LINCOLNSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE

Transcription

1 LINCOLNSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT FOR SMALLER PREMISES AND THE WORKPLACE FIRE PRECAUTIONS LEGISLATION The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 The Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 The Management Of Health And Safety At Work Regulations 1999 The purpose of this two part document is firstly, to provide a brief understanding of the legislation through a sequence of question and answers and in the second part a simple guide to the process of risk assessment. PART ONE - THE LEGISLATION PART TWO - RISK ASSESSMENT A SIMPLE GUIDE

2 PART ONE THE LEGISLATION WHAT IS 'THE WORKPLACE FIRE PRECAUTIONS LEGISLATION'? The Workplace Fire Precautions Legislation is the title applied to cover the following legislation: 'Part II of The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations1997 as amended' Regulations 1 to 5, 7 to 12 and 13(2) and (3) of The Management of Health And Safety at Work Regulations1999 WHO ENFORCES IT? The Workplace Fire Precautions Legislation is enforced by The Fire Authority within its area. WHO HAS TO COMPLY? Every employer or person who has control of a workplace must comply unless the workplace is an excepted workplace WHAT IS AN EXCEPTED WORKPLACE? An excepted workplace is any of the following: any workplace which is or is on a construction site within the meaning of regulation 2(1) of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 and to which those Regulations apply. any workplace which is or is in or on a ship within the meaning of section 313(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 other than a ship which is: (i) (ii) in the course of construction; or in the course of repair by persons who include persons other than the master and crew of the ship any workplace which forms part of a mine, other than any building on the surface at a mine; any workplace which is or is in or on an offshore installation within the meaning of Regulation 3 of the Offshore Installations and Pipelines Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995; any workplace which is or is in or on an aircraft, locomotive or rolling stock, trailer or semi-trailer used as a means of transport or a vehicle for which a licence is in force under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 or a vehicle exempted from duty under that Act. any workplace which is in fields, woods or other land forming part of an agricultural or forestry undertaking but which is not inside a building and is situated away from the undertaking's main buildings.

3 WILL I BE COMMITING AN OFFENCE IF I FAIL TO COMPLY? Yes. The FP(WP)Regs - Regulation 11 states, 'A person shall be guilty of an offence if he fails to comply with any provision of 'the Workplace Fire Precautions Legislation'. WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO? 1 Provide WHERE NECESSARY Firefighting equipment and signs Measures for firefighting and wardens Detectors and alarms Means of escape Escape lighting Maintenance of fire safety equipment 2 Make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks from fire. 3 Make, record and give effect to arrangements for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of preventative and protective measures within the workplace. 4 Appoint one or more competent person to assist in undertaking the measures necessary to comply with the legislation. 5 Establish procedures for serious and imminent danger, nominate people to implement the procedures as regards evacuation and ensure that people are not allowed access to areas where special operating procedures exist without adequate instruction. 6 Ensure that any necessary contacts have been established with external services such as first aid, medical or rescue work. 7 Provide information regarding health and safety measures to employees and persons working in host employers or self employed persons workplaces. 8 Co-operate and Co-ordinate where two or more employers share a workplace. 9 Provide employees with adequate health and safety training, repeated and adapted as required. SO HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO RISK ASSESSMENTS? Risk assessments are required to find out if the workplace complies with the 'Workplace Fire Precautions Legislation'. The significant risks must be recorded where there are five or more employees. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW, TO MAKE OR EVALUATE A RISK ASSESSMENT? The Workplace Fire Precautions Legislation and the workplace in question.

4 IS THERE A SET FORMAT FOR RISK ASSESSMENTS? No. Each assessment should be made, of the risks in the workplace, so far as is reasonably practicable, taking into account the requirements in that particular case. There are many different ways that a risk assessment can be presented, the choice is yours. IS THEIR ANY PARTICULAR METHODS THAT SHOULD BE USED TO REDUCE RISK? Yes, the following principles should be applied: Avoid risks Evaluate remaining risks Combat risks at source Adapt the work to the individual as regards the choice of work equipment, work methods and the design of the workplace Adapt to technical progress Replace dangerous by non dangerous or less dangerous Develop a coherent prevention policy Give collective measures priority over individual ones Give appropriate instructions to employees WHERE CAN I GET FURTHER GUIDANCE? We recommend that you obtain a copy of "FIRE SAFETY - An Employer's Guide" - ISBN Available to purchase from The Stationery Office or to download free. Other recommended publications are: "Fire Risk Management in the Workplace - A Guide for Employers". Book and video available from the Fire Protection Association "Fire Risk Assessment, A Guide to Complying with the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations". Available from the Fire Industry Council. Fire Industry Council Nevel House 55 Eden Street Kingston-upon-Thames Surrey KT1 1BW Tel: Information regarding managing process risks and highly flammable materials is available from your local HSE Offices or try the HSE website. Advice on reducing the risk of arson may be obtained from the Arson Prevention Bureau.

5 If further practical advice or information is required following completion of the risk assessment. Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue may be able to assist and can be contacted at the following addresses: Boston Office Robin Hood s Walk Telephone: Boston Boston Fax: Boston PE21 9ES E mail: firesafety.boston@lincoln.fire-uk.org Grantham Office Harlaxton Road Telephone: Grantham Grantham Fax: Grantham NG31 7SG E mail: firesafety.grantham@lincoln.fire-uk.org Lincoln Office South Park Avenue Telephone: Lincoln Lincoln Fax: Lincoln LN5 8EL E mail: firesafety.lincoln@lincoln.fire-uk.org Skegness Office Churchill Avenue Telephone: Skegness Skegness Fax: Skegness PE25 2RN E mail: firesafety.skegness@lincoln.fire-uk.org

6 PART TWO FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT - A SIMPLE GUIDE A systematic approach, considered in simple stages, is generally the best practical method of conducting a fire risk assessment. The following is one such systematic approach. STAGE 1 IDENTIFY FIRE HAZARDS For a fire to occur it needs sources of heat and fuel. If these hazards can be kept apart, removed or reduced, then the risks to people and your Business will be minimised. In order to do this you must first IDENTIFY FIRE HAZARDS in your workplace. IDENTIFY ANY COMBUSTIBLES - These can be divided into two main groups; combustible fuels such as paper, wood, cardboard, etc; and highly combustible fuels such as thinners, solvents, polyurethane foam etc. IDENTIFY ANY SOURCES OF HEAT- All workplaces will contain heat/ignition sources. Some will be obvious, such as cooking equipment or open flames (heating or process). Others maybe less obvious, such as heat from chemical processes or electrical equipment. IDENTIFY ANY UNSAFE ACTS - Persons undertaking unsafe acts such as smoking next to combustible materials. IDENTIFY ANY UNSAFE CONDITIONS - These are hazards that may assist a fire to spread in your workplace eg if there are large areas of hardboard or polystyrene tiles etc, or open stairs that can cause a fire to spread quickly, trapping people and involving the whole building. An ideal method of identifying and recording these hazards is by means of a simple single line plan. Checklists may also be used. STAGE 2 REMOVE OR REDUCE HAZARDS Having identified the hazards, you need to reduce the chance of a fire, both, occurring and spreading, thereby minimising or removing the chance of harm to persons in the workplace. The risk should be reduced to an acceptable level by: Removing the hazard altogether; Reducing the hazard to the point where there is little or no risk; Replacing the existing hazard with a safer alternative; Segregating the hazard from the workplace; Developing a Prevention Policy and Culture to ensure hazards do not occur in the workplace. Attempt to classify each area as either, high, normal, or low risk. If high, you may need to repeat Stages 1 and 2, otherwise additional measures will be required in Stage 4. Normal risk areas will account for nearly all parts of most workplaces. Low risk areas are those where there is little in the way of heat or fuel sources eg a stonemason's workshop where typically there is little to burn and should a fire occur then people would be able to react in plenty of time.

7 High risk areas are where the available time needed to evacuate the area is reduced by the speed of development of a fire eg paint spraying with highly flammable paints, also where reaction time to the fire alarm is slower because of the type of person present or the activity in the workplace eg the infirm and elderly or persons sleeping on the premises. STAGE 3 IDENTIFY ANY STAFF OR PERSONS WHO ARE ESPECIALLY AT RISK Consider the risk to any people who may be present. In many instances and particularly for most small workplaces there will be nobody particularly at risk, and specific measures for persons in this category will not be required. There will, however, be some occasion when certain people may be especially at risk form the fire, because of their specific role, location or the workplace activity. You need to consider matters carefully if: Sleeping accommodation is provided; Persons are challenged eg physically, visually, mentally etc; People unable to react quickly. Arrangements for warning all occupants in the event of a fire must be adequate and failsafe. Fire alarm systems, smoke detectors, handbells or a single shout may be suitable depending on the size and complexity of the workplace. Escape, without the use of a key, should be possible from all parts of a workplace to a place of safety in fresh air within 2 ½ minutes. Escape routes should be walked regularly and a full evacuation drill practised annually. A fire starting in any location should not go undetected and reach a size that could cause persons to become trapped. This is more likely to happen where there is only one way out of an area. Ideally, persons should be able to turn their back on a fire and walk in the opposite direction towards a fire exit. Many workplaces, however, will have areas from which there is no alternative way out for part, or all, of the escape route (eg most rooms have only one way out). If your workplace is small and the fire risk has been assessed as normal or low then there will be no need to have alternative ways out but where your escape is in one direction only, the dead end areas should be kept as short, as few, and as low risk as possible. The maximum advisable travel distances from any area in a workplace to a fire exit door leading out to a place of safety should be in accordance with the following table: Maximum Travel Distances Offices Shops Factories Sleeping Risks Escape in Two Directions 45m 30m 45m 35m Escape in One Direction 18m 18m 25m 18m The above guidelines are to be used with caution. You must look at each part of the workplace and decide how quickly persons would react to an alert of fire in each area. Adequate safety measures will be required in Stage 4 if persons are identified as being at risk. Where these travel distances cannot be achieved, you will be required to provide extra fire safety precautions and you should contact your local Fire Safety Officer or a suitably qualified fire safety consultant.

8 STAGE 4 HAVING REGARD TO PREVIOUS STAGES DECIDE WHETHER THE EXISTING ARRANGEMENTS ARE ADEQUATE, OR NEED IMPROVEMENT If the building has been built and maintained in accordance with Building Regulations, it is likely that the means of escape provisions will either be adequate, or you will be able to decide easily what is required in relation to the risk. Matters you will have to consider are: Means for Detecting and Giving Warning in Case of Fire. Can it be heard by all the occupants? Means of Escape. Are they adequate in size, number, location, and sufficiently illuminated, unobstructed, safe to use etc? Signs for exits, fire routines and firefighting equipment to BS EN3. Firefighting Equipment - Wall mounted by exits, suitable types for hazards present and sufficient in number. Training of Employees - What to do in the event of a fire. Where persons are at risk or an unacceptable hazard still exists, additional compensatory measures will be required from the above list, or repeat all previous stages. It is important that all fire safety provisions are maintained in good order. STAGE 5 RECORD THE FINDINGS Findings of the assessment and the actions (including maintenance) arising from it should be recorded. If there are 5 or more employees you must retain a record, which may be in writing, or by electronic or other means. It should indicate: The date the assessment was made The hazards identified Any staff and other people especially at risk What action needs to be taken, and by when (action plan) The conclusions arising from the assessment STAGE 6 PREPARE THE EMERGENCY PLAN The aim of the plan is to ensure that in the event of fire everyone, including contractors and casual employees are sufficiently familiar with the action they should take, and what the workplace can be safely evacuated to a location where persons will not be in danger. The employer is responsible for preparing the plan, and in most small workplaces this should not be difficult. In smaller workplaces it may simply take the form of a fire action notice that everyone has received training on.

9 STAGE 7 MONITOR AND REVIEW ON A REGULAR BASIS The fire risk assessment is not a one-off procedure. It should be continually monitored to ensure that the existing fire safety arrangements and risk assessment remain realistic. The assessment should be reviewed if there is a significant change in the work activity, in the materials used or stored, or when building works are proposed.