Fire - Location of alarms, location of extinguishers, hazard signs, fire points and evacuation routes

INTRODUCTION
Historically, fire safety advice has been enshrined in good practice and advice given as a result of experience. This advice was obviously only as good as the person offering it from fire brigades which were fragmented and run by either volunteers or insurance companies.

In 1947 the Fire Services Act came into force which made the newly formed local authority fire brigades responsible for the provision, training and maintenance of a fire brigade. Part of those provisions were also the requirement to provide fire prevention advice to members of the public. This advice was still based without any enforceable standards until some areas of the Factories Act 1937 were changed to bring the fire brigades into the enforcement area. Later, after a large loss of life in a fire at Liverpool, the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 was brought into force making the Fire Brigades additionally responsible for the fire prevention sections of that Act.

In 1971 the Fire Precautions Act was introduced to replace the fire prevention provisions of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act and the Factories Act. This legislation was designed to be all encompassing under which the Home Secretary can designate most types of premises. At present, designating orders have only been made for those premises which are covered by the preceeding legislation plus hotels.

Europe now features in the fire safety legislation for the United Kingdom and the implications of the European Workplace Directive have still to be assessed and implemented.

The following general guidance is a path through the various Codes of Practice and Home Office guides. It does not represent the detailed requirements for a particular set of premises put to a specific use.

ESCAPE ROUTES
When considering how a building can be evacuated safely and effectively, it may be reasonable to believe that all doors and windows are possible avenues through which an escape can be made. However, not all of these routes will be safe to use as some might lead into a dead end situation from which there is no escape.

The generally accepted definition of an escape route is:

'Structural means forming an integral part of the building, whereby persons can escape from fire by their own unaided efforts to a place of safety'.

Most places of work and some places of entertainment are subject to a detailed analysis of the risk within the building and safe escape routes will be designed and incorporated into a fire safety plan for the building. In premises designated under the Fire Precautions Act, the fire plan may take the form of a Fire Certificate, whilst in a Residential Home it will be part of the Registration Certificate and in a Concert Hall it will be included in a Public Entertainment Licence.

The factors to be addressed in deciding if an escape route is acceptable are:

(a) Assessment of the fire risk.
(b) Construction of the building including surface finishes on walls and ceilings.
(c) How long will it take to evacuate the building.
(d) What is the nature of the occupancy and the occupant's ability to respond to
a fire alarm.
(e) How many exits are provided.
(f) What is the distance to travel to the exits.
(g) Escape doors and their fastenings.
(h) Fire safety signs.
(i) Lighting of escape routes.

If an escape route is so designated, it will then be identified and clearly indicated using approporiate notices. No escape route will be effective unless it is maintained and should therefore be subjected to regular inspection with remedial action taken as a matter of urgency.

Escape routes will be protected with an additional degree of fire resistance and materials used or stored in these are closely monitored. In most premises this is known as a protected corridor. The normal standard of fire resistance for protecting an escape route is 30 minutes, so, with usual evacuation times between 2 and 3 minutes, ample time will be available for a safe and effective evacuation. High risk fire areas will be protected by up to 2 hours of fire resistance.

Horizontal Escape
The escape route will normally be designed for people in the most vulnerable areas should fire occur in the premises. This position will normally be in primarily the topmost storey or the basement, and at the furthermost point away from any stairway leading from that floor.

Amongst the main requirements are the following:

(a) All doors, where more than 30 to 40 persons are escaping, should open in the
direction of escape or be double swing.
(b) Any ramp or change in level is controlled.
(c) By-pass doors will be provided for any roller shutter or revolving doors.
(d) Sliding doors are not generally accepted.
(e) Door fastening and security devices are controlled.
(f) Quantities and types of glazing are controlled.
(g) Width of corridors and doors are carefully calculated.
(h) Floor surfaces are regulated.

Vertical Escape
Any stairway which forms part of an escape route from the premises will be constructed to allow a free flow of persons throughout the route. Special provisions may have to be made for wheelchair use.

(a) Internal staircases will be constructed to comply with Building Regulations if the building is new, or adapted to meet agreed standards if an existing
building.
(b) External staircases will be protected against inclement weather and adjacent fire risks.
(c) Spiral, raking and vertical staircases will be allowed but restricted in size and usage.
(d) Protected escape staircases should, in most cases, discharge directly to openair.

General Escape
(a) Only windows designated as fire exits should be used.
(b) Where escape routes are not naturally lit, emergency lighting should be
provided.
(c) Escape over flat roofs should only be used when designated as an escape
route.
(d) Any form of self rescue equipment is not generally accepted, e.g. ropes or
rope ladders, etc.

Means of escape from a building is a highly complex issue and is open to a degree of negotiation between all relevant legislative controllers and the owner/occupier. Employees should ensure that all recognised and indicated escape routes are known to them and fire/evacuation drills are carried out at regular intervals using ALL indicated and marked exit routes.

FIRE ALARMS
Any building falling within the scope of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and in need of a Fire Certificate is required to provide a fire alarm system complying with British Standard 5839, Part 1. Other smaller premises, which still fall within the scope of a designating order under the Fire Precautions Act 1971, may have a fire alarm system complying with the same British Standard. Some premises such as residential homes and teaching establishments may be provided with alarms which do not comply with the British Standard, but are still recognised as an integral part of the fire safety procedures in those buildings.

Call Points
Trigger devices for the fire alarm fall into two categories:

* Automatic - These incorporate devices such as smoke and heat sensors, infra-red sensors, flame detectors and sprinklers, etc. to activate the fire alarm automatically. To assist in the identification of the device which triggered the fire alarm, each unit contains a small diode light indicating if that device has been triggered. Where the detection device is installed to cover an area hidden from view, a remote diode light is provided at an adjacent location.

* Manual - A device which requires an operator to throw a switch or break a glass panel which releases a button switch. These should be found in well illuminated areas away from obstructions and sited so as not to place the operator in danger. Instructions will be provided with each device indicating the method of operation and all devices in a building should be identical. Manual devices are sited on all escape routes particularly on the floor landings of staircases and at exits to the open air.

They may be flush fitting or surface mounted and should be 1.4 metres from floor level. No person should have to travel more than 30 metres to find a manual call point.

Control Equipment
The control and indicating equipment should be accommodated in the ground floor entrance where the Fire Brigade are likely to make their entrance. It is also possible for slave or repeat panels to be provided in additional locations to meet local needs.

The control equipment must be sited at a location accessible to members of staff, free of danger and with good ambient lighting. The background noise levels must not be such as to over-ride any audible indications, such as a faulty alarm signal.

The alarm system may be provided with a pre-alarm signal. This will not normally result in an evacuation but is intended to warn of a possible fault condition. It will be necessary to check the control panel and the area which generated the signal to verify if a fire condition exists. If no fire is apparent, the engineers should be called to check the detector head.

Alarm Sounders
An alarm may be triggered by an automatic device or a manual call point and within a few seconds alarm bells will sound. These alarm sounders must have a similar audible signal but be different from all other sounds within the building. The fire alarm in a large building may be a two stage system and whilst certain designated areas will be evacuating others will be on standby. When certain criteria are met (time delay, more than one detector operating or the operation of a manual call point), the whole system will go into full alarm and a total evacuation will take place.

Ancillary Systems
In addition to sounding audible alarms, other automatic events might take place:

(a) Automatic call to the Fire Brigade.
(b) Ventilation systems being shut down.
(c) 'Fail safe to open' devices may be allowing security doors to be unlocked.
(d) Automatic hold open devices on fire doors being deactivated.
(e) Fixed fire fighting equipment operating.
(f) Fire shutters operating.

FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT
Extinguishers, or to be more precise portable fire fighting equipment, by their very nature are required to be readily at hand when they are needed. The specific details of selection, installation and maintenance of portable fire extinguishers are contained in BS5306, Part 3.

The original recommendations for the type and disposition of portable fire fighting appliances would have been as a result of detailed negotiation, and in the case of certain premises designated under the Fire Precautions Act 1971, would have been incorporated within a Fire Certificate containing the positions and quantities of appliances. Any variation in the quantity, type and location must only take place with permission in writing from the Certification Authority. The Fire Certificate should be kept on the premises at all times.

Those premises without a Fire Certificate but still designated under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 are still required by regulation to provide adequate portable fire fighting equipment and escape routes from the premises. Usually, no documentation will exist as to where the portable fire fighting appliances should be located.

Various Codes of Practice detail where fire fighting equipment should be located but it can be dependant on the use to which the premises are put. Although locations of these appliances are not standard, they should conform with a basic format:
(a) On line of escape routes.
(b) Near, but not too near, danger points.
(c) Where possible, in shallow recesses.
(d) No person shall have to travel in excess of 30 metres to locate one.
(e) Where possible in groups to form 'fire points'.
(f) In multi-storey buildings, at the same location on each floor.
(g) Near to room exits inside, or outside depending on the occupation/risk.
(h) With the carrying handle about 1 metre from the floor.
(i) Away from the excesses of heat and cold.

FIRE SAFETY SIGNS
The current situation concerning safety and fire safety signs is in a fluid state due to the implementation of the EEC Directive 92/58/EEC. This Directive requires that all member states bring forward legislation to require the provision of safety and/or health signs at places of work. These regulations will ensure identification of hazards, emergency equipment, mandatory instructions, escape route marking and prohibition notices by using appropriate internationally recognised graphic symbols.

All new signs indicating escape route exits and emergency exits should now comply with BS5499. Existing safety signs which do not conform with the new regulations have until 24th December 1995 to be changed, and for Fire Safety signs the conversion date is 24th December 1998. It is desirable that all existing signs should be consistent with any additions or changes. At the present time it is not certain that, to achieve conformity, when any new signs are introduced all existing signs will have to be changed as well. It is therefore possible that any one set of premises may have a variety of standards.

Safety and Fire Safety signs can be broadly grouped into the following categories:

* Prohibition - Red circular edge on a white background with a red diagonal band and black lettering. Very few Fire Safety signs exist within this group but an example would be 'No smoking'. These contain specific statements to prevent harm or injury or serve to notify in the event of any emergency that certain actions increase the risk of harm or injury.

* Warning - Black triangular edge on a yellow background with a black symbol. These are predominantly Health and Safety and warn of equipment, substances, objects or areas that in the event of an emergency could increase the risk of injury or harm to persons in the premises, or fire fighters entering the premises if not advised of their existence.

* Mandatory - Blue circular block with inset white symbol or lettering. Many signs exist in connection with Fire Safety including fire action notices but the most common is 'Fire Door Keep Shut'. These are specific statements that personnel within the premises must comply with to ensure their safety and prevent harm, injury or increase risk in the event of an emergency.

* Emergency Escape, First Aid or Safe Condition - Green rectangle/square with white inset symbols. Most noticeable of all, and these include the pictogram 'Exit' signs. These are required at all emergency exits and escape routes and indicate the shortest exit route from a given point in the building. Where direct sight of the exit is not possible, a supplementary arrow can be used.

* Fire Fighting - Red square with inset white symbols. This group includes all references to fire fighting equipment provided for use in primary circumstances by trained personnel to extinguish a fire or protect the escape route until evacuation is complete, but not at any personal risk to the individual.

FIRE POINTS
Wherever possible, portable fire fighting equipment should be grouped to form fire points. A fire point should be located on an escape route and be clearly and conspicuously indicated so that it can be readily identified. In premises which are uniform in layout, extinguishers should, where possible, be located at the same point on each floor. If a fire point is hidden from direct view, e.g. in a cupboard, its position should be indicated by suitable signs. It should not be necessary to travel more than 30 metres to reach a fire point.

A typical fire point might contain:

(a) A variety of portable fire fighting equipment.
(b) Fire routine notices including evacuation details.
(c) Fire alarm call point and instructions.
(d) Fixed fire fighting equipment such as hose reels, if required.
(e) Telephone.

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING

1. BS 5306, Part 3, Code of Practice for selection, installation and maintenance
of portable fire extinguishers.

2. BS 5499, Part 1, Fire safety signs, notices and graphic symbols.

3. BS 5588, Part 2, Fire precautions in the design and construction of buildings.
Shops.

4. BS 5588, Part 3, Fire precautions in the design and construction of buildings.
Offices.

5. BS 5588, Part 6, Fire precautions in the design and construction of buildings.
Places of assembly.

6. BS 5839, Part 1, Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings. System
design, installation and servicing.

7. BS 5839, Part 2, Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings. Manual
call points.

8. Home Office Guide. Code of Practice for fire precautions in factories,
offices, shops and railway premises not required to have a Fire Certificate.

9. Home Office Guide. Guide to fire precautions in existing places of work that
require a Fire Certificate. Factories, offices, shops and railway premises.

10. Home Office Guide. Guide to fire precautions in premises used as hotels and
boarding houses which require a Fire Certificate.