Fire Safety brief and Video

Fire Safety

Training

This video is designed to provide fire safety awareness training for all levels of staff and to help meet mandatory UK Fire legislation training requirements. It should be used as both introductory fire training and as part of an on-going training programme.

Fire safety law changed in October 2006 with the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. With this order the requirement for businesses to have fire certificates was abolished and any previously held certificates are no longer valid.

So what does this mean?

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 replaces most fire safety legislation with one simple order that emphasises the prevention of fires and reduction of risk.

It places responsibility on any person who has some level of control in a premises to take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fire.

This means that if you have any level of control within the environment that you work you are responsible for ensuring the safety of everyone who uses your premises or the immediate vicinity. This responsibility may well be shared.

How does this training help?

This video and the accompanying material are designed as a base upon which hotels can build to meet their staff fire training responsibilities. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 emphasizes the need to carry out regular fire risk assessments to identify any fire precautions Hotel’s need to have in place.

Any assessment should include checking whether any fire training is meeting current regulations and individual Hotel requirements as training requirements will vary from Hotel to Hotel depending upon for example; Hotel size, the number of staff, facilities and any particular hazards.

Under current law Hotels are required to carry out regular fire training and evacuation drills for all staff. It is recommended that records of all training and evacuations are kept in case Hotels need to prove in future what actions were taken to provide the required training.

What else?

Aberdeen Douglas Hotel has a “Fire Action Plan” in place – which documents what should happen in the event of a fire. The Fire Action Plan explains who does what and when, so that all employees are familiar with its contents and there are annual evacuation drills in which they can practice their role.

Fire Risks

Hotels are considered to be a high fire risk, because of the potential life risk. Fires usually occur as a result of carelessness or someone accidentally or deliberately negating fire precautions. The level of risk increases with the number of staff and Guests, and because the premises are occupied twenty-four hours a day.

The five principle fire risks are:

· Carelessly discarded smoking materials coming into contact with combustible materials. A lit cigarette can take a long time to ignite combustible materials. The use of signs and the prohibition of smoking in risk areas will reduce the risk and constantly broadcast the dangers to the staff and guests.

· Electrical Appliances in bedrooms can be a source of fire if they have been subjected to misuse or faults have not been reported. All electrical equipment should be tested annually and the staff and guests kept informed of the possible dangers associated with the different types of electrical equipment.

· Kitchens can be a high risk, kitchens must be properly supervised and kitchen staff must always be trained and conversant with any potential dangers.

· Store rooms can also be high risk especially linen stores and cleaning material stores.

· Contractors using equipment like blowlamps, gas torches, metal angle cutters, can pose problems that may require a high degree of supervision during and after their presence. Any areas they have been working in should be given a thorough inspection to ensure no hot spots or small fires have been missed.

ARSON

The extent of the problem Arson is the single most common cause of fire in business premises.

· 45% of all serious fires are a result of arson.

Contrary to popular believe arson is often not targeted, the vast majority of arson attacks are due to opportunist vandalism.

Up to 80% of businesses never fully recover from a serious fire – don’t let your business become another statistic.