Fire Safety Policy

Policy Statement

Care service staff and people who use services 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 staff are well trained to cope with an outbreak of fire or an alarm in a person’s home or in the office.

{{org_field_name}} aims to comply with all legal requirements and best practice guidance relating to fire safety.

This policy is sets out the values, principles and procedures underpinning {{org_field_name}}’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 know exactly what to do and how to react.

Other Legislation and Guidance

{{org_field_name}} recognises that fire safety regulations and standards apply to any workplace offices that are under the control of {{org_field_name}}. In this regard, it 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, following government guidance on Fire Safety in the Workplace.

It is recognised that, while the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 does not apply to domestic premises, such as the homes of people who use services, {{org_field_name}} still has a duty of care to ensure the safety of its staff working in such settings.

In {{org_field_name}} Offices

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:

evacuate the building immediately and go to the nearest designated fire assembly point
remain as calm as possible and help any visitors, disabled persons or contractors on the premises to evacuate
close all doors
ensure that, if any person is not accounted for, this is immediately reported 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.

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.
{{org_field_name}} will always support employees who operate the fire alarm system in good faith, regardless of whether it is ultimately determined that a fire existed.
{{org_field_name}} 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.

Fire Risk Assessment Protocol

To control fire safety risks in offices under control of {{org_field_name}}, {{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 nominal rolls are kept up to date.

Monitoring and Review

In {{org_field_name}}, 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.

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: ____________________.

In the Homes of People Receiving Care

Workplace fire regulations do not apply to the homes of people receiving care. However, {{org_field_name}} still has a duty of care for its staff working in such settings and will therefore take all reasonable actions to ensure their safety.

In {{org_field_name}}, a fire evacuation plan should be agreed as part of the initial health and safety risk assessment in any new person’s home where staff will be required to work. The plan should be entered in the person’s plan and should note:

escape routes
fire risks (ie smoking habits of people who use services, use of electric bar fires, etc)
evacuation risks (ie is the person immobile or disabled/is the evacuation route restricted)
use of smoke detectors/fire safety telecare.

All risk assessments should be discussed with the person using the services, or their representatives, and an agreement on any action to be taken made.

Where evacuation or fire risks are high then professional fire advice should be sought. All people who use services should be encouraged to adopt fire awareness behaviours and to install smoke alarms. Special evacuation arrangements should be made for people with limited mobility, wheelchairs or sensory impairments.

On the discovery of or suspicion of a fire, home care staff should:

remain as calm as possible and raise the alarm immediately
evacuate the house immediately, helping any person receiving care, visitors or relatives on the premises to evacuate as per the evacuation plan
ensure that everybody who was in the house is accounted for
close all doors upon leaving
call the fire brigade if not already done
ensure that any person not accounted for is immediately reported to a fire brigade officer on arrival
contact {{org_field_name}}s head office and report the fire
record the details of the incident in the Incident Book in the central office and fill out any accident forms in the event of injuries.

If the suspicion of fire 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.

Staff should never:

stop to collect valuables or possessions
use lifts (except for disabled stair lifts where there is no alternative means of transporting a person downstairs)
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 a fire brigade officer.

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.

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

Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}

Next review date: this policy is reviewed annually (every 12 months). When needed, this policy is also updated in response to changes in legislation, regulation, best practices, or organisational changes.

S65. Fire Safety