Fire safety for businesses

Before a business or other organisation develops a fire safety programme, fire safety management of their buildings must include a full appraisal of active and passive fire safety measures: 

  1. Passive fire safety measures: built into the physical structure of the building, for example, escape routes and fire exits 
  2. Active fire safety measures: systems which activate when there is a fire, for example, fire alarms and emergency lighting

All inadequate passive and active fire safety measures should be noted and remedial works to upgrade to an acceptable standard should be put in place. There is a legal responsibility to take reasonable measures to prevent a fire, as well as to protect lives in the event of fire.

Building occupants should also be made aware of the building's active and passive fire safety measures, their role in preventing a fire and appropriate action to take in the event of fire.

Fire Safety Programme

Businesses and other organisations should have a fire safety programme in place for their buildings. It must be developed to correctly manage fire safety and meet legal obligations. The main elements of a fire safety programme are:

  1. Emergency procedures
  2. Evacuation drills
  3. Regular fire safety inspections
  4. Maintenance and servicing of fire safety equipment
  5. Staff training
  6. Keeping of records
  7. Emergency planning

A fire safety manager should be designated with responsibility for drawing up, implementing and overseeing the fire safety programme. They should hold adequate authority within the organisation to effectively perform their responsibilities.

Emergency procedures

All occupants must be capable of responding correctly to a fire, with a plan to be followed, including procedures for:

  • Raising the alarm: All occupants should be aware of how to raise the alarm. Fire alarms should sound different to any other signal used in the building

  • Calling the fire brigade: The Fire Brigade should be called immediately (even for a small fire), giving clear information, including:
    • Name and address of the building, with directions, if necessary
    • Type of fire, if known, for example, the location of the fire, its size, materials involved, persons missing
  • Evacuation: Start the evacuation procedure once the fire alarm has been sounded. This will depend on the building, for example, the evacuation procedure for a manufacturing facility will be different than an office building

  • Assembly point and roll call: Designate an assembly area(s) that occupants should go to on evacuation. The assembly area should be at a safe distance from the fire and not cause any obstructions for the fire brigade. At the assembly point, a roll call should be taken to ensure all occupants are accounted for. Missing persons should be notified to the fire brigade when they arrive at the scene.

  • Fighting the fire: In the early stages of a fire it may be possible to successfully contain or extinguish it with first aid fire fighting equipment. For this, employees should be instructed in the use of hand-held extinguishers and hose reels. Certain employees may be designated as a fire fighting team as part of the emergency procedures. Their function would be to assess and, only if safe to do so, tackle the fire with the available equipment until the fire brigade arrives.

  • Assisting the fire brigade: When the fire brigade arrives, give as much information as possible. The type of information required includes:
    • Location of the fire
    • Materials involved
    • Details of missing persons
    • Location of nearest fire hydrants
    • Location of all access doors to the building
    • Location of any special risks
    • Keys for access into any locked areas

Fire evacuation drills

Fire evacuation drills should be carried out regularly to test the effectiveness of the emergency procedures, including:

  1. Ensuring safe, orderly and efficient evacuation of all occupants of the building
  2. Familiarise occupants with all exits available
  3. Reinforce safe reactions in a fire or other emergency

The drill should be initiated by activating the fire alarm and all stages of the drill should be observed and a review of the drill should be held. Any deficiencies can then be noted and remedied. If the fire alarm system is connected to a remote monitoring centre, this centre should be notified of the proposed drill.

The frequency of drills will depend on the building's use. Initially, drills should be held at frequent intervals, for example, every two months, until everyone is familiar with the procedures. Thereafter drills should be held at least twice yearly.

Regular fire safety inspections

Regular inspections ensure the continued functioning of active and passive fire safety measures and detect dangerous practices.

The following should be monitored by regular inspections:

  • Stairways and exit doors: these must never be obstructed, and exit doors must open easily and immediately from the inside
     
  • Fire doors: Fire doors must prevent the spread of smoke and fire gases, and must be kept closed when not in use. If a fire door needs to be held open it should be connected to the fire alarm. This is so that the fire door closes automatically if the fire alarm activates. 

  • Rubbish and combustible waste: paper, cardboard, plastics and chemicals should not build up in any area. Where a lot of combustible waste is produced, it should be removed to an outdoor storage area or a waste skip located away from the building

  • Outdoor storage of combustible materials: should be well clear of the building and other outdoor facilities, for example, transformers, and bulk flammable liquid tanks. The material should be stored in well-defined stacks with clear aisles between them. The stacks should be located so as not to obstruct access for firefighting. Where there is outdoor storage, regard should be given to the security of the site against intruders.

  • Indoor storage of combustible materials: should be in designated storage areas. Storage should be arranged with clear aisles between stacks at least one metre wide. Goods should be stacked clear of light fittings, heating pipes and appliances, and fire fighting equipment. Flammable liquids, gas cylinders, aerosols and materials liable to spontaneous combustion should be segregated from other storage. 

  • Machinery and equipment: should be checked regularly for signs of wear, damage or overheating. Faulty equipment should be removed from use until repaired.

Maintenance and servicing of fire safety equipment

Active fire safety measures regular checking and maintenance to ensure their continued operation and availability., including:

  • Fire alarm systems
  • Emergency lighting systems
  • Fire extinguisher
  • Hose reels
  • Fire hydrants

Visual checks are required frequently, with a full operational check by a trained person required once every year. Reference should be made to the installation codes (Irish or British Standards) for full details of the required type and frequency of maintenance checks.

Employee training

Employees must be familiar with the fire safety programme and trained to carry out their responsibilities, including training on:

  • Everyday fire prevention measures
  • Emergency procedures
  • First-aid fire fighting

All employees should receive a written copy of the emergency procedures and procedures for any task delegated to them in the event of a fire. All employees should also receive some instruction in the use of first aid fire fighting equipment. If there is a specific firefighting team, the team will require further firefighting equipment training.

Keeping of records

The fire safety manager responsible for the implementation and oversight of the fire safety programme should keep a fire safety register as a complete record of all fire safety matters on the premises. It should include the:

  • Name of the fire safety manager, and those nominated to deputies in their absence
  • Details of specific fire duties that have been assigned to employees
  • Details of instruction and training given to employees, including who gave the instruction and training
  • Dates of each fire and evacuation drill and results of exercises held
  • Type, number and location of fire protection equipment on the premises, including water supplies, hydrants
  • Dates of each inspection of the building itself, its fittings and services and the actions taken to remedy any defects found
  • Details of all fire incidents and false alarms that occur and the actions taken as a result

The fire safety register will serve as a record and as a checklist for the fire safety manager to ensure that checks and training which are required are carried out on an ongoing basis.

Emergency planning

Fire may still occur despite good fire prevention procedures. Emergency planning minimises the cost and disruption of a fire, with damage control plans considering steps which are needed before, during and after the fire:

Before the fire

  • Establish a damage control team made up of employees across the organisation. This team examines the consequences of possible incidents and forms a planned response to the incidents.
  • Establish a response team that will carry out damage limitation work during and immediately after a fire.
  • Compile and maintain a list of outside agencies that may be required in the event of a fire, including building contractors, plant hire companies, fire engineering firms, estate agents, and insurance brokers.
  • Examine the building and make any necessary changes to mitigate the effects of a fire. For this ventilation and drainage should be considered. Stock should be stored off the floor in racking or on pallets.

During the fire

Preventing further fire or water damage should begin as early as possible and this work is at the discretion of the fire office in charge when the fire service is in attendance. For example, machinery and stock may be moved or covered with plastic sheeting, dams may be placed across doorways or at other areas, drains should be cleared from fire debris.

After the fire

The work required will depend on the extent of the damage. Consider the following:

  • Temporary repairs to roofs and window openings to make the building weather-tight.
  • Debris should be checked for any recoverable items and then cleared away.
  • Water should be pumped from basements, pits and lift wells.
  • Machinery and equipment involved in a fire will deteriorate quickly even if not directly wetted. Machinery should be cleaned, dried and coated with oil as early as possible. Contaminated electronic equipment should be cleaned as early as possible. Some specialised businesses may undertake this cleaning.

Disclaimer

The guidance set out above should not be taken as a legal interpretation of the legislation applying to fire safety in any particular building type. It is offered as general guidance to those who are tasked with developing a fire safety programme in their organisation.