Introduction
Fire is a common hazard for any business or premises. The Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College focuses on training different cadres on fire and safety management. Due to this, it is prudent that the Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College develop and adhere to this Fire Safety Management Plan. The Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College was well built with numerous emergency exits. The compound has many visual fire and safety management messages and warnings. Additionally, it has a comprehensive alarm system. Apart from these, there is a need for a comprehensive fire safety management plan for the school. The college offers courses on fire and safety measures, thus, should also abide by the protocols of the same stipulated in the Qatar Civil Defense Department Fire Safety Guidelines. This plan, thus, should be adhered to in the event of any fire within the premises.
Fire Safety Policy Statement
The Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College will maintain fire prevention strategies based on the size of the premises and the number of people it holds, provide detailed information to all the people in the premises at all times of fire evacuation strategies, and conduct fire risk assessments frequently and as deemed practicable.
Fire Safety Management Structure
There are three main things that should be included in a fire management structure. These three plans are maintenance, staff training and fire action plans (Purkiss and Li 19). The following chart details the fire safety management structure for the Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College.
Evacuation Strategies
The security office will be in charge of drills, which will be done twice every month. The evacuation strategies include what to do and what not to do during a fire outbreak.
What To Do
Stop what you are doing and move to the closest exit
Pull any fire alarms you see on your way out
Use the stairs
Lower your head if there is smoke in the building
Head to the fire assembly point
Staff should help people living with disabilities get to the nearest exit
Remain calm and contact your fire response contact person from the fire assembly point
What Not To Do
Do not run
Do not start packing your items
Do not use the lifts or escalators
Do not yell or cause panic
Do not close doors behind you
Do not attempt to put off the fire
Do not attempt to search and rescue for friends
Emergency Response
The emergency response plan seeks to ensure there is minimum loss of property and less danger to life in case of a fire outbreak (Hamel 102). This response will guide the process in the case of a fire incident. This section provides details on protective measures for safety during a fire outbreak.
Single stages or two staged evacuation should be initiated based on the source and extent of fire.
The evacuated should gather at the fire assembly point where a roll call will be taken. It is prudent that both students and staff respond to the roll call swiftly to allow the fire managers to know if there is anyone lost in the building.
A portable clinic will be placed near the fire assembly point at all times to ensure anyone in need of medical services has access to them on time.
The building affected by the fire will be locked down until investigations on what caused the fire are completed.
Fire Alarm and Detection
The school has both visual and audible alarms as required by the Qatar Civil Defense Department Fire Safety Guidelines (IFPO 21).
The alarms should be installed according to the requirements documented in the Qatar Civil Defense Department Fire Safety Guidelines (Katodrytis & Mitchell 71).
The fire alarm and detection systems will be deemed complete if they can initiate on their own, notify the right people and control the fire (Walker 24).
The alarms should be serviced and maintained regularly to ensure full function.
Sprinkler System
The sprinkler system college has an automatic sprinkler system. The sprinkler system initiates immediately smokes starts to appear. Since the alarm and sprinkler systems are not tied, students and staff should be notified whenever any of the two systems go off anywhere in the premises.
Fire Prevention and Arson Awareness
Visual fire signs and signals should be clearly placed in different strategic places around the school to increase awareness levels of students and staff on what to do and what not to do in case of a fire (Barnes 15).
Students and staff should be trained on fire safety measures. These lessons should include the implications of arson as provided by the Qatar Civil Defense Department Fire Safety Guidelines.
Drills should include lessons on both fire prevention and arson awareness
Routine Procedures for Staff
Staff must:
- Fully understand the fire and safety management plan
- Willingly participate in any drills that take place in the premises
- Know and can easily identify the fire wardens within the premises
- Know all exits of the different buildings in the campus
- Allow and encourage students to adhere to the fire safety management plan in the case of a drill or actual fire
- Adhere to the No Smoking rules
Selection and Control of Materials
There should be minimum highly flammable materials in the premises
All highly flammable materials should be stored in a separate and fire proof place within the premises
Maintenance and Testing of Fire Safety Systems
Fire alarm systems should be tested two times every month through drills.
Fire alarm systems should be serviced and maintained at least thrice annually and as deemed practicable based on the results of the monthly tests.
Contracts and fire marshals should be on call at all times for maintenance and servicing.
Decorations, Alterations and Extensions
Any decorations, alterations and extensions should adhere to the fire and safety management plan and the Qatar Civil Defense Department Fire Safety Guidelines.
The alterations and extensions should be included in the school’s design (blueprints).
Any new decorations, alterations and extensions should be well documented.
Notices of new decorations, extensions and alterations should be sent out to all statutory bodies and parties involved in fire and safety management immediately.
Staff Training and Fire Drills
All staff will be trained on the fire and safety management plan
Identified staff will be trained on the use of the fire equipment installed in the campus
Identified staff will be trained on proper evacuation of all persons within the premises in case a fire breaks out
Identified staff will be trained on registration and taking roll calls at the fire assembly point after a fire incident
Fire Risk Assessments
It is crucial that all staff and students know about the hazards located within the premises
All hazards should have a visual marker of the same
The school will implement a risk based approach in dealing with any fire incidents. This means that all hazards, and their potential risks, should be taken into account during drills and training exercises for fire emergency preparedness (Furness and Muckett 13).
Fire risk assessments will be conducted once every month for the larger school. Each department will carry fire assessments twice each month.
The following will serve as standard guidelines for any fire risk assessment
Identification of all hazards in the area/classroom/department
Identify who might be injured (and how) in case of a fire
Evaluation of risks and their possible frequency
Identification of precautions for the risks identified
Documentation of findings and recommendations.
Implementation of recommendations.
Monitoring and review of the risk assessment.
Record Keeping
Record keeping is relevant for both incident reporting, future reference and will also act as a precaution strategy. Here are guidelines to follow for record keeping.
All fire incidents, regardless the extent, should be documented fully.
All incidents should be recorded not later than seven days after investigations have been concluded.
All incidents under investigation should be completed and documented with full reports not later than one month after the incident.
All reports will be kept by the Security Manager, who has authority to distribute the reports to relevant parties.
All requests for documentation pertaining to any fire incidents have to be made officially through the Security office.
The Security Manager has not more than three days to respond to any requests made for documentation or reports about specific fire incidents.
The Security Manager reserves the right to accept or decline requests for documentation on specific fire incidents.
Audit and Updating of this Manual
Below are Key Performance Indicators that will be used to evaluate the success of this fire and safety management plan.
Number of reports provided monthly on fire risk assessments
Number of drills done on a monthly basis
Number of reported incidents every month
Number of staff trained on fire and safety management
Number of hazards identified and marked
Number of signs put up
Number of times alarm was serviced on a yearly basis
Number of reviews and updates made on this document on a yearly basis.
Works Cited
Barnes, C. James. A Guide to Business Continuity Planning. John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
Furness, Andrew, and Martin, Muckett. Introduction to Fire Safety Management. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007.
Hamel, Karen. “Averting Chaos.” Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, vol. 48, no. 9, 2014, pp. 102–103.
IFPO. Security Supervision and Management: Theory and Practice of Asset Protection. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2015.
Katodrytis, George, and Kevin Mitchell. UAE and the Gulf: Architecture and Urbanism Now. Wiley, 2015.
Purkiss, A. John, and Long-Yuan Li. Fire Safety Engineering Design of Structures. CRC Press, 2013.
Walker, Philip. Electronic Security Systems: Better Ways to Crime Prevention. Access Online via Elsevier, 2013.