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Fire safetyrisk assessment example

This Risk Assessment is carried out under the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and in line with the DCLG guide for Risk Assessment in Offices and Shops.

Health and Safety Team November 2016 of 12

17Th January 2013Date:

5 Storey BuildingLeafy Lane

Kent

Record of fire safety risk assessmentBuilding use and address

Postcode

Office accommodation and laboratories.5 Storey Building,Leafy Lane,Kent ME12 5JW

Name of person(s) with fire safety duties Jan MonvidName and contact details of Assessor David Nicholson, Health and Safety Adviser

KCCTel: 01622 696268Email: [email protected]

Assessor signature

D. Nicholson Date of assessment 17th January 2013

Scope of Assessment: The scope of this assessment did not involve access to any of the laboratories.

Relevant centre information

Construction of building: The building consists of a basement, ground floor and 3 upper floors. It was built in the late 60’s and constructed with a concrete frame in-filled with brick and glazed panels.

Site information: The site consists of a number of large buildings but they are well spread out and no other buildings are in the immediate vicinity of this building. The site access is controlled by 24 hour security at the entrance gate and 4 hour patrols.

Building use: The building is a mixture of office accommodation and laboratories

Occupant profile: There are less than 60 people in the whole building, all of which are able bodied and there is no one with any special needs. There are no young people on site.

Step 1 Identify fire hazardsNote: Action Points should be recorded at STEP 4Fire hazards Comments

Sources of ignition electrical equipment cooking equipment boiler smoking materials arson

Sources of fuel furniture and furnishings paper waste materials flammable Liquids in Laboratories

Source of oxygen natural ventilation. no additional sources of oxygen.

Higher risk areas laboratories boiler Room kitchenette Area


Step 2 Identify people at riskList all persons potentially at risk from fire, including employees, residents, visitors and contractors

Employees - Less than 60ContractorsVisitors

Step 3 Evaluate the risk and adequacy of existing fire safety arrangementsNote: Action Points should be recorded at STEP 4a) Likelihood and

consequencesof a fire starting

Comments

Accidentally Smoking materials: There is a no smoking policy for the building with designated external smoking areas which are provided with suitable receptacles for cigarette disposal.

Flammable liquid use: It is possible that a fire could be started accidentally in one of the laboratories with the use of flammable liquids. Flammable liquids are stored correctly in the work area in fire resisting cabinets. COSHH assessments are in place for all hazardous chemicals used.

Kitchen: There is a possibility that an accidental fire could start in the kitchenette area. Electrical safety checks are carried out and the area is provided with relevant fire fighting equipment. There is heat detection and automatic door release linked to the alarm system.

By faulty equipment, act or omission All portable electrical equipment is PAT tested and the

hardwire installation is inspected every 5 years.The gas installation and boiler are serviced/inspected annually.

Deliberately The site has 24 hour security at the main entrance and 4 hourly patrols around the site. There have been no cases of arson on site or in the immediate area.

The wheeled waste bins are secured away from the building.

Action required (Please tick)If you answered yes, record action at STEP 4

YES NO


b) Adequacy of existing fire safety measuresReducing the likelihood of fireHousekeeping and Storage

The protected dead end corridor leading to laboratories should not contain combustible materials. There is a possibility that contaminated waste from the laboratory could be put into one of these plastic bins.

Action point 1: The assessor considers that although this is a low risk, that if these waste bins need to be kept here, then they should be replaced with metal bins which would contain any fire should it occur.


YES

NO

Maintenance and electrical issues

None identified; all PAT testing, 5 year hard-wire installation testing and equipment servicing and inspections in place.


YES NO

Restricting the spread of fire and smokeFire separation

A room on the third floor has been allocated as a small kitchenette area and also contains a photocopier. Extra fire precautions have been added in the form of smoke and heat detection and an automatic door release system. Although this system is not necessarily required in this situation, please note that you should ensure that the door release mechanism is included as part of the fire safety weekly fire safety checks.


YES NO


CavitiesNo issues identified


YES NO

Breaches in compartmentalisationNo issues identified


YES NO

Internal linings

In the protected dead end corridor leading to the laboratories on the 3rd floor, there were a number of notice boards. These are currently well separated and do not have a proliferation of old loose attachments but this should be monitored.

Action point 2: The notice boards in the protected dead end corridor are currently tidy and well separated but these should be monitored to ensure that these do not become a possible means of fire spread. Consideration should be given to notice boards that are enclosed; this will have a two-fold benefit of reducing sources of fuel and preventing unwanted notices being posted.

The building is of an old construction and there was wood panelling within the protected stairwell. Today’s standards would not allow this type of surface covering as it does not fall within the Class 0 classification. In the assessors opinion this does not create any significant fire hazard as there are not any ignition or other fuel sources in this area.


YES

NO


From external sources

No external sources that would contribute to the spread of fire identified.


YES NO

Means of escape and ensuring that means of escape can be usedEscape routes

Requirement: Where an escape route needs to be separated from the rest of the premises by fire-resisting construction, e.g. a dead-end corridor or protected stairway, then you should ensure the following: Doors (including access hatches to cupboards, ducts and vertical shafts linking floors) walls, floors and ceilings protecting escape routes should be capable of resisting the passage of smoke and fire for long enough so that people can escape from the building. Fire resisting doors to cupboards, stores and service ducts that are not self-closing because they are routinely kept locked should be labelled ‘Fire door – keep locked’ on the outside.

Cupboard doors and a door to an electrical installation were found to be open and not locked. The sign on the electrical installation clearly states that it should be kept locked. Uncontrolled storage could create a fire hazard, particularly if any combustibles were stored in the electrical cupboard. Any sparks from the electrical equipment could ignite the combustible materials and cause a fire which could compromise the escape route, especially with the door being left ajar as it was at the time of the visit.

Action point 3: Cupboard and electrical installation doors on the protected stairwells were found to be unlocked. These doors should be kept locked shut to prevent uncontrolled storage of possible hazardous or combustible items. All these doors require signs on the outside stating, ‘keep locked shut’.


Fire resisting doors from the laboratories should be kept closed as the notices indicate, to prevent the spread of smoke and flames should a fire occur in the laboratory. Smoke would easily spread into the escape corridor, first along the ceiling then downwards making this route untenable in a very short space of time. This corridor does not have smoke detection and therefore occupants of other rooms may not be aware of the developing condition of the corridor.

Action point 4: Management should ensure that laboratory doors are kept closed and not left on the latch.


YES

NO

Escape route lighting

Adequate emergency lighting appears to be in place on escape routes. Monthly/six monthly in-house checks are carried out and the system is serviced annually by a competent person.


YES NO

Signs and notices

The final exit doors had the ‘fire exit’ sign on the actual door. This would not be visible if the door were open. In this case the staff using this building will be familiar with the escape routes and the doors have self closing devices, so the doors are likely to be in the closed position unless people are already exiting by this route. The assessor therefore considers this acceptable.


In the basement lobby there was a proliferation of signage, some of which were redundant and not required. This will cause confusion and may mean that the signage which is important could be ignored.

One office door which was marked ‘fire door keep shut’ was left open. There is no need for the corridor that it leads onto, to be protected so if it is desirable to have these doors open the signage should be removed. Signs should either be observed or removed if not required, or people may become dismissive of them.

Action point 5: Remove any unnecessary signage to prevent staff from becoming dismissive of important signs.


YES

NO


Means of detecting fire and giving warningSystem type

The building is covered by an electrical fire alarm system with battery back-up.The system appears to be an L5/M category. There are manual call points throughout with additional smoke detection in the protected stairways and adjacent to an automatic door release for the kitchenette are. The escape corridors leading to the protected stairwells are not covered by smoke detection. BS 5839 L5/M category is detailed below:Classification L5 System is designed for buildings that have a particular fire risk identified which warrants some special attention. For example if there is an area of high fire risk which is considered worthy of having some automatic detection but a manual system is also needed, then this will be termed as L5/M.The system is regularly maintained with in-house weekly call point checks and 6 monthly inspections by a competent person. Zones are simply divided by floor and listed below the fire alarm panel located in the reception area.


YES NO

Means of fighting fireFire fighting equipment for use by persons

Portable fire extinguishers are provided throughout the building. Suitable types are used for risks within the building. Weekly in-house extinguisher checks are carried out with annual servicing and inspection by a competent person.

The building has previously been provided with hose-reels, but these have now been removed. This is a suitable course of action to discourage employees from going back into the building from a place of safety to fight a fire.


YES NO

Fire fighting facilities and access for fire-fighters

Good access is provided for the fire service to get within close vicinity to the building. Service shut-off valves suitable signed. Two protected stairwells are provided which will allow access to upper floors.


YES NO


Fire suppression systems

Not Applicable


YES NO

Managing fire safetyFire safety policy

Suitable fire safety policy in placeAction required (Please tick)If you answered yes, record action at STEP 4

YES NO

Emergency fire action plan

A suitable emergency fire action plan is in place.


YES NO

Fire safety information and training

Records of all fire safety training kept locally with within various departments throughout BRE.


YES NO

Fire drills

Fire drills are carried out at least once a year with records maintained. There is a system in place throughout the BRE site whereby designated trained personnel sweep their area of responsibility and collect a sweeper disc to be placed on the sweeper disc board at the assembly point.

Note: it is stated on the disc that where personnel do not evacuate, inform the safety officer at the designated assembly point. Are there any circumstances where non-evacuation is acceptable? The responsible person may wish to consider if this is an appropriate instruction for the whole site.


YES NO

Maintenance of fire safety measures

All in house fire safety checks are in place and six monthly and annual inspections by external competent contractors are in place including: Fire Warning and Alarm System, Emergency Lighting, Fire Extinguishers, Gas Safety and Electrical Safety.


YES NO

Recording information and keeping recordsHealth and Safety Team November 2016 of 12

All records in good order and kept on site.


YES NO

Priority attention

High priority immediate action required for legislative compliance

Medium priority required for legislative compliance

Low priority, considered good fire safety practice

Step 4 Action pointsPriority Person

ResponsibleCompletion

DateAction point 1: The assessor considers that although this is a low risk, that if these waste bins need to be kept here, then they should be replaced with metal bins which would contain any fire should it occur.

M

Action point 2: The notice boards in the protected dead end corridor are currently tidy and well separated but these should be monitored to ensure that these do not become a possible means of fire spread. Consideration should be given to notice boards that are enclosed; this will have a two-fold benefit of reducing sources of fuel and preventing unwanted notices being posted.

L

Action point 3: Cupboard and electrical installation doors on the protected stairwells were found to be unlocked. These doors should be kept locked shut to prevent uncontrolled storage of possible hazardous or combustible items. All these doors require signs on the outside stating, ‘keep locked shut’.

H

Action point 4: Management should ensure that laboratory doors are kept closed and not left on the latch.

L


Action point 5: Remove any unnecessary signage to prevent staff from becoming dismissive of important signs.

L

Review the fire risk assessment if there is a reason to suspect it is no longer valid or if there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates.

Step 5 Assessment reviewReview date Review byReason for review

Outcomes of review


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