The LWF Blog

Fire Engineering Design and Risk Assessment – Fire Safety Management – Part 11

January 13, 2020 2:27 pm

In LWF’s Fire Engineering blog series for Architects and others involved in building design, we have been looking at the activities of a company which can be classed as fire safety management. In part 10, we looked at those design information items which should be included into the first part of the fire safety manual. In part 11, we will consider the operational records that should be contained within the second part of the fire safety manual.

The compilation and upkeep of the fire safety manual is important for the ongoing fire safety provision of a building. While much of the information and upkeep will fall to the building occupants or owners, the fire safety manual should be started by the building architects who are responsible for the building construction and the fire safety design. The first part of the manual contains design information, while the second contains Operational Records.

Part 2 – Operational Records should contain the following information:

– The safety management structure and any changes to the management structure.
– Access statements which illustrate how obligations under the Equality Act are met.
– Testing of the fire safety systems, including any acceptance tests.
– The results of monitored fire drills.
– Records of all training and education relating to fire safety.
– Maintenance records of all heat-dissipating equipment and fire safety equipment.
– Any ‘hot work’ permits issued.
– A log noting the attendance of the contractors or workers on site.
– Details of any changes to the structure of the building.
– Details of any changes to the systems of the building.
– Information relating to regulatory requirements, such as fire safety risk assessments or Building Regulations approvals.
– Feedback gained from staff, building occupants or other building users.
– Details of any fire incident on site.
– Details of any ‘near-miss’ fire incidents.
– Details of any false alarms and evacuations.
– Records of any appeals or prosecutions.
– Results and changes following reviews and testing of the manual.
– Inventories of any flammable materials used or kept on site.
– Details of any operations that have a high fire hazard.

In part 12, LWF will look at where the fire safety manual should be kept, along with who should have access to it and how it should be maintained. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this blog, or wish to discuss your own project with one of our fire engineers, please contact us.

Lawrence Webster Forrest has been working with their clients for over 25 years to produce innovative and exciting building projects. If you would like further information on how LWF and fire strategies could assist you, please contact the LWF office on 0800 410 1130.

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.