving materials that contain their
own oxygen supply.
Furthermore, fixed flooding systems present their own health and safety risks,
and require specific procedures and safeguards, e.g. to ensure complete
evacuation before discharge. A weekly check should be carried out by suitably
trained staff, backed up by a more complicated six-month inspection, ideally
carried out by a service engineer under a service contract.
Fire Classification
Portable fire extinguishers enable suitably trained people to tackle a fire in its
early stages, if they can do so without putting themselves in danger.
All workplaces should be provided with means of fighting fire for use by people in
the premises. When you are deciding on the types of extinguisher to provide,
you should consider the nature of the materials likely to be found in your
workplace.
Fires are classified in accordance with British Standard EN2 as follows:
Class A Fires involving solid materials where combustion normally takes
place with the formation of glowing embers
Class B Fires involving liquids or liquefiable solids
Class C Fires involving gases
Class D Fires involving metals
Class E Fires involving cooking oils or fats
Class A and B Fires
Class A fires involve solid materials, usually of organic matter such as wood,
paper etc. They can be dealt with using water or multi-purpose powder
extinguishers, with water and foam considered the most suitable. Your risk
assessment will help you decide how many you need.
Class B fires involve liquids or liquefiable solids such as paints, oils or fats. It
would be appropriate to provide extinguishers of foam (including multi-purpose
aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) carbon dioxide or halon or dry powder types.
Carbon dioxide extinguishers are also suitable for a fire involving electrical
equipment.
The fire extinguishers currently available for Class A or Class B fires should not
be used on cooking oil or fat fires. See Class F fires.
Class C fires - dry powder extinguishers may be used on Class C fires.
However, you need to consider the circumstances for their use and combine this
with action such as stopping the leak, to remove the risk of a subsequent
explosion from the build-up of unburnt gas.
Class D fires - None of the extinguishers referred to above will deal effectively
with a Class D fire as these involve metals such as aluminium, magnesium,
sodium or potassium. Only specially trained personnel using special equipment
should tackle such fires. If your assessment identifies the risk of a fire involving
these metals, you should consult your local fire authority about the best way of
dealing with it.
Special extinguishers are available for use on fires involving cooking fats and oils
e.g. chip pans and deep fat fryers, but these should only be used by specially
trained people. (This is not an established class within the current British
Standard)
Fire extinguishers may be colour-coded to indicate their type. Previously, the
entire body of the extinguisher has been colour-coded, but British Standard EN3:
Part 5 (which came into effect on 1 January 1997) requires that all new fire
extinguisher bodies should be red. A zone of colour of up to 5% of the external
area, positioned immediately above or within the section used to provide the
operating instructions, may be used to identify the type of extinguisher. This zone
should be positioned so that it is visible through a horizontal are of 180° when the
extinguisher is correctly mounted. This colour-coding should follow the
recommendations of British Standard 7863.
Fire extinguishers, if properly maintained and serviced, may be in service for at
least 20 years. So there may be situations where a building may have a mixture
of new and old fire extinguishers with the same type of extinguishing medium but
with different colour-coded markings. In these cases and to avoid confusion, it is
advisable to ensure that extinguishers of the same type but with different colour-
coded markings are not mixed, either in the same location in single-story
buildings or on the same floor level in multi-story buildings.
Old style fire extinguishers must not be painted red to try to comply with the new
standard, as this would contravene British Standard EN3 which covers technical
changes during the manufacturing stage.
Colour-coding of fire extinguishers
STANDARD DRY For liquid and electrical fires
Blue POWDER OR MULTI-
DO NOT USE on metal fires
PURPOSE DRY POWDER
Cream AFFF (AQUEOUS FILM-
FORMING FOAM) MULTI-
PURPOSE
FOAM For use on liquid fires
Cream
DO NOT USE on electrical or
metal fire
WATER For wood, paper, textile and
RED solid material fires
DO NOT USE on liquid,
electrical or metal fires
GREEN HALON
Cº2 For liquid and electrical fires
BLACK
DO NOT USE on metal fires
ACTIVITY
1. Explain the Fire evacuation procedure
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2. Explain how you should raise the alarm
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3. List the different types of fire fighting equipment including their uses and
limitations that are found on the premises
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4. List all Fire Marshall’s within your company
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5. Using a separate sheet of paper, draw a floor plan of your work area showing
the locations of all Fire Exits, Alarm Points, Fire Fighting Equipment and First Aid
Points.
FLOOR PLAN
