Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 A short guide ...

1 RegulatoryReform(FireSafety)Order2005 Ashortguidetomakingyourpremisessafefromf ireAshortguidetomakingyourpremisessafefr omfire79785_DepEnv:79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page (FireSafety) , , (FireSafety)Order2005? , :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 2 Whatcanthisbookletdo?Thisbookletwilllead youthroughastep-by-stepprocesstoachievet hesafestpossibleoutcomewithout,inmostcas es, , ,suchascarehomes,hospitalsorlargecinemas , , ,itappliesto: officesandshops; premisesthatprovidecare,includingcarehom esandhospitals; communityhalls,placesofworshipandotherco mmunitypremises; thesharedareasofpropertiesseveralhouseho ldslivein(housinglawsmayalsoapply); pubs,clubsandrestaurants; schoolsandsportscentres; tentsandmarquees; hotelsandhostels;and : people sprivatehomes, :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 3 Ashortguidetomakingyourpremisessafefromf ireWhatarethemainrulesundertheorder?

2 Youmust: carryoutafire-riskassessmentidentifyinga nypossibledangersandrisks; considerwhomaybeespeciallyatrisk; getridoforreducetheriskfromfireasfarasis reasonablypossibleandprovidegeneralfirep recautionstodealwithanypossibleriskleft; takeothermeasurestomakesurethereisprotec tionifflammableorexplosivematerialsareus edorstored; createaplantodealwithanyemergencyand,inm ostcases,keeparecordofyourfindings;and ,anyonewhohascontrolofpremisesoranyonewh ohasadegreeofcontrolovercertainareasorsy stemsmaybea responsibleperson .Forexample,itcouldbe: theemployerforthosepartsofpremisesstaffm aygoto; themanagingagentorownerforsharedpartsofp remisesorsharedfiresafetyequipmentsuchas fire -warningsystemsorsprinklers; theoccupier,suchasself-employedpeopleorv oluntaryorganisationsiftheyhaveanycontro l;or , :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 4 Ashortguidetomakingyourpremisessafefromf ireHowdoImeettheorder?

3 Ifyouaretheresponsibleperson, ,youwillstillberesponsible,inlaw, ,eitherontheirownorwithanyotherresponsib leperson,mustasfarasisreasonablypractica lmakesurethateveryoneonthepremises,ornea rby, ,whethertheyareemployees,visitorsormembe rsofthepublic,forexample, (andarebeingusedinlinewiththoseregulatio ns), :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 5 Ashortguidetomakingyourpremisessafefromf ireIdentifyfirehazardsIdentify: sourcesofignition; sourcesoffuel;and : peopleinandaroundthepremises;and ,plan,inform,instruct,andtrain Recordanymajorfindingsandactionyouhaveta ken. Discussandworkwithotherresponsiblepeople . Prepareanemergencyplan. Informandinstructrelevantpeople. Reviewyourfire-riskassessmentregularly. ,removeorreduce,andprotectfromrisk Evaluatetheriskofafirestarting.

4 Evaluatetherisktopeoplefromafire. Removeorreducefirehazards. Removeorreducetheriskstopeoplefromafire. :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 6 Step1 IdentifythehazardswithinyourpremisesYoun eedtoidentify: sourcesofignitionsuchasnakedflames,heate rsorsomecommercialprocesses; sourcesoffuelsuchasbuilt-upwaste,display materials,textilesoroverstockedproducts; and IdentifypeopleatriskYouwillneedtoidentif ythosepeoplewhomaybeespeciallyatrisksuch as: peopleworkingneartofiredangers; peopleworkingaloneorinisolatedareas(such asinroofspacesorstorerooms); childrenorparentswithbabies;and Evaluate,remove, ,youshould: replacehighlyflammablematerialswithlessf lammableones; makesureyouseparateflammablematerialsfro msourcesofignition.

5 And , :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 7 Ashortguidetomakingyourpremisessafefromf ireThegeneralfireprecautionsyoumayneedto takeInthisshortguide, , Whateversystemyouhave, Itmaybeacceptabletohavemulti-purposefire extinguisherswithaguaranteedshelflife. Asaruleofthumbyoushouldhaveoneextinguish erforevery200metresquared(m2) use onliquid, use onelectrical notuse on ,paper,textileandsolidmaterialfiresForli quid and electrical firesForuseonliquidfiresForliquidand electrical firesWaterPowderFoamCARBONDIOXIDE(CO)279 785_DepEnv:79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 8 Saferoutesforpeopletoleavethepremises Theidealsituationiswhenthereismorethanon eescaperoutefromallpartsofthepremises,al thoughthisisnotalwayspossible.

6 Ifonlyonerouteisavailable,youmayneedtoma keitfire-resisting(protected)orinstallan automaticfire-detectionsystem. Thedistancepeopleneedtogotoescape(thetra veldistance) ,ifthereisnoprotectedstairway,tothefinal exitfromthebuilding. Ifthereisonlyoneescaperoute, (12metresorless) (uptoabout25metres)wherethechanceofafire startingorspreadingquicklyisverylow. Ifthereismorethanoneescaperoute,thetrave ldistanceshouldnotnormallybemorethan45me tres(around25metresinareaswheretheriskof fireishighandabout60metresinareaswhereth eriskoffireisverylow). Stairways,corridorsandareasnearthefireex itsshouldbekeptclearofobstructionsandmat erialwhichcancatchfire. Theescaperouteshouldleadtoafinalexitanda safeplace. Ifthestairwayisnotprotected,thetraveldis tanceshouldbeinlinewiththosesuggestedabo veforsingleescaperoutesandthefinalexitsh ouldbeeasytoseeandgettofromthestairwayat ground-floorlevel.

7 High-riskroomsshouldnotgenerallyopendire ctlyintoafire-protectedstairway. Ifyourfire-riskassessmentshowsthatpeople usinganyfloorwouldnotbeawareofafire,youm ayneedotherfire-protectionmeasures,forex ample, :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page , Youshouldbeabletousefireexitdoorsandanyd oorsontheescaperouteswithoutakeyandwitho utanyspecialistknowledge. Inpremisesusedbythepublicorlargenumberso fpeople,youmayneedpush(panic) Whetheryouneedemergencylighting. Suitablefire-safetysignsinallbutthesmall estpremises. Trainingforyourstafforanyoneelseyoumayre asonablyexpecttohelpinafire. , Record,plan,instruct,informandtrainInthi sstepyoushouldrecord,plan,instruct, :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 10 Youwillalsoneedtomakeanemergencyplan, ,andoccasionallyothers,suchashotelguests orvolunteerstewards, ,suchasfiremarshals, , : ifyoustoremorematerialswhichcancatchfire easily; anewnightshiftstarting.

8 Or , ,thefireauthoritywillprovidepracticaladv iceor,iftheriskisserious, , :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 11 Ifthereisaveryseriousrisktolife,thefirea uthoritycanissueanoticepreventingtheprem isesbeingusedforcertainthings(suchasslee ping), , ,normallytoamoreexperiencedfire-safetyma nager, , , ,forexample,thoseinwhichtherisktolifecan besaidtobehigherthannormalorwhereparticu larlycomplicatedfire-safetyarrangementsa reneeded, , :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page , ,drawnroughlytoscale,whichshowsanyreleva ntstructuralfeatures,suchasstaircasesand howparticularareasareused,forexample,pro duction, (step1)andthosepeopleatsignificantrisk(s tep2). SOURCEG ascookerIGNITIONSOURCED isplaycarouselwithdisposablelightersIGNI TION SOURCEA shtray/SmokingIGNITION SOURCEC ardboardboxesCOMBUSTIBLE MATERIALSM agazine&cardrackCOMBUSTIBLEMATERIALSS tackofnewspapersoncounterCOMBUSTIBLEMATE RIALSA shortguidetomakingyourpremisessafefromfi re79785_DepEnv:79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10.

9 40 Page 13 Ashortguidetomakingyourpremisessafefromf ireYoucanuseasimplenoughtsandcrossessyst em Theactionyoutakeshouldbecommonsenseand,i nthemain, , , with fixedelectricradiatorEnoughsuitablestora geshelvingprovidedGascookerreplacedwitha microwaveDisplaycarouselmovedclosertoasu pervised counterSmokingnotallowedExtinguisherprov idedTorch providedinthebackroomDesknowfacingthedoo rSmokedetectorfitted79785_DepEnv:79785_D epEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 14 Ashortguidetomakingyourpremisessafefromf ire79785_DepEnv:79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 15 AdviceandinformationIfyouneedmorepractic aladviceorinformationafteryouhavecarried outyourfire-riskassessment,yourFireandRe scueServicemaybeabletohelpyou(seeunder fire inthephonebook).

10 Youcangetguides,suitableforyourtypeofpre mises, :05 FRSD03546 TheCrownownsthecopyrighttothisguide. Copyrightinthecontent, :79785_DepEnv 26/10/07 10:40 Page 16E-mail: 0300 123 1124 Fax: 0300 123 1125