Fire Safety

Module Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course you should be able to:

Understand the nature of fire and what causes fires to burn

1. Understand what is required to make a fire burn

2. Understand the principal cause of fire
3. Understand the characteristics of smoke and how to prevent its spread

Fire prevention

1. Understand how to prevent fires from starting

2. Understand the importance of waste disposal
3. Understand the consequences of false alarms

How to respond to a fire

1. Know how to recognise a fire

2. Know how to use 'the five steps' when responding to a fire
3. Know how to help people to safety during a fire evacuation

Use of fire safety equipment

1. Understand the situations in which you might use other types of fire
safety equipment
 2. Know about different types of fire extinguishers and when to use them

The Characteristics of Fire, Smoke and Toxic

Fumes

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material, releasing heat, light, and various
reaction products (smoke / ash etc).

It is important that we know how fires burn, as this information helps us when
faced with putting a fire out!

Fire needs three elements to burn:

1. Heat/ignition

2. Oxygen

3. Fuel

These three elements form what is known as the Fire Triangle.

Once we know these three elements, we can work out ways to remove each
one:

1. Heat/ignition - You can remove the source of ignition. For example, we

can use water to reduce the heat of the fire.

2. Oxygen - You can remove the oxygen supply from the fire. For example, by
smothering or covering it.

3. Fuel - You can stop a fire from burning by removing the fuel source. For
example, we can turn off the gas supply or remove burning wood.
Smoke

Smoke is made up small particles of matter, gases and water vapour.

Water vapour makes up the majority of smoke. The remainder includes

carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, irritant volatile organic
compounds, air toxics and very small particles.

Toxic Fumes
A fume or fumes refers to vapours (gases), dusts and/or smoke given off by a
substance as a result of a chemical transformation such as reaction, heating,
explosion or detonation.

The word "Fumes" generally conveys the idea that the cloud is an irritating,
hazardous and/or toxic substance.

Fumes are often offensive smelling and irritant in nature, causing respiratory
problems and irritation of the lining of the lungs.

Many health conditions such as asthma and bronchitis are made much worse
in the presence of persistent fumes, such as pollution.

What element of the fire triangle do fire blankets remove?

Fuel

Electricity

Oxygen

Heat

Check your answer

How Fire Spreads

In the early stages of a fire, the smoke can be the fastest spreading danger. It
can travel at a speed of around 10 metres per second.
There are three ways that fire can be spread and heat be transferred:

Conduction

This is the transfer and spread of heat through a material. Some materials
conduct heat better than others, for example, a metal railing through a
corridor. The heat is passed through the molecules and can ignite fires
elsewhere.

Convection

This occurs only when heat is transferred through a liquid/gas. For example,
when hot currents travel through the house and ignite combustible materials
on the way.

Radiation
This is when hot surfaces transfer heat to each other, for example a sweater
in front of a fire.

How to Prevent Fires Starting (hazards in the

workplace)
The best way to avoid fires starting is prevention and early detection of the
hazard.

If you detect a potential hazard, you may stop a life-threatening fire from
breaking out. The following list includes some of the common causes of fires:

Electrical appliances

 Never overload sockets

 Don't try and fix faulty items yourself
 Make sure you have access to the power switch in case a problem
should arise
 All electrical items should be safety checked and PAT tested, including
own equipment such as mobile phones or kettles / radios / smart
speakers
Smoking

 Most institutions have a no-smoking policy, this also extends to vaping.

Ensure this policy is adhered to and report any non-compliance.
 Where smoking areas are provided, check regularly for the build up
waste matter such as cigarette ends and rubbish as fires frequently start
during dry periods as a result of poor housekeeping. Take your rubbish
with you if you have been smoking outside and discard cigarette ends
into the nearest smoking designated bin. Ensure all cigarette ends are
FULLY extinguished.

Equipment

 Only use equipment you are qualified and authorised to use it.
 Make sure it is switched off after use.
 Do not use faulty equipment.
 If equipment has an open flame, make sure the surrounding area is
safe.
 Ensure medical devices have been PAT tested and are clean and in
good order prior to use.

Arson

 Try to avoid piling up waste or combustibles, in case of an arsonist

setting light to it.
  Keep vigilant in the workplace for any suspicious behaviour and report
immediately if unsure.

Cooking

 Clean and tidy the cooking area regularly.

 Never leave cooking food unattended.
 Never leave appliances switched on whilst unattended.

Waste

 Although incorrect waste disposal does not usually cause fires, the
buildup of waste material can encourage the fire to spread very quickly.
 Make sure that there are no piles of rubbish or waste around the
environment and remember that clean = safe.

Preventing Fires / Risk Assessments

Both employers and employees have responsibilities with regards to health

and safety and preventing fires. You must stay alert so that fires can be
prevented before they start. Below are the three things you are responsible
for:

1. Hazard awareness

 You should be aware of the potential causes of fire, as mentioned on

the previous page.
  If you have identified a hazard it may be necessary to carry out a fire
risk assessment

Risk Assessments

A risk assessment is a systematic examination of a task, job or process that

you carry out at work for the purpose of identifying the significant hazards, the
risk of someone being harmed and deciding what further control measures
you must take to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.

The steps to follow are given below;

 Identifying the significant hazards that are present (a hazard is

something that has the potential to cause someone harm or ill health).
 Deciding if what you have already done reduces the risk of someone
being harmed to an acceptable level, and if not;
 Deciding what further control measures you must take to reduce the
risk to an acceptable level.
 Communicate your findings and any actions to the wider team and
ensure they are implemented.
 Review the risk assessment regularly, or when the risk changes, or
legislation requires that the risk is reviewed.

2. Prevention

 If you see a potential hazard, report it and remove the risk.

3. Communication

 If you are unable to remove the risk in advance and the fire has either
begun or is about to, please make your line manager or fire
representative aware of the problem as soon as you can. Acting quickly
will reduce the impact of a fire and may save lives.

Legislation relevant to fire Safety

The main law is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 or
"the Fire Safety Order"....The responsible person for the premises is also
required to:

 Consider who may be especially at risk.

 Eliminate or reduce the risk of fire as far as is reasonably practical.
 Provide general fire precautions to deal with any risk
In most organisations it will be obvious who is the responsible person for the
premises, however there may be a. number of individuals who take
responsibility for elements of fire safety such as training, managing equipment
or acting as the Fire warden in the event of an incident. It is important to know
who is the fire warden in your place of work and ensure you are familiar with
the steps you will need to take in the event of a fire.

The Fire Safety Bill (2020) has been introduced to replace and update the Fire
Safety order (2005) for more information click here

In Scotland, the Fire (Scotland) Act was introduced in 2005 to legislate for Fire
Safety. More information can be found here

False Alarms

A False alarm is: 'the activation of an alarm for any other reason that it
was intended'

Not only does it waste the emergency services' time, it can also disrupt the
daily occurrences within any organisation. In some parts of the UK, false
alarms account for 41% of all call outs for the fire service, making it a costly
and time consuming issue.
Most fire alarms are caused by a smoke detector being set off accidentally
and this can usually be as a result of dust from workmen's equipment,
cooking, aerosols or smoking.

There is always the risk of people either inside or outside the organisation
setting the alarm off, in order to cause disruption.

To avoid unnecessary call-outs and time being wasted by the fire services, a
process called Integrated Risk Management Planning has been introduced.
This has allowed for fire services to judge the level of rescue and attendance
needed by checking the profile of the premises and the status of the call
received (whether it was made on or off-site). In some cases, the Fire Service
may actively take steps to recoup the cost of all false alarm call outs.
With this in mind, it is ESSENTIAL that you raise the alarm at any suspicion of
a fire. Make sure you know your organisational fire procedures and do
everything you can to decrease the likelihood of false alarms

Signs Related to Fire Safety

There are signs that can help us carry out the correct procedures when
dealing with fire and they are organised into four colours:

Green signs indicate a safe exit route:

Yellow signs indicate a hazard, for example, an electrical hazard:

Red signs are for fire equipment, for example a fire extinguisher:
Blue signs display mandatory instructions, such as keeping a fire door
shut:

All commercial facilities have fire procedure signs that instruct you on what to
do in the case of a fire. Please familiarise yourself with these to ensure the
efficient evacuation of both yourself, other staff and all individuals that may
require assistance to safely evacuate.

How to Recognise a Fire

Our senses can help us recognise a fire in the early stages:

Hearing

 Flames and burning material make a roaring and crackling sound.

Smell
  You need to pay attention to what you can smell, as you may be able to
detect gas or smoke.

Touch

 You may feel the heat through material, such as a door handle or an
adjoining wall.

Vision

 Look out for smoke and flames.

The Five Steps of Fire Response

1. Raise the alarm

However small you think the fire is, be sure to raise the alarm as the first thing
you do.

2. Call the fire service

Check your local policy on contacting the fire service. Depending on the
organisation, the fire service may be contacted automatically when the alarm
is raised. If not, you may need to contact the emergency services yourself,
either through a switchboard or at reception.

3. Tackle the fire (if trained)

Only attempt to extinguish the fire if you have been trained to do so and it is
small enough to deal with alone. Be sure that you use the correct extinguisher
to prevent making the fire worse.

4. Evacuate

Check your organisation’s policy on evacuation. Never go to collect your

personal belongings. There is usually a fire warden assigned to each
shift. Ensure you know who that is at the beginning of each shift.

5. Meet the fire service

When the fire service arrives, be ready to tell them what has happened, the
size of the fire and any additional details that may help them to tackle the fire.
You will also need to be able to share information relating to residents who
may have reduced mobility if they are still in the building.
How to Ensure the Residents are Safe

If you are working in the care sector, the main priority is to make sure the
residents and patients are safe.

You should remember that the residents are likely to have differing levels of
independence and mobility. There are three groups of people that we should
take into account:

Independent

 These account for the residents who can walk unaided. They should still
be led to safety by members of staff.

Dependent
  These are residents who are less able to walk unaided and should be
evacuated using their care home bed. Check your local policy and
speak to your line manager to check which beds in the care home are
moveable.

Highly dependent

 These residents will also need to be evacuated on their beds or with

evacuation aids. Again, check with your line manager which residents
this will include.

It is important you are prepared in case a situation does arise, there should be
a list of residents in your care home and their relevant mobility needs in case
of an emergency. Ensure you know where the PEEPs list is kept (Personal
Emergency Evacuation Plans) so that it can be accessed quickly in the event
of a fire or other emergency.

You are on your lunch break and you hear the fire alarm sounding. What should you do?
Get out of the building as quickly as possible, everyone should look after
themselves

Aid other employees in evacuating the residents

You can see the alarm is not affecting your area, so you should stay where
you are

Shout as loudly as you can

Progressive Horizontal Evacuation (PHE)

This is a type of evacuation whereby residents and patients are moved

through fire doors, along the same level, to a safer area. This evacuation
practice is put in place in larger buildings, so that care can be continued, away
from harm.

If you hear a continuous fire alarm, it means that the fire alarm has been
activated in your area. What should you do?

 Go to the nearest fire panel to check the location of the fire

 Go to the area that has been shown on the panel to check for fire or
smoke
 Only start evacuation if smoke or fire is present
 Close windows and doors if possible.
 Move residents through fire doors on the same level to the Area of
Relative Safety
 If the Area of Relative Safety is no longer safe, go to the next
unaffected Compartment Zone (ward or corridor)
 You should only go downstairs (Vertical Evacuation) if there are no safe
areas on the same level.
If the fire alarm is an intermittent sound, stay alert, stop processes with
residents (e.g. undressing or washing) and offer assistance to the affected
area. Keep aware for the continuous fire alarm, should the situation change.

Fire Detectors

There are two types of fire detectors: heat and smoke.

There should be a fire detector in each room of the organisation, make sure it
is not covered or within 500mm of another material.

Make sure you are aware of what kind of system the organisation uses. It is
very important that you know whether during a fire alarm the emergency
services are automatically called, or if they need to be contacted manually.
Make yourself aware of the fire alarm points within the organisation. They are
usually small, red, square boxes with a glass screen, as seen below:

When you detect a fire, press the glass with your thumb until it breaks

Fire Extinguishers

There are five different kinds of fire extinguishers and you must know which
ones are for which kind of situation. The image below is of the different signs
that will accompany the extinguishers:
Thanks to SK Fire Prevention for the video.

Which extinguisher would be the best option to tackle a flammable liquid fire? E.g. a
waste bin containing a flammable medicine?
Foam spray

Water

Carbon Dioxide

Fire hose reel

Fire Blankets
A fire blanket is another kind of fire extinguisher, that should be used when a
person's clothes are on fire. They will be attached to the wall around your
organisation and look like this:
If you see someone who's clothes are on fire, you must do the drop,
wrap and roll technique.

Drop - get the victim on the ground

Wrap - wrap the fire blanket around them

Roll - roll the victim to smother the flames

Please note - fire blankets can also be used to smother liquid fires, such as
hot oil in a pan.

Most fire hose reels have been removed by the Department of Health. If it still
remains in your organisation, please do not use this unless you have been
formally trained - it can spread smoke very fast if not used correctly.

Summary

There are several messages that we would like to emphasise before you
complete this module and undertake the post-module assessment. These are:

1. Speed is essential if you suspect a fire - communicate and act within

your organisation’s policy and requirements
2. Good standards of cleanliness and hygiene reduce the risk of fire
related incidents.
 3. Make yourself aware of the organsiation process in the event of a fire,
you may be required to support vulnerable people to evacuate and you
are required to understand your role if that should occur.
4. Fire training helps to prevent fire, this module has provided you with the
theory to how this can be done. You must not use any equipment that
you have not been practically trained to use and assessed as being
competent to use.
5. False alarms are costly in terms of time and resource and may even
endanger life. It is your responsibility to ensure that you act in a way that
minimises the risk of fire at all times and your employers responsibility
to ensure you have the correct training to do this.

We hope you have enjoyed this module - Now please go on to complete the
post course assessment.

References

The Importance of Fire Safety Training.

False Alarms

Fire Safety and General Hazards (HSE)

The Fire (Scotland) Act

Fire Safety in the Workplace

The Fire Safety Bill (2020)

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