Element 5 - Safety Of People In The Event Of Fire

Question 1

Creating the Fire emergency plan requirements

Answer 1

Will be derived from findings of a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.
Must be recorded if your organisation has five or more employees on the premises.
Must be made available to:
- to all employees.
- employee representatives.
- the enforcing authority.

Question 2

Contents of a fire emergency plan

Answer 2

How people will be warned.
What action people should take on discovering a fire.
Action people should take in the event of Fire.
Arrangements for calling the fire and rescue services.
Any isolations of equipment.
Activities on hearing the fire alarm.
Evacuation procedure.
Assembly points.
Fire fighting arrangements.
Procedure for meeting Fire and Rescue Service.
Provision of information on the incident.
Vulnerable people and those with disabilities.

Question 3

Why are fire drills carried out?

Answer 3

To comply with the RRFSO 2005.
To ensure employees are familiar with escape.
To enable employees to react calmly.
To secure a rapid evacuation in the event of Fire.
To ensure that evacuation procedures are effective.
To test the adequacy of fire escape routes.
Allow fire marshalls to practice their role.
To identify deficiencies in alarm system.
To monitor response to ensure evacuation procedures remain effective.

Question 4

Reasons for phased evacuation system.

Answer 4

Allows controlled evacuation of large numbers of people.
Help reduce congestion and panic during evacuation.
Ensures that those nearest the fire and most at are risk evacuated first.

Question 5

Operation of a phased evacuation system

Answer 5

Occupants of floor affected and floor immediately above evacuated first.
Those on other floors be alerted and kept on standby.
Use of different alarm system to indicate evacuation or standby.
Fire marshals communicate evacuation status to a senior Marshal.
Provision of regular training and fire drills.

Question 6

Considerations of an evacuation procedure

Answer 6

The alarm system.
How the evacuation should proceed.
Arrangements for vulnerable people.
Arrangements for special groups e.g. contractors, cleaners.
Where people should assemble.
How to ensure that everyone has been evacuated e.g. roll call, fire marshal reports.
How people are formed and trained in the procedure, e.g. fire drills.
How to allocate responsibilities to individuals, e.g. fire wardens.

Question 7

Considerations for evacuation procedures for shared occupancy building

Answer 7

Number people to be evacuated.
Number of available exits and the travel distance to them.
Location of assembly points.
Arrangements for accounting for personnel.
Actions to be taken on discovering a fire.
Arrangements for contacting the emergency services.
Possibility of arranging a phased evacuation.
Procedure for visitors and contractors.
Liaising with other occupiers.
Identifying facilities for the vulnerable.
Number for fire wardens to be appointed.
Clarity of signage.
Training for employees.
Fire alarm tests and fire drills.

Question 8

Reasons for phased evacuation

Answer 8

Allows controlled evacuation of large number of people.
Reduces congestion and panic.
Ensure those nearest the fire evacuated first.

Question 9

How phased evacuation system works

Answer 9

Floor affected and floor above alerted first.
Other floors to be kept on standby.
Use of different alarm system to indicate evacuation or standby.
Fire marshals report evacuation status to senior marshall.
Provision for regular training and fire drills.

Question 10

Reasons fire drills carried out

Answer 10

Comply with the requirements of RRFSO 2005.
Ensure that employees are familiar with escape procedure.
Enables employees to react more calmly.
Secures a rapid evacuation.
Ensure that evacuation procedures are effective particularly for visitors and vulnerable.
Test the adequacy of fire escape routes.
Allows fire marshals to practice their roles.
Identifies deficiencies in evacuation system.
Allows monitoring to ensure procedures remain effective.

Question 11

Additional aids the evacuation of people with sensory impairment or physical disability.

Answer 11

Trembler or visual alarms.
Use of evac chairs.
Provision of refuges.
Tactile wayfinding and exit signs.
Provision of dedicated evacuation lifts.
Use of buddy systems.
Appointment of staff to supervise refuge points.

Question 12

Measures to overcome behavioural problems in evacuation

Answer 12

Clear roles and responsibilities.
Unambiguous clear alarms.
Well practice drills.
Clear escape routes, signed and lit.
Measures to assist vulnerable people.
Contingency for sleeping people.

Question 13

Factors that make people slow to respond in a fire evacuation.

Answer 13

Poor perception, understanding, or knowledge of the danger involved.
People often wait for others to respond first.
Lack of awareness of the significance of the alarm, e.g.assumption it’s a false alarm.
Desire to finish tasks and collect belongings.
Panic causing people to freeze.

Question 14

Fire safety training based on the fire emergency plan should include

Answer 14

What to do on discovering a fire.
How to raise the alarm.
What to do on hearing the fire alarm.
Procedures for alerting contractors and visitors.
Arrangements for calling fire rescue services.
Evacuation procedures for everyone to reach place of safety.
Location and use of Fire fighting equipment.
Location of escape routes.
How to open emergency exit doors.
Importance of keeping fire doors closed.
How to isolate power for machinery.
Why lifts should not be used.
The risks and safe use of flammable substances.
The importance of general fire safety.

Question 15

Role of Fire marshals/ wardens

Answer 15

Helping visitors and vulnerable person to leave the premises.
Ensuring everyone has evacuated.
Using fire fighting equipment.
Liaising with Fire Rescue Service.
Shutting down vital or dangerous equipment.
Performing supervisory/ managing role in any fire situation.

Question 16

Fire warden training should include.

Answer 16

Detailed knowledge of the fire safety strategy of the premises.
Awareness of human behaviour in fire.
How to encourage others to use appropriate escape route.
How to search safely and recognise areas that are unsafe to enter.
Understanding the difficulties of vulnerable people.
Pre-planned special evacuation arrangements.
Additional training in the use of Fire fighting equipment.
An understanding of fixed installations.
Importance of reporting faults incidents and near misses.

Question 17

The fire marshal system involves:

Answer 17

Building being split into small areas of responsibility.
Each area allocated to a fire marshal.
In an evacuation:
- search and check the allocated area.
- ensure that all people have left the building.
- Direct persons to appropriate fire exit and safe assembly point.
- Report to coordinator that the area has been checked.

Question 18

Benefits of using fire Marshals

Answer 18

• Use of trained people who know the premises to evacuate to others who may not be familiar with the layout.
• Marshalls can compensate for any adverse human behaviour that may hinder or delay evacuation.

Question 19

Employees with management or supervisory roles need further training on:

Answer 19

The fire emergency plan.
Fire alarm control panel.
Special evacuation arrangements for vulnerable persons.