Fire Safety and Security Report: Confined Spaces and Hazards

This report provides a comprehensive overview of fire safety and security, emphasizing the importance of staff training, proper equipment maintenance, and adherence to legal regulations. It examines occupational health and safety measures in Ontario, Canada, including building safety, hazardous substance handling, emergency communication, and electrical safety. The report highlights the dangers of confined spaces, detailing the risks to both workers and emergency personnel, such as limited entry/exit, oxygen deficiency, and the presence of flammable gases. It outlines actions for identifying and managing confined spaces, including hazard assessment, emergency procedures, ventilation, and training programs. The report concludes by emphasizing the increased deadliness of fire and heat hazards in confined spaces due to poor ventilation and limited escape routes, underscoring the need for stringent safety protocols to mitigate risks and protect workers and emergency responders. The report references several studies and publications to support its findings and recommendations.

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INTRODUCTION
Job safety and security is very essential in improving employee’s confidence and
competence, therefore, an employer should ensure appropriate staff training on health and safety.
Perhaps, in every nation it is a legal responsibility for the employer to ensure that workers
receive appropriate training on matters workplace health and safety, both job-specific and
general training. Clear instructions, information and advice should be given to employees on
how they should conduct themselves at the workplace (Underhill, & Quinlan, 2011, 397-421).
This training will be essential in;
 Ensuring that employees are aware of how to work safely with minimal risks to their
health.
 Avoidance of the financial costs associated with accidents and occupational illnesses.
 Developing positive culture on health and safety matters.
 Reduction in illnesses associated with employee tasks and absence from work.
Also, the machines and equipment that employees use during their work have a tendency of
causing problems in the work environment. The machines and equipment require proper
maintenance so that they remain in proper working condition. This is of importance since it
ensures that employees’ safety is guaranteed. Provisions of many nations require that only those
employees who have received appropriate training use work machines and equipment so as to
minimize the risks that may arise as a result of inappropriate application of machines and
equipment (Burke, Clarke, & Cooper, 2011).

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES IN ONTARIO PROVINCE,
CANADA
Basing on the legislations laid down in Ontario Province, Canada, specific actions would have
been taken to help in mitigation of occurrence of such incidents (Lay, et al, 2016, 119-128).
These may be broken down into the following categories health and safety measures;
i. Operations buildings safety
There should be proper housekeeping and maintenance in buildings where operations take place.
Buildings should meet construction standards, doors should be placed on the buildings to enable
free entry and exit, ladders clearances and stairs should be kept clean.
ii. Hazardous substances safety
Employ the use of warning signs, education and training to workers on how to handle hazardous
substances, proper storage, handling and use of substances, proper information programs during
emergencies, fire and explosion prevention, proper ventilation of buildings to enable free flow of
air, and the use of signs and labels on hazardous substances.
iii. Hazardous occurrence investigation, recording and reporting
Employ proper communication means that will enable investigations to be conducted
exhaustively and keeping proper records of the findings.
iv. Proper communication
Efforts are made to have proper communication means in place just in case emergencies occur so
that is easier to inform the emergency personnel. Also, interpretation services should be available
in the case of workers who come from diverse language and cultural backgrounds.
v. Temporary structures and excavations
Warning signs should be put in place indicating portable ladders and excavations. Safety nets
should be used and there should be proper housekeeping.

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vi. Handling boilers and pressure vessels
Strictly follow fabrication and installation standards, proper use, operation, repair and
maintenance of the vessels, conducting inspections on the vessels to ensure they are in proper
working condition and burying pressure vessels.
vii. Levels of sound
There should be limits of exposure to sound, use of ear protectors, reduction of exposure and use
of warning signs.
viii. Lighting
There should be prescribed minimum levels of lighting and also emergency lights in case of
emergencies.
ix. Electrical safety
Electric equipment should be isolated from the rest of equipment and indicated appropriately,
poles and elevated structures should be used to hold electric equipment. Also, appropriate
training and proper equipment handling procedures should be put in place to always notify the
users of equipment on proper ways of using equipment.
x. Safe occupancy of workplace
Workers should use protective headwear, protective footwear, eye and face protection, and skin
protectors. Also, there should be measures to ensure that employees are protected from
drowning. Protection equipment should be regularly inspected to ensure they are not defective.
Confined Spaces Incidents as a Major Concern to Emergency Personnel and Emergency
Responders

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A confined space is a large area with limited means of entrance and exit where a worker can
enter and carry out some work. Emergency incidences that occur in confined places are also a
major point of concern to even the emergency personnel and emergency personnel due to the
following reasons;
 They have a limited means of entry and exit which is a problem to the emergency
personnel in the event of occurrence of risk. This is so because the personnel may be
unable to come out in case the risk gets out of hand leading to serious injuries and deaths.
 They have limited levels of oxygen which brings about breathing problems to the
emergency personnel.
 There are instances when the emergency personnel are trapped in the confined places as a
result of the space collapsing leading to deaths and injuries.
 Flammable gases that are in these spaces can easily catch fire which may burn the
emergency personnel.
 Also, the emergency personnel can inhale the toxic gases kept in confined spaces leading
to respiratory problems and even death.
 The spaces may have poor communication network making it impossible for the
emergency personnel to call for help if the problem gets out of control.
Actions for Identifying and Managing Confined Spaces
The actions include the following (Riaz, Arslan, Kiani, & Azhar, 2014, 96-106);
a. Plans should be put in place for frequent hazard assessment and management so as to reduce
incidences of risk occurrence.
b. Proper emergency procedures and equipment should be put in place to help the emergency
personnel in dealing with risk occurrences.
c. It should be made easy for people to enter and exit confined places freely. Also, entry
procedures should be adopted.
d. Proper ventilation should be in place to enable free flow of air.
e. Training programs should be initiated to keep workers and emergency personnel informed
about what actions to take in case of risk occurrence.

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Reasons Why Fire and Heat Hazards That Occur in Confined Places are more deadly
than Those That Occur Outside of Them
The reasons include, (Benincasa, G. (2018);
 There is lack of proper ventilation in confined places which makes it difficult for the
free flow of air. Once the oxygen available is consumed as a result of combustion, the
workers and personnel present will die as a result of lack of oxygen. The heat is also
contained in such places making the place extremely hot.
 Limited entry and exit makes it difficult for workers and emergency personnel to
escape in case the fire gets out of control.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, confined spaces poses a lot of risks to the workers and the emergency
personnel if not managed with proper consideration to the health and safety of the
workers and the emergency personnel. These workplaces might be so risky but then there
are a number of measures that can be put in place to ensure that workers and emergency
personnel’s health and safety are guaranteed. When these procedures are taken into
account and followed word to word, risks associated with confined places can be greatly
reduced.

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References
Benincasa, G. (2018). From Confined to Co-working Spaces: New Rules and Identities for
“Workplaces”. E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, 7(2).
Burke, R. J., Clarke, S., & Cooper, C. L. (Eds.). (2011). Occupational health and safety. Gower
Publishing, Ltd..
Lay, A. M., Saunders, R., Lifshen, M., Breslin, C., LaMontagne, A., Tompa, E., & Smith, P.
(2016). Individual, occupational, and workplace correlates of occupational health and
safety vulnerability in a sample of Canadian workers. American journal of industrial
medicine, 59(2), 119-128.
Riaz, Z., Arslan, M., Kiani, A. K., & Azhar, S. (2014). CoSMoS: A BIM and wireless sensor
based integrated solution for worker safety in confined spaces. Automation in
construction, 45, 96-106.
Underhill, E., & Quinlan, M. (2011). How precarious employment affects health and safety at
work: the case of temporary agency workers. Relations Industrielles/Industrial
Relations, 66(3), 397-421.