Training

If you are planning to construct your new premises, alter or extend, the fire safety risks can be significantly reduced by reviewing the Fire Safety Strategy during the design development stage. We can advise architects, designers and clients on their fire strategies, helping to achieve Building Regulation approval. We can also provide “value engineering” solutions by advising how fire safety objectives can be achieved in the most cost effective and space efficient way.

Bespoke fire policy – A comprehensive fire policy for your organisation which will cover

• The prevention of fire incidents occurring.
• To ensure that there is prompt and effective action in the event of an incident.
• To ensure users, visitors and members of staff can be safely and quickly evacuated.
• The policy will clearly define the roles and responsibilities regarding fire safety for all.

Fire risk assessment – Fire risk assessment should be the foundation for all the fire precautions in your workplace. We will complete a suitable and sufficient assessment and on completion we will provide a report indicating whether the existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done.

Quarterly fire audits – It will be necessary to monitor the effectiveness and implementation of this Fire Policy. This will be achieved by us undertaking quarterly inspections of the workplace. The results of these inspections will be recorded our bespoke fire inspections checklist.

• Unannounced inspections
• Unannounced fire alarm activations

We can provide a fire safety gap analysis which can help you improve your business by allowing you to pinpoint legal and fire safety “gaps” present in your company. Once it’s complete, you’ll be able to better focus your resources and energy on those identified areas in order to improve them.

We can carryout a full audit of your fire stopping and fire compartmentation.

Fire safety training for staff is a requirement of legislation. All courses we provide are held at your premises, obviating the need to send staff to training centres, which means less downtime for staff, no associated travel costs and overall a more cost-effective way of meeting your legal obligation as an employer.

Fire marshal/warden training – This course serves as a quick, simple, effective way of explaining the risks associated with fire and the practical steps that can be taken to manage the risk. It also covers the roles and responsibilities of Fire marshals / Fire wardens. This course includes live fire training with our fire simulator.

Basic Fire safety awareness training – Ensure that all staff are prepared should a fire occur in the workplace, this course teaches your staff the correct protocol to follow in an emergency situation. This is essential knowledge for ensuring the safety of your workforce, and a basic fire safety understanding for all staff should be at the forefront of training priorities.

Simulated evacuation training – Holding regular fire drills is one of the most important aspects of your responsibilities as an employer. Fire drills are an important test of your procedures and the importance you as an employer gives to fire safety can be reflected in your staff’s attitude and response.

The demands of fire safety management within a Healthcare setting may sometimes require additional and often more technical resource than is available within the organisation’s management team.

We can provide a competent fire engineer with particular healthcare fire safety expertise to assist the fire safety management team.

HTM 05-01: Firecode recognises the need for such additional skilled resource and describes the role of a Fire Engineer, in support of the fire safety adviser, under the title Authorising Engineer (Fire).

The Firecode recommends a yearly independent audit of the fire safety management system by an Authorising Engineer (Fire) to inform the Annual Statement of Fire Safety which is used to provide assurance that the organisation is conforming to the fire safety elements of Outcome 10 of the CQC National Standards.

Unique and challenging situations particular to the Healthcare Environment may require an analytical Fire Engineering approach which may be beyond the scope of the in-house resources.

We can provide fire engineering capabilities combined with unsurpassed knowledge of Building Regulations Approved Document B, Firecode, BS 5839 and BS 5266 within the healthcare environment.

Employers (and/or building owners or occupiers) must carry out a fire safety risk assessment and keep it up to date. This shares the same approach as health and safety risk assessments and can be carried out either as part of an overall risk assessment or as a separate exercise.

Based on the findings of the assessment, employers need to ensure that adequate and appropriate fire safety measures are in place to minimise the risk of injury or loss of life in the event of a fire.

To help prevent fire in the workplace, your risk assessment should identify what could cause a fire to start, ie sources of ignition (heat or sparks) and substances that burn, and the people who may be at risk.

Once you have identified the risks, you can take appropriate action to control them. Consider whether you can avoid them altogether or, if this is not possible, how you can reduce the risks and manage them. Also consider how you will protect people if there is a fire.

• Carry out a fire safety risk assessment
• Keep sources of ignition and flammable substances apart
• Avoid accidental fires, eg make sure heaters cannot be knocked over
• Ensure good housekeeping at all times, eg avoid build-up of rubbish that could burn
• Consider how to detect fires and how to warn people quickly if they start, eg installing smoke alarms and fire alarms or bells
• Have the correct fire-fighting equipment for putting a fire out quickly
• Keep fire exits and escape routes clearly marked and unobstructed at all times
• Ensure your workers receive appropriate training on procedures they need to follow, including fire drills
• Review and update your risk assessment regularly