The LWF Blog
Facilities Management & Fire Safety – Fire Safety Management – Part 6
May 17, 2018 1:19 pmIn LWF’s blog series for Facilities Management or those who have an interest in or responsibility for fire safety, we have been looking at Fire Safety Management. In part 5, the duties and areas of attention for the ‘responsible person’ were outlined. In part 6, we will look particularly at housekeeping standards in the workplace and why they are important.
Housekeeping indicates the routine tasks necessary to maintain general tidiness and order in the workplace. While such tasks might seem mundane and little to do with effective fire safety management, the contrary is actually the case. The temporary blocking of a fire escape with a hazard such as boxes could cause a delay in evacuating and endanger lives. Also important is the fact that insurance companies note the level and efficiency of housekeeping when deciding on the level of risk involved in insuring the business and therefore, bad housekeeping may mean higher insurance premiums.
Housekeeping isn’t merely about keeping the place in a shipshape fashion, however, it also includes attention to detail over such issues as efficient disposal of waste and storage arrangements.
Good housekeeping isn’t just a consideration when considering the situation after a fire begins because negligent housekeeping can actually cause fire hazards in itself. The probability that a fire will start is increased by instances of poor housekeeping such as the storage of rubbish close to buildings, grease deposits left in the kitchen area, trailing electrical leads etc.
Fire protection measures that are in place to protect the building occupants can easily be compromised if good housekeeping isn’t practised. Obstructions to escape routes, fire exits, emergency lighting and signage can all contribute to the potential for people to become trapped in the building or a delay that could cause them to inhale toxic fumes from the fire while attempting to negotiate safe evacuation from the site.
Automatic fire protection systems can also be affected by poor housekeeping decisions. The storage of items close to smoke detectors can delay activation in case of a fire, by blocking the path of the detector towards the source of a fire or smoke. Equally, materials stacked close to sprinkler heads can impede their prompt and effective action.
The Fire Service, upon arriving at your premises, cannot work effectively in an environment where corridors are partially blocked with stacked items and where badly stacked goods could catch alight and fall causing further blockages, the spread of fire and potentially, additional danger for the firefighters. Efficient storage practices outside the building are also important to ensure that the Fire Service are able to position their apparatus close to the building.
LWF’s next blog will begin to look at the inspection, testing and maintenance of fire protection equipment and systems. In the meantime, if you have any queries about your own facilities or wish to discuss this blog series, please contact Peter Gyere in the first instance on 0208 668 8663.
Lawrence Webster Forrest is a fire engineering consultancy based in Surrey with over 25 years’ experience, which provides a wide range of consultancy services to professionals involved in the design, development and construction and operation of buildings.
While care has been taken to ensure that information contained in LWF’s publications is true and correct at the time of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of this information.