Fire safety and fire risk assessments for schools

Fire safety and fire risk assessments for schools

The responsibility of fire risk assessments lies with the headteacher as a legal requirement and obligation at any school. This follows legislation of fire risk assessments (Regulatory Reform [Fire Safety] Order 2005). Staff should acknowledge the risk of daytime fires that can occur as a result of arson or by accident and pose a danger to staff and students’ safety. It’s essential that children are supervised at all times in cloakrooms, corridors and so on to maintain their well-being.

In the event of a fire at school, parents should be informed immediately of the cause and any details to report on such as arson if known or suspected. Each incident that occurs must be reported on and fully explained to the parents of students.

In order to be fully prepared for any fire risk incident, Fire Safety Awareness sessions should be held regularly acknowledging any risks of malicious calls. The local fire service should hold regular intervals for all children attending the school regardless of their age.

Fire drills should occur frequently as part of the Risk Assessment obtaining any records for future purposes. It must be made know to children that any items such as cigarette lighters and matches are not allowed in schools or on the premises. Any failure to follow this rule should have a serious disciplinary consequence to avoid repeat attempts of bringing in banned items.

Any children who are deemed responsible or suspected of starting any fires should be referred to Fire and Rescue Service fire setting aversion schemes. These schemes are often conducted at home and parents should be informed and consulted before hand. Headteachers are advised to implement the teachings of fire issues and risks into everyday school life to learn safe behaviour.

Regardless of the size and severity, all fires should be reported to the Fire & Rescue service so that they can demonstrate prevention methods of future fired to reduce repeat occurrences. The architect should consider fire and arson risks when designing new school buildings and are recommended to consult with Fire Service and Insurance specialists.

Combustible materials that are kept in stores in or around the school must be locked to avoid entry and usage. Any hazardous materials and chemicals (typically used for chemistry lessons) need to be well managed, cleaned and remain locked. The school must inform the Fire & Rescue Service of the location of these rooms for their records.

All wheelie and waste bins should be stored several meters away from buildings and ideally locked in compounds. In addition, any waste skips used on-site of the school need to be kept far away from the buildings but not by fences or walls. Litter bins are required to be emptied twice a day at the start of lunch and at the end of the school day.

Protecting Lives and Detecting Risks

Its highly recommended to use automatic fire detection on cloakrooms, stores, all escape routes and any high-risk areas. Combustible items such as coats and bags must be kept in a designated cloakroom and not in corridors or escape routes.

Fire doors must be maintained to open and lock securely and kept closed at all times unless in the event of a fire. All staff members require adequate training in fire procedures. These responsibilities may include how to summon the Fire & Rescue Service, evacuating the building and the use of fire extinguishers.

Benefit analysis should be taken at full cost by installing sprinkler systems for any new buildings and substantial renovations. The automatic detection and fire alarms systems need to be connected a commercial collector station. This allows for constant motoring of school property when unoccupied. This allows immediate transmission of a fire signal to local fire authorities. Any calls that are considered unwanted such as malicious calls and any system faults need to treated with high priority, urgency and to be taken seriously. Calls that are deemed malicious are considered a criminal offence and will be reported to the police by the Fire & Rescue Service.

Arson Offences outside of school time

Create a deterrent on any unauthorised entry onto school property

Boundaries should be created to signal the start of the property and established a perimeter with fencing that is hard to overcome. Signs of boundaries may also deter intruders, which are essential at vulnerable spots that are easier to enter to stop access to the school site.

Limit & prevent unauthorised entry into school buildings

Doors and windows are the easiest point of entry for an intruder as well as skylights unless they have been barred-off. Burglar alarms are essential to capture any suspicious activity and must be frequently maintained to check working order. However, when preventing intrusion remember to allow easy access to exit the building in the event of a fire also

Minimise fire opportunities for any intruders

Arson is rarely caused by the intruder bringing items with them but usually start a fire intentionally with what’s available at the premises. Its best to reduce any combustible storage as much as possible by storing items elsewhere that is less accessible.

Reduce the scale for potential fire damage

Small steps can be made to reduce the scope of any fire damage at schools. For instance, closing all doors at night will slow any fires from spreading room-to-room and contain the smoke slowing the fire down. A recovery disaster plan can reduce any subsequent losses and any disruption to usual class activity. This will drastically help in the event a serious fire occurs leaving you in a more prepared situation.