Safety
An effective fire safety prevention strategy
Doug Agnew, business development manager, Abbot Fire Group, provides tips and information on how to reduce the risk of fire by carrying out a care home risk assessment and taking the appropriate measures to keep residents safe from harm
A fire risk assessment should be the starting point for any fire prevention strategy within a care home. It is a legal obligation and is required as part of fire safety legislation under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, also referred to as the RRO. It is a requirement for all premises to
have a fire risk assessment that looks at existing fire precautions, as well as other factors and how these can be adjusted to help reduce the risk of fire. For example, ensuring plug sockets are not overloaded and that fire exit doors are kept clear from obstruction. A fire risk assessment in your care
home will: l highlight any areas that might be missing or are not covered by suitable fire precautions
l provide suggestions on how to rectify any problem areas
l ensure all areas of fire safety within your care home have been assessed by an expert.
The key to ensuring you have a thorough fire risk assessment undertaken is making sure you use a competent risk assessor; this is not just based on qualifications, experience is crucial.
Any shortfalls in your fire safety
precautions that are highlighted by a fire risk assessment need to be addressed and rectified immediately. You should instruct an established company, ideally with ISO and BAFE accreditations (where relevant) to undertake this work for you. Third party approval provides an indication of processes, staff qualifications and training, and gives you peace of mind that you are using a competent person, as stipulated in the RRO, from a professional company for the work.
Fire safety signage In order to comply with current legislation, a care home requires the correct use and placement of fire safety signage. This includes: l fire action signs, ie instructions on what to do in the event of a fire
l fire equipment and fire extinguisher signs to show and identify fire fighting equipment
l fire exit signs to show emergency exits l signs to show the location of fire assembly points.
36 All signage must be placed
appropriately so that residents, staff and visitors can identify what it relates to. Ensuring all emergency exits are clearly sign posted is crucial. In the unlikely event that a care home needs to be evacuated, residents, staff and visitors need to be able to clearly follow emergency exit signs to reach a place of safety. This place of safety is usually the assembly point, which should also be clearly identifiable by signage.
Emergency lighting In a care home, there are always people around, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is vital to be able to evacuate quickly, calmly and safely if required to do so. There are two types of emergency
lighting: maintained and non-maintained systems. Maintained systems do as the name suggests and provide lighting that remains permanently on, even in the event of a power failure. They are generally used in public areas, such as corridors or reception. Non-maintained lighting is the type of emergency exit
www.thecarehomeenvi ronment .com • January 2017
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