Fire Safety in Care Homes (England) Policy

Policy Statement

This policy sets out the values, principles and policies underpinning this care service’s approach to fire safety. The aim of the service is to ensure that, as far as is possible, fires are prevented and that, in the event of a fire, staff, people who use services, visitors and other users of the premises know exactly what to do and how to react.

This policy describes the measures taken by {{org_field_name}} to prevent and manage the risks of fire in the home and the actions to be taken in the event of any outbreak. It is written in line with the requirements of the Health and Safety Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and the applicable health and safety laws and regulations.

With regard to fire safety, Regulation 15: Premises and Equipment includes a requirement for all premises to be suitable and properly maintained. The statutory guidance specifies that:

premises must be fit for purpose in line with statutory requirements and should take account of national best practice
there should be regular health and safety risk assessments of the premises — the findings of the assessments must be acted on without delay if improvements are required
arrangements should be in place for the purchase, service, maintenance and renewal/replacement of premises and equipment, including fire protection equipment.

The outcomes should be:

to minimise the risk of workplace fire by adequate fire prevention and risk assessment techniques
to ensure that all staff are trained in what to do in the event of a fire
to ensure that all staff attend a fire drill at least annually
to ensure that, in the event of a fire, {{org_field_name}} premises can be evacuated as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible.

By taking the necessary actions, people who use services and staff should be as safe as possible from the threat of fire or from injury in the case of an outbreak of fire. The best way to ensure this state of safety exists is to:

have robust fire policies and procedures in place
ensure that appointed fire wardens are in place in accordance with the law
ensure that staff are well trained to cope with an outbreak of fire or an alarm.

Fire Safety Legislation and Guidance

This service will comply with all aspects of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which requires employers and owners of workplace premises in England and Wales to:

appoint a person responsible for fire safety
conduct and implement the findings from a fire risk assessment
keep the assessment under regular review
have in place effective fire safety policies, procedures and systems.

The service will also take note of and apply best practice in fire safety in the care sector for England and Wales, including Fire Safety Risk Assessment — Residential Care Premises, published by the UK Government, and HSG220 Health and Safety in Care Homes, published by the HSE.

Procedures

On the Discovery of or Suspicion of a Fire

Staff should remain as calm as possible.
The first person aware of the fire or on the scene should raise the alarm immediately by operating the nearest break glass call point or by shouting “Fire”.
If the suspicion is raised by seeing smoke coming from under a door or by seeing smoke in a closed room staff should on no account attempt to open the door but should raise the alarm and summon the fire brigade as quickly as possible.
Small fires can be fought with the appropriate fire extinguisher, but only if safe to do so and only if the alarm has first been raised.

In the Event of a Fire or of the Fire Alarm Sounding

Staff should do the following.

Evacuate the building immediately in line with the evacuation plan and go to the nearest designated fire assembly point.
Remain as calm as possible and help any people who use services, visitors, disabled persons or contractors on the premises to evacuate.
Where possible and safe to do so, check all rooms (in particular toilets) to ensure no person or staff remain in them or are trapped.
Close all doors.
Ensure that, if any person is not accounted for, this is immediately reported to the home manager (or deputy), nominated fire warden or directly to a fire brigade officer.

Staff should never:

stop to collect valuables or possessions
use lifts
open doors where they can see smoke coming through unless that is the only means of escape
attempt to re-enter the building until told it is safe to do so by {{org_field_name}} manager (or deputy), by a nominated fire warden or by a fire brigade officer.

{{org_field_name}} manager (or nominated fire safety warden) is responsible for ensuring that:

the fire brigade has been called to any fire by dialling 999 and asking for fire service
the fire brigade is met on arrival
the staff nominal roll, roll of people who use services and visitor book is removed from the building and used to account for staff, people who use services and visitors by roll call
any person not accounted for is immediately reported to the fire brigade upon arrival.

The appointed fire safety wardens are responsible for:

supervising evacuation assembly points
carrying out roll calls
liaising with the fire brigade on arrival.

It is {{org_field_name}}’s policy that an appointed fire warden should be on duty at all times.

The fire procedures are based upon the following principles.

In the event of fire, the safety of life should override all other considerations, such as saving property or extinguishing the fire.
If a fire is discovered, the alarm should be raised immediately as the first action taken.
All employees are empowered to take this action if they believe there is a fire and no authority need be sought from any other person.
The organisation will always support employees who operate the fire alarm system in good faith, regardless of if it is ultimately determined that a fire existed.
The organisation does not require persons to attempt to extinguish a fire, but extinguishing action may be taken if it is safe to do so after the alarm has been raised.

{{org_field_name}} manager will be expected to:

ensure that staff know they should contact emergency services immediately in the event of a fire or if a fire is suspected
keep staffing levels at the home both during the day and night under careful review to ensure there are sufficient staff in the home at any time to implement the set evacuation plans
access appropriate advice and expert support in fire safety as required from local fire authorities and contractors
ensure that sufficient fire risk assessments are carried out and kept under review.

Fire Risk Assessment Protocol

To control fire safety risks, {{org_field_name}} will practice a stringent programme of fire risk assessments. Our policy is to:

identify, in carrying out normal risk assessment procedures, those activities that require a safe system of work
identify safe methods of work for these activities — where necessary, these will be written formal safe systems of work
implement these systems using the expertise of employees involved in the work activities
monitor the workings of the safe systems through workplace inspections and reviewing accident/incident statistics derived from accident reporting procedures.

The aims of the fire risk assessment will be to:

identify any fire hazards
reduce the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low a level as reasonably practicable
decide what physical fire precautions and management arrangements are necessary to ensure the safety of people in the building if a fire does start.

________________________ is responsible for carrying out fire risk assessments.

Daily checks (usually at close of day) should be made that:

fire doors are closed
fire exits and stairways are free of clutter
all unnecessary electrical equipment and heaters are turned off
storerooms or rubbish areas do not have smouldering fires
areas where contractors have been working are free of fire hazards
access points for fire rescue services are clear and unobstructed.

Weekly checks should be made that:

alarm systems function and can be heard in all parts of the building
all fire-fighting equipment is in good repair and is in place
stocks of flammable materials or gases are kept to an absolute minimum and are stored safely away
all goods and boxes are safely stored away to minimise clutter, reduce the fuel available to a fire and to enable people to exit the building safely in the event of an emergency
all fire instruction notices and no smoking notices are in place and have not been obscured
individual rooms do not contain obvious fire hazards such as overfull waste baskets or portable heaters placed close to curtains
all electrical equipment is free of obvious defects such as worn or broken cables and leads
security arrangements are all in place to discourage arson.

Annual checks should be made that the following are serviced on an annual basis:

fire alarm systems
smoke detectors
emergency lighting
sprinkler systems
fire-fighting equipment.

The alarm system fitted is ________________________.

The engineers contracted to service the fire alarm systems are ________________________ tel: ________________________.

The company contracted to service the fire extinguishers is ________________________ tel: ________________________.

Administrative Guidelines

Full records of fire precautions should be kept in the fire log. This information should be entered by the fire safety lead or by one of the nominated fire wardens and should include:

for fire drills: the times and dates of drills and the time between sounding the alarm and the last person leaving the building
for fire alarm tests: the times and dates of tests
for fire-fighting equipment, alarms and fittings such as emergency lighting: the times and dates of inspections, of replacements and of servicing
for training: times and dates of training events, who attended and what was covered.

________________________ is responsible for ensuring that the staff and nominal rolls of people who use services are kept up to date.

All fire safety records are kept for a minimum of three years.

Monitoring and Review

In this care service, the fire safety policy should be reviewed annually or after any fire-related incident or change in guidelines. All fire-related incidents, including false alarms and “near misses”, should be investigated thoroughly by {{org_field_name}} manager and the fire risk assessment amended as necessary. Professional fire safety advice should be obtained for this review where required.

Changes arising from the results of any review should be communicated to staff and all persons concerned.

The failure of any fire safety systems, including fire alarms, will be notified to the CQC without delay in line with notification regulations.

Personnel

The fire safety lead is responsible for ensuring that the correct fire procedures and arrangements are in place.

The fire safety lead for {{org_field_name}} is ________________________.

Fire wardens are responsible for supporting the fire safety lead.

The nominated fire wardens for {{org_field_name}} are ________________________.

Nominated fire warden posts will be reviewed every ________________________.

{{org_field_name}}’s fire advisor is ________________________ tel: ________________________.

Training

All new staff will be taken through the policy on fire safety as part of their induction process. All members of staff should be aware of the procedures in case of a fire at {{org_field_name}} premises. They should also all be aware of how they must respond in the event of an emergency.

________________________ is responsible for organising and co-ordinating fire training.

All new and existing staff should know:

who is responsible for ensuring the correct fire procedure is carried out
who the fire wardens are
the location and usage of all fire extinguishers and where special extinguishers (eg those suitable for use on electrical equipment) are located
the location of break glass fire alarm points
the emergency fire evacuation procedures
how to use {{org_field_name}} communication systems to make announcements
how to use the internal telephone systems to call for the fire brigade.

In-house training sessions for existing staff should be arranged so that all relevant staff can attend a session every ________________________.

Such general fire safety training should include instruction on fire prevention, on what to do in the event of a fire and on fire fighting. Records should be kept in the fire log of who attended each session. Staff who do not attend should be reminded to attend the next session. All staff should attend fire training, including night staff and part-time staff.

Additional training should be available for fire safety wardens.

In this care service, fire drills will be held at the following intervals: ________________________.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}

Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}

Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}

CS119. Fire Safety in Care Homes