Comprehensive Fire Safety Report: Risk Assessment and Prevention

This report provides a comprehensive overview of fire safety, encompassing various aspects crucial for workplace safety. It begins by defining fire and the essential elements required for its occurrence, including the fire triangle and fire tetrahedron. The report then delves into fire safety measures, legal requirements such as OSHA and NFPA standards, and the classification of fires based on British Standard EN 2:1992. A significant portion is dedicated to fire risk assessment, detailing the stages involved in identifying hazards, assessing risks, and implementing preventive measures, in accordance with the RRFSO. The report also addresses fire prevention strategies, including compartmentation, keeping people informed, and ensuring building access and emergency evacuation routes. Emphasis is placed on the importance of fire safety equipment, emergency exit signs, and the development of comprehensive emergency plans. The report underlines the roles and responsibilities of employers and employees in maintaining a safe working environment, including the legal consequences of non-compliance.

ASSIGNMENT 8
8.1
Fire is a sort of chemical response that includes rapid oxidation of ignitable fills (substances)
and subsequent discharge of heat and light.
Fire security alludes to the preparation and plan of framework pointed toward decreasing the
threat of fire or preventing the spread of fire during a fire. Fire safety incorporates the
utilization of noncombustible structure materials, preventive measures, safe working methods,
fire safety training, fire assurance apparel, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. The norm of
the OSHA fire industry is 29 CFR 1910. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) additionally
has various laws pointed toward guaranteeing fire safety in the work environment.
Fire safety includes the following:
Be sure to comply with local building codes. Ensure that the provisions of the fire codes
(presence, stairs, signs and symbols, etc.) are followed.
• Consistence with electrical safety codes
• Fire risk assessment when repairing a building, equipment, or process
• Appropriate capacity of combustible and risky materials
• Establishment of fire identification and programmed or self-loader alarms
• Design of suitable types of fire extinguishers and pipes
• Train users on firefighting, fire alarms, emergency exits and integration procedures
• Conduct regular emergency fire tests by contacting your local fire department
Fire safety is a set of strategies pointed at minimizing fire damage. Fire safety measures
incorporate those planned to forestall uncontrolled fire, just as those used to restrict the turn
of events and outcomes of a fire.
Fire safety measures incorporate those prearranged during construction or utilized on existing
structures, as well as those instructed to residents. Fire safety dangers are repeatedly
mentioned as fire hazards that comprise circumstances that increase the risk of fire or that may
delay fire escape.
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Figure 1: Fire Triangle Figure 2: Fire Tetrahedron

Fire safety is often a part of building safety. Those who inspect fire code breakout structures
and go to schools to teach children about fire safety topics are members of the fire department
known as Fire Protection. The Chief Fire Officer or Fire Protection Officer will usually train
beginners to the Fire Brigade and can inspect or make drawings. In 2000 the Fire Safety
Advisory Board was established to change the fire law to simplify, amend and consolidate
existing laws. It will provide a fire risk-based approach that considers effective, efficient fire and
rescue authorization and other legal requirements.
Fire Safety Equipment and Devices
• Smoke indicators and heat (usually on the ceiling)
• Fire and emergency alarms (unlocked with emergency buttons or handles)
• Fire and emergency lights (red)
• Water sprinklers (usually on the ceiling)
• Fire extinguishers (different types of fire class)
• Water pipes have a pipe attached
• Fire blanket (to wrap a burnt person or cover fire)
• Emergency exit signs and lights
• Fire emergencies and emergencies
• Stairs of fire and emergency and evacuation
• Fire station (meeting place)
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8.2
Three things to be require for the fire to take place. As shown in the Figure
Figure 3: Fire Triangle
If any of these elements is absent, the fire cannot initiate as it prevent the fire from starting.
The fire can be prevented by avoiding these three combinations.
Sources of fire
In the workplace, below mentioned are the potential sources of fire:
 Nude flames - from smokers, cooking utensils, heating equipment
 External sparks - from welding, grinding iron, touch tools, electric shifting gears.
 Internal spark - from electrical appliances (incorrect and normal), appliances, lights
 Hot spots – sources are light, cooking, hot items, airtight appliances etc
 Dry electricity - causing high energy sparks from separating substances like
disintegration of plastic, pouring of highly flammable liquids etc.
Figure 4: Sources of Ignition in recent years
Classification of fire
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Classifications of fire are according to British Standard EN 2: 1992 Fire Classes.
Class A - Fires involving combustible materials that are solid materials i.e. furniture, cardboard,
textiles, wood, paper, and plastics.
Category B - Fires involving flammable materials that are in liquids or solids such as paint,
grease or oil. Further divided into:
Class B1 - Fires consisting of soluble liquids such as methanol.
Category B2 - Fires involving water insoluble liquids, like petrol and oil.
Category C - Fires involving electricity.
Class D - Fires involving metals like magnesium or aluminum.
Class F - Fires containing oil for cooking or oil in large restaurants or cafes.
The spread of fire
The heat is transmitted through fire in many ways, there is a need to understand these in order
to prevent, control, and extinguish the flames.
Convection: The hot air becomes slightly compacted and then rises, absorbing fresh cold air to
stimulate more oxygen-burning fire. Heat is transferred to a surface with sufficient strength to
burn.
Conduction: conduction is a process in which heat is transmitted to a material that is strong
enough to dissolve or disintegrate the material and to ignite flammable materials that combine
or come close to the hot part such as metals.
Figure 5: Principal of fire spread
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Radiation the heat waves that is transferred from the surface and it can be so intense that
nearby objects can be ignite.
Legal Requirements
 Carry out Fire risk assessment need to be done, and record, and detect the possible risks
or danger.
 Identify those people like people, visitors, employees, or members of the public on your
premises who are at risk.
 Eliminate the risk or fire where it is possible and take precautionary measures to
eliminate the remaining risks.
 If there is place where flammable or explosive materials are stored or used or stored
then it is necessary to place protective measures.
 Skills, training and collaboration
 Develop the evacuation procedure in case of fire and an emergency plan
 Check the risk assessment and emergency plan on regular basis to check whether it is
suitable or not
 In case of negligence by the employer or the safety officer, the sentenced to short-term
fines not exceeding the prescribed limit;
 He or she is liable on conviction for imprisonment for 2 years or to a fine for failure to
obey with fire safety regulations. (MFS, 2017)
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8.3
Fire risk assessment is to identifying potential hazards and fire hazards so that the likelihood of
a fire can be reduced within a building/site. However, it does not examine the structure itself,
but the content of the structure and use of the structure. As a responsible person you should
make and regularly review potential fire hazards for buildings. This will determine what you can
do to prevent fires and keep people safe.
Fire Safety Risk Assessment
 Emergency and departure routes
 System for Fire detection
 Equipment for Firefighting
 Hazardous substances removal or safe storage
 Firefighting system in case of emergency
Fire risk assessment comes in the RRFSO and not under the Management of Health and Safety
at Work Regulations 1999. The needs of required fire safety measures are done through the fire
risk assessment. Fire risk assessment can be carries out through many ways. The following is
methods based on the Fire Safety Guidelines published by the Department of Community and
Local Government.
Stage 1 – Identify hazards of Fire
When assessing the level of hazard, there are five main fire-hazard hazards to consider
 dehydration;
 Heat, Flames
 Smoke;
 Flammable gas products;
 Building material.
In this case, the fire causes smoke which is the main reason of death and other combustible gas
products. To have a fire, you need heat sources and fuel. If these risks can be separated,
eliminated or minimized, then the dangers to human or properties can be minimized. In
workplace, the first step as follows to identify the fire hazards:
 Detection of any flammable substances
 Find any heat sources
 Identify any unsafe practices
 Identify any unsafe situations
Stage 2 – Identification of those Persons at Significant Risk
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In many cases, in small workplaces the risk is not identified because it is not obvious. However,
in many cases, some people are in danger of fire because of their responsibilities, disability,
sleep, site or occupation. Significant attention is required if:
 People have a physical, visual or mental problem;
 People who do not respond quickly;
 People are divided
Stage 3 – Evaluation and Reduction of Risks
To classify each identified fire risk as 'low risk' 'normal' or 'high'. If the fire is at 'high risk', then
there should be significant attention to reassess the prevention guidelines, otherwise there will
be need of compensation measures. Decide if current programs are sufficient, or essential to be
improved. Things to consider are:
 Ways to detect and alert if something is new - can it be listened to by all occupants?
 Escape routes - are they sufficient in terms of number, size, position, well-lit,
unobtrusive, harmless to use, etc?
 Signs - fire extinguishers, exits, etc.
 Fire-fighting arrangements - embankment on fire extinguishers, appropriate types of
hazards available and adequate in value?
Stage 4 – Record the Findings
Experimental findings and actions (including retention) from them need to be recorded. If more
than five or five persons are working, the official record of significant results and any proposed
remedial action must be recorded. The record must show:
 The date of the test;
 Identified risks;
 Any employee and other persons especially vulnerable;
 What steps should be taken, and when (application);
 Emerging deductions.
Stage 5 – Monitoring and Reviewing on a Regular Basis
Fire risk valuation must be constantly observed to confirm that existing fire risk assessments
and fire safety plans are accurate. If there is a significant change in the location, function;
materials used or stored then the inspection should be reviewed and when the construction
work is proposed, or where it is no longer considered inappropriate.
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8.4
In many department fires prevention is a major function. To educate the people to take
preventive measure to prevent from harmful fires and to educate them about their survival are
the goal of fire prevention. It is a practical technique for avoiding the emergencies of fire and to
eliminating the damaged caused by these fires.
Keeping Fire Contained
Different parts of building must be designed and constructed as fire-resistant in order to avoid a
fire spreading. This will cause hurdle in the passage of fire for some time. The people at the site
can leave safely and the fire can be extinguished by firefighters.
Now a day, to keep the building safe is through the keeping fire doors closed and it is the most
important way. For a certain amount of time the fire can be resisted through these doors.
The fire is contained through Compartmentation as it give time to people to evacuate safety in
case of fire and also to minimized the damage to the building.
Keep People Informed
The occupant of building should be adviced to remain in building if the place has
compartmentation measures. It is dangerous for building occupant to stay in if ceiling
protection material or fire doors are inadequate and occupants should leave the building
quickly.
The exit routes should be clearly marked all the people in the building should be informed
about the procedure for fire safety. The information need to be available at all time if they are
unsure and can check about the related information at any time.
All building owners, landlords have a responsibility to meet the requirements for fire safety
under the law. In case of fire, buildings must provide protection and maintained effectively.
(Manson, Jul 28, 2018)
Building Access and Emergency Evacuation Routes
In the buildings, the windows, doors and all the routes into or out of the building should be
clear as per ‘The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA)’, so people inside the building can evacuate easily in case of fire.
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Make sure that the windows, stairways, overhead entrances, and other exterior entrances,
unobstructed fire doors, paths, and outdoor areas are available at the buildings or your
facilities. Make sure the zone is not be blocked by anything.
Fire Safety Exit Signs & Fire Alarms
According NFPA 101 , it is employer responsibility to place the sign of exit and it is lighted that it
can be easily seen and continually illuminated even in case of a power outage. Exit signs must
be free from hurdle and must be bright, functional emergency lighting units, batteries for
lighting backup should be reliable and fully charged.
During fire when exiting the building the fire alarm systems should go hand in hand. The fire is
prevented in building also through the component that makes the fire alarm work i.e. (fire heat
smoke detectors, detectors sprinklers, evacuation systems, etc.). Besides fire, many different
life hazards and hazards for property damaging are detected by them like leaking pipe poisoned
carbon monoxide (NFPA 3000), therefore, it is important that they are functional at all time.
Train Staff on Workplace Fire Prevention & Safety Measures
The common cause of fire can come from the negligence of staff, lack of training for fire safety
or improper use of equipment.
In case of fire, the main step to prevent your place from fire and their occupant by educating
the staff members about the cause of fire and give training on how to use fire extinguisher fire,
about the caution and prevention routine from fire and hold annual, mandated OSHA and NFPA
training sessions on fire-safety. Best fire danger protection provided by the compliance
with NFPA and OSHA fire-safety standards for customers and staff.
Preventative Inspections & Maintenance for Fire Protection Systems
Your first priority is to prevent the lives of the occupants of buildings’ occupants. You cannot
predict when a fire might burst and danger the lives, your best restriction is the system for fire
protection that may not work when needed. Therefore, it is necessary to inspect the fire
protection system on regular basis.
Inspections on regularly basis are required for:
 Fire alarms
 Fire suppression systems
 Backflow preventer assemblies
 Fire extinguishers
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 Fire sprinkler systems
 Alarms, monitors, detectors
Through inspection we will get to know about the maintenance that needs to be done. There is
a need to keep the fire protection systems functional stopping fire and to prevent building
before it spreads. (Doherty, Oct 23, 2020)
8.5
Evacuation Procedures, detailed evacuation plans will differ depending on your facility.
However, there are some basic guidelines that are generally followed:
1. Know the evacuation signal. It is important that you can immediately recognize an
emergency signal. Signals take different forms including:
 Audible alarms
 Visual signals
 Public address announcements
 Air horns
 Yelling
2. Listen for specific instructions.
 Only a partial evacuation may be required.
 Knowing the location of the fire or emergency will help you determine which route
to take.
3. Shut down any nearby equipment with an emergency stop.
4. Nearest exit route should be followed.
5. Advance to the selected meeting site.
Know Your Exit Routes
Exit routes are more than doors or stairwells that lead outside—they are continuous and
unobstructed ways to exit from any point in a building. Exit routes must lead outside to a street,
walkway, or open space to allow employees to easily move away from the building.
It is imperative to always keep exit routes clear of any obstructions to allow for smooth flow
people. Be sure to keep them clear of:
 File cabinets
 Bookshelves
 Additional paper for copying machine
 Other obstructions
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Never store combustible items such as cardboard, paper, or certain solvents and maintenance
materials, in or around exit routes! This will attract an existing fire.
Note Exit Signs
Exit signs are posted at the doors that lead outside as well as along the exit route. The signs
along the exit route will have an arrow that shows the way to exit. Signs for exit must clearly
readable as EXIT and must be:
 Distinctive in color so they do not blend into the background
 Clearly seen from a distance
 Unobstructed and unconcealed (do not hang holiday decorations or other signs nearby)
 Self-illuminating or made of reflective material that is illuminated by emergency lighting.
Evacuation Assignments
You may be assigned to specific evacuation duties as described in your Emergency Action Plan.
You may be asked to:
 Conduct a walkthrough of specific areas to check that all employees have left.
 Perform a headcount in the designated assembly area.
 Shut down machinery.
 Assign a buddy to help evacuate incapacitated workers.
Know Your Designated Meeting Area
Once an evacuation occurs, all employees and anyone else in the building, including clients and
vendors, must be accounted for. For this reason, your employer should make sure that all
visitors sign in and out when they come to your building.
In addition, your facility should have a designated meeting area, which is near the parking lot or
across the street. High-rise buildings may have meeting areas within the building on designated
floors or outside the building a block away.
Go to the selected meeting area and do not use car to go to meeting area or do not go to
another meeting location. For head count a person will be designated for this. Remember that
if you are not there, rescue personnel may assume that you are still in the building and may
attempt to search for you. (Flexible, 2019)
Evacuating a High-rise Building
High-rise buildings use staged relocation because they have fire protection systems that are
designed to control challenging fires. Staged relocation is when the occupants on the fire floor
and floors above immediately above and below are directed to move down the stairs to a
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refuge floor. Occupants on the other floors remain where they are until they are notified to
exit. In the event of an evacuation:
 Evaluate the level of threat.
 Immediately evacuate the building, or
 Follow staged relocation procedures.
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References
Following online sources are consulted to complete this assignment
 Doherty, W., Oct 23, 2020. 7 Most Important Fire Safety Measures in Buildings for Fire
Prevention.
 Flexible, E., 2019. Workplace Emergency and Evacuation, s.l.: s.n.
 Griffiths, A., 2019. Fire Risk Assessment, s.l.: QISC.
 HKJ, 16 November, 2015. FIRE SAFETY, s.l.: s.n.
 Manson, K., Jul 28, 2018. How to prevent the spread of fire. FIRECO.
 MFS, 2017. Fire safety legislation.
 Safeopedia, 3 September, 2019. Fire Safety.
 https://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/fire.htm
 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made
 https://hsseworld.com/e-books-fire-safety-logbook-templates/#:~:text=The
%20Regulatory%20Reform%20%28Fire%20Safety%29%20Order%202005%20%28RRFSO
%29%2C,any%20time%2C%20whether%20working%2C%20visiting%20or%20sleeping
%20there.
 https://firefightergarage.com/classes-of-fire
 https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/UserFiles/works/pdfs/fpcf.pdf
 https://www.hsewatch.com/fire-risk-assessment
 https://www.bloomsbury-international.com/images/dowonload/fire-emergency-
evacuation-plan-and-fire-procedure.pdf
 https://imc.cc/our-company/blogs-news/5-fire-prevention-strategies-supported-by-
nfpa/
 https://advancedct.com/fire-response-fire-prevention-strategies-for-2021/
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