TSSA Rep’s Bulletin
Ref: H&S/007/JAN01
FIRE SAFETY CHECKLIST
INTRODUCTION
In 1997 thirty employees died and two
thousand six hundred were injured in the
UK as a result of a fire in their place of
work1.
Fire also causes serious commercial
economic damage, particularly to
property and equipment. In some years
claims to insurance companies can reach
£1 billion. This figure does not reflect the
greatly detrimental effects of uninsured
damage and the indirect consequences
of lost profits, business disruption and
the loss of customer confidence. In
severe case’s job losses could result
from a combination of these effects.2
FIRE SAFETY AT WORK
According to the Fire Protection
Association3 workplace fires are caused
in three primary ways:
1. They are started deliberately
2. They occur because people are
insufficiently aware of fire hazards
3. They result because people are
complacent about fire hazards
A CHECKLIST FOR WORKPLACE
FIRE SAFETY4
This checklist will assist management,
safety staff, supervisors and safety
representatives to conduct a fire
safety appraisal. If the answer to any
1
Xiii “Fire Precautions – a guide for Management
(2000) Colin S Todd, Gower Publications Ltd”
2
Xiii “Fire Precautions – a guide for Management
(2000) Colin S Todd, Gower Publications Ltd”
3
Fire Protection Association (1998) - “Fire Safety
Basics” Borehamwood
4
Fire Protection Association (1998) - “Fire Safety
Basics” Borehamwood
question is ‘No’, action should be taken
as soon as reasonably practicable to
rectify the situation. The relative
importance of some of the items on this
checklist will naturally vary according to
the work place environment a safety rep’
is operating in.
Remember that fires start when a source
of ignition comes into contact with
combustible material. Control ALL
sources of ignition and combustible
material and you will greatly reduce the
potential for fire.
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING – IF IT’S
CLEAN IT IS SAFER
Waste and rubbish are the friends of fire.
Workshops can have substantial
amounts of inflammatory material such
as oily rags or loose packing materials.
All these items if ignited will encourage
fire to spread rapidly.
Offices can have piles of paper.
Documents and papers stored under
desks could help a fire, for example
caused, by an electrical fault, propagate
much faster.
Yes No
Are staff encouraged to
keep their personal
workplaces tidy?
Are the premises kept clear
of all kinds of process
waste & refuse?
Are metal receptacles with If a sprinkler system is
fitting lids available for installed, are stocks of
waste materials such as materials arranged so they
floor sweepings, with do not impede the
separate receptacles for sprinkler heads?
saleable waste and for Are storage areas visited
especially dangerous regularly and especially at
materials such as the end of the working
flammable liquids and oily day?
rags?
Is all waste removed from WHERE THERE’S SMOKE THERE’S
the building at the end of FIRE
every working day or more Smoking is a notorious fire risk. It is
frequently if necessary? prohibited in all areas where it is
Are cupboards, lift shafts, especially dangerous:
and spaces under benches,
gratings, conveyor belts Are the non-smoking
and behind radiators kept regulations strictly
free from rubbish and enforced in production
dust? areas, workshops and
Are areas in and around other places where
the building kept free from materials and waste is
accumulated packing readily combustible?
materials, such as cartons, In storerooms and
wood shavings and paper? warehouses?
When not in use, are Packing and unpacking
workmen’s clothes and areas?
overalls kept in purpose Loading and unloading
designed storage places areas?
separated from Infrequently visited areas?
combustible material and Where smoking is
sources of heat? permitted is there an
adequate supply of non-
ARE YOU STORING UP TROUBLE combustible receptacles for
FOR YOURSELF? cigarette ends as distinct
More major fires start in storage areas from containers for waste?
than production areas. Poorly stored Are these receptacles
goods may help to spread fire and emptied at least once a
hinder fire fighters gaining access to the day?
source of the fire or reduce the
effectiveness of sprinkler systems. Goods IT WON’T RUN FOR EVER
tidily stacked with wide gangways may Inadequately maintained machines can
help to inhibit the spread of fire. be fire prone. The overheating of
bearings, due to insufficient lubrication
Are storage areas separate or the presence of dust, and heat caused
from other parts of the by friction are common causes of fire.
premises? Frequent inspection and regular
Are storage places maintenance are imperative. Good layout
accessible to firefighters? of machinery will reduce risk and make
Are there clear spaces the general tidiness of premises easier to
around stacks of stored achieve.
materials and adequate
gangways between them?
Is all machinery and Are only sufficient
equipment regularly and quantities of flammable
frequently inspected and liquids brought out for the
maintained? day’s requirements?
Is the machinery kept Are all flammable liquids
clean? returned to store at the
Are the bearings properly end of the working day?
lubricated?
Are the driving belts LPG CYLINDERS
correctly tensioned?
Is machinery so configured Are liquefied petroleum
as to prevent congestion gas (LPG) cylinders stored
among machines and safely, preferably in a
materials? fenced compound outdoors
Are drip trays provided and at least 2m away from the
have other steps been perimeter fences?
taken to prevent floors and Is the store only used for
walls becoming soaked cylinder storage?
with oil? Are empty cylinders
treated in the same
FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS – BEWARE fashion, but kept separate
Volatile chemicals and explosives present and labelled ‘empty’?
specific problems but supplies of paint, Are permanent warning
lacquer, flammable solvents and notices prominently
thinners, a common feature of all displayed prohibiting
industrial premises (including offices) are smoking and naked
a less recognised hazard. Negligence in lights/flames?
handling small quantities of flammable Are cylinders stored with
liquids is a frequent cause of fires and their valves uppermost?
injuries.
HEATING AND LIGHTING
Are stocks of paint, HAZARDS
lacquer, flammable Heating and lighting systems that are
solvents, thinners and inadequately maintained or safeguarded
other flammable liquids present risks. Many fires occur from
stored in detached single- electrical faults or misuse.
storey?
Are flammable liquids Are heating appliances at a
carried about in safety safe distance from
containers and not in open woodwork and combustible
tins, jam jars, buckets, building boards?
etc? Is care taken that nothing
Are suitable non-sparking is placed or left on
tools provided for use in heaters?
places where flammable Are heating appliances
vapours may be present? fixed, not portable?
Are all flammable liquids in If portable heaters have to
use on the premises listed, be deployed are they
with their localities? securely guarded and fixed
Is there adequate so they cannot be knocked
ventilation where over?
flammable liquids are
stored or used?

3
Are glue kettles, crucibles, Are the grounds
pressing & soldering irons, surrounding the premises
and all similar appliances kept free of combustible
provided with stands and vegetation by regular grass
guards keeping them clear cutting and scrub
of benches, tables and clearance?
surrounding materials? Is the building maintained
Are defects in electrical as to be proof against the
equipment reported and accidental ingress of
remedied immediately? sparks/water?
Are electrical installations When building repairs or
inspected and tested at alterations are performed
least once every three are proper fire precautions
years? taken for operations
Are the indicator warning involving blowlamps,
lamps on appliances soldering irons, cutting and
functioning? welding equipment and the
Is temporary extension heating of bitumen?
wiring kept to a minimum Whenever workmen are
and care taken not to carrying out repairs or
overload existing circuits? alterations, is there
Is the use of portable lead adequate supervision to
lamps kept to a minimum ensure that any temporary
and are those used arrangements they make
provided with strong wire for heating and lighting are
guards? completely safe and that
Are stored goods kept well safe receptacles are
clear of light bulbs? provided where smoking is
Are the main switches of permitted?
all electrical circuits in the
‘off’ position when LAST THING IN NIGHT
equipment is not in use? Though most major fires start at night
when no staff are present they often
MAINTENANCE AND SECURITY occur during working hours.
An effective building maintenance policy
is an essential feature of fire prevention. Does the company have a
Walls and fences requiring repairs and system of checks last thing
gates and windows that are accessible at night to ensure that
encourage unauthorised entry from equipment is safely
children and other intruders. If switched off, fire doors are
contractors are employed a permit to closed etc?
work system is recommended.
EMERGENCY PLANNING
Is every point of entry Regardless of the efficacy of your fire
really secure against prevention strategy some fires inevitably
intruders? occur. When this happens it is vital that
After close down of a company ensures its employees are
operations are all doors, trained for and understand what is
windows and gates required during an outbreak.
checked and secure? Unnecessary damaged often results from
Is the building regularly the inappropriate use of water to fight a
inspected for damage to fire.
windows, roof and walls?
Is there a member of
management staff with
overall fire safety
responsibility?
Does every employee
know exactly what to do if
a fire should break out?
Has first-aid firefighting
equipment been provided
and has is it being properly
maintained?
Are staff trained in use of
extinguishers/hose reels?
Is there an automatic fire
detection system/sprinkler
installation and if not are
the premises patrolled
when closed?
Are the fire doors always
kept closed – particularly
after working hours?
Are goods stored clear of
the floor?
Are floors impervious to
water and are ramps or
sills provided at all
openings to prevent water
flowing to other parts of
the building?
Are drains and scuppers
provided and are they kept
unobstructed?
Are fire and smoke doors
kept closed whenever
possible and always after
working hours?
Are notices informing staff
what to do in the event of
fire prominently displayed?
Are duplicate copies of
important records stored in
another building?
Have contingency plans
been formulated to enable
work to recommence with
the minimum of delay in
the event of a fire
occurring?
IN THE EVENT OF FIRE AT WORK
ACTION BY MANAGEMENT
On being notified of an outbreak of fire a
senior member of staff should:
! Ensure that the fire brigade has been
called
! Pending the arrival of the fire
brigade, go to the scene of the fire
and supervise the firefighting
! Clear everyone, except those actually
engaged in the firefighting, from the
immediate vicinity of the fire
! Order the evacuation of the building
as soon as it becomes apparent that
fire or smoke is spreading. Do not
wait until the fire is out of control
! Take a roll call of all staff when the
premises have been evacuated (list
of absentees from the building
should be available). In a large
organisation this should normally be
done by the head of each
department
Instructions should be given to
caretakers and maintenance staff,
setting out the action they should take in
the event of fire. The instructions should
include bringing all lifts to ground level
and stopping them, and shutting down
all services not essential to the escape of
occupants or likely to be required by the
fire brigade. Lighting should be left on.
FIRE DRILLS
To ensure that everyone understands
how to vacate the premises in the event
of fire repeated practice is desirable. Fire
drills should be conducted periodically,
preferably twice a year. Staff should be
trained to:
! To recognise the fire alarm when it
sounds
! To comply with the evacuation plan
! To leave the premises quickly by an
established evacuation route
! To assemble for roll call at the
designated assembly point
Departmental managers (or equivalents)
should ensure that their departments are
5
completely evacuated and should
conduct the roll call.
Management should evaluate
performances during the fire drills and in
particular should investigate the causes
of any delays in evacuation and take
steps to make sure delays are
eliminated.
STAFF TRAINING – GENERAL
ISSUES5
Staff training and fire drills are clearly
related but are not synonymous and it is
a common misconception that
conducting periodic fire drills discharges
a company’s training obligations. Fire
drills are very valuable exercises but
taken in isolation they are insufficient in
educating employees in all the important
matters.
Training of staff in fire safety matters
continues to be a controversial issue
with many companies adopting the
attitude that it is not reasonably
practicable to provide training for all
employees. This stance has probably
never been fully tested legally, but
clearly certain companies nevertheless
take fire training very seriously and the
fact that they do train a large number of
their staff proves the practicability of
properly training all employees.
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR
TRAINING
The Management of Health and Safety at
Work Regulations 1992 (as amended)
require that employees must be given
adequate health and safety training at
induction and, as appropriate,
subsequent safety training at regular
intervals.
The Regulations also oblige employers to
ensure that all employees are instructed:
! Regarding fire procedures
! The arrangements for firefighting
Xiii “Fire Precautions – a guide for Management
5
(2000) Colin S Todd, Gower Publications Ltd”
! The fire precautions required to
comply with the Fire Precautions
(Workplace Regulations 1997)
Section 6 of the Fire Precautions Act
1971 empowers (but does not actually
require) the fire authority to impose such
conditions as the fire authority considers
necessary in the circumstances to ensure
that:
Persons employed to work in the
premises receive appropriate instruction
or training in what to do in case of fire,
and that records are kept of instruction
or training given for that purpose.
Most certificates require that instruction
be provided by a competent person to
ensure that all staff are instructed at
least annually. Some certificates stipulate
that this is performed bi-annually and
every three months in respect of night
staff in sleeping risks. Such is the
centrality of employee training for
what to do in the event of a fire
that it is one of the three ‘interim
duties’ imposed by the Fire
Precautions Act (as amended),
pending response by a fire authority
to an application for a fire
certificate.
Section 2 of the Health and Safety at
Work Act 1974 imposes a general duty
on employers to provide instruction and
training to ensure, as far as reasonably
practicable, the health and safety of
employees. Some fire prevention
specialists believe that the research
conducted on human behaviour in fire
situations is so extensive that an
absence of fire training does not appear
to be compatible with the requirements
of the Act.
APPROPRIATE TRAINING
SUBJECTS
The matters discussed below should be
covered in all training sessions. This is
not an exhaustive list – training must
reflect local and specific conditions, such
as special equipment.
6
MEANS OF ESCAPE
All employers must become familiar with
all means of escape from the building in
which they work. It is particularly
important that they made aware of
escape routes that are different from the
normal entrances and exits. Employees
should also be shown how to operate
any exit devices, such as panic bars.
ACTION IN THE EVENT OF FIRE
All employees should be instructed in the
actions to take in the event of fire. This
should include any special duties, such
as those allocated to fire wardens.
Procedures for evacuation of disabled
people should also be outlined.
MEANS OF RAISING THE ALARM
All employees need to be familiar with
the method of raising the alarm, which
normally means activating a manual call
point. Because of the probability of
system variation it is recommended that
a demonstration be provided. A member
of staff should be given the opportunity
to operate a call point on each occasion
that a fire drill is held and employees
should also be reminded of the locations
of all manual call points.
MEANS OF SUMMONING THE
FIRE BRIGADE
The need for the fire brigade to be called
to all fires should be emphasised in
training sessions. The 999 emergency
call procedure should be explained.
Many people do not realise that the first
person they will speak to is the
telecommunications operator who will
only require to know what emergency
service is required. People can forget
that they are not talking to the fire
brigade at this stage and proceed to
describe the details of the incident. If the
duty of summoning the fire brigade is
attached to a specific post, such as
receptionist, consideration might be
given to arranging with the fire brigade a
pre-determined call to familiarise specific
staff with the call procedures.
ACTION ON HEARING THE FIRE
ALARM
On of the key points to highlight during
training sessions is that staff must
evacuate immediately the evacuation
signal is given. Generally people appear
reluctant to comply – they seem to
assume it is merely a routine fire drill
and that leaving quickly is inappropriate
and retrieving personal possession’s or
work documents is a priority.
Management can tackle this reluctance
by unequivocally stating that they will
support an evacuation even if it proves
to be a false alarm. It is important to
convey the true speed that a fire can
develop at and the grave danger it
presents to human life.
If evacuation times are to be improved it
should be emphasised to employees that
all means of exit should be used but that
that lifts must be avoided.
LOCATION AND USE OF FIRE
APPLIANCES
All employees must know the location of
the nearest fire appliances to their
normal working location and the general
layout of appliances in the building.
Delay in tackling a fire because of
ignorance regarding the fire appliances
could result in a containable fire
becoming out of control.
Employees must understand the colour
coding of portable extinguishers and
types of fire that are suitable for
particular devices. If the building
contains a mixture of extinguisher types
this situation needs to be addressed. The
method of operating the various
extinguisher types and hose reels should
be demonstrated and ideally, selected
staff members should be allowed to use
extinguishers so they obtain an accurate
idea of their capability.
It should also be stressed that when
tackling a fire with an extinguisher an
employee must not endanger his or her
life in attempting to extinguish the fire.
7
GENERAL FIRE PRECAUTIONS
Occupants of the building frequently
undermine the buildings fire precautions
simply by failing to understand how fire
doors work or the importance of keeping
escape routes clear from obstructions or
combustible materials. Employees must
have it explained the necessity of
following these mandatory procedures
but also the reasons behind them. This
of course applies to any special
precautions necessary because of the
specific working environment of a
workplace.
FURTHER READING
! “Fire Precautions – a guide for
Management (2000) Colin S Todd,
Gower Publications Ltd”
! “Fire Safety Basics” - Fire Protection
Association (1998) Borehamwood
FURTHER INFORMATION
Health & Safety Executive’s
Information line – 0541 545500
It is a very useful source of information
and you can ask for clarification of HSE
regulations, discuss health and safety
issues or order leaflets and other
literature.
“Fire Safety – An Employer’s Guide” –
ISBN: 011 341 22 90
Home Office: Fire Inquiry Line – 0207
217 8749