FM in fire emergencies
Simon Brand from the FPA looks at the importance of facilities management before, during, and after a fire emergency
When it comes to emergencies in buildings, it is facilities managers (FMs) who find themselves at the coalface, particularly when it comes to fire incidents. The majority of work required from an FM comes in emergency preparedness planning – trying to prevent a fire from happening, having systems in place to mitigate one should it occur, and how to ensure the safety of the people on site.
The FM must be aware of the fire safety regulations that apply to their building and must work to ensure it meets them, as it is through creating a safe and legally compliant environment that people and property can be protected in the event of a fire breaking out.
Protecting people
Key to the safety of staff and other users of a building is ensuring that those on site know what to do in the event of a fire emergency. A FM’s role here can be split into two requirements: firstly, by bringing their knowledge and expertise of the building in question into the development and implementation of adequate emergency evacuation plans, and secondly, by ensuring that occupants are suitably trained and aware of what to do in the event of a fire.
Having an appropriate emergency plan in place means there is a greater likelihood of a successful and coordinated response to a fire emergency.
FMs facilitate the creation of the emergency plan by highlighting potential hazards, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses in the building fabric or systems that have been identified through fire risk assessments. They will then be in a position to suggest where changes to the plan might need to be made and help develop any required mitigation strategies.
Emergency planning must also consider various scenarios that might crop up during a fire, and again, the FM’s knowledge of the building and its systems is a vital tool to enable effective contingency plans to be created. This can include proper maintenance of the systems and infrastructure that allow for evacuation or sheltering in place, and that the correct procedures for both the building type and for the different types of users of the building are in place. FMs can also highlight those systems and infrastructure which are critical and should be prioritised in a fire emergency (such as emergency lighting and evacuation shelters and lifts).
The second part of the FM’s role in keeping people on site safe when a fire occurs relates to communication and training. Having a fully rounded evacuation plan that covers many eventualities and ensures fire safety systems are in place and work properly will be rendered much more ineffective if staff do not know what the plan is or what to do if and when a fire breaks out.
Making the requisite information available for people to be aware of is a key role of an FM so that those needing to evacuate a building are aware of details such as exit routes, assembly points, and necessary actions to take to ensure their own safety and that of others. FMs can achieve this through clear and consistent communication with the building users and the running of regular fire evacuation drills. Communication is vital during a fire emergency, and the FM must ensure that the correct information can be passed on to those who need it, when they need it.
Keeping effective communication channels open with those who use their building also means that FMs can identify any individuals who may have additional needs that must be taken into account during an evacuation. This could include impairments or disabilities that would impact the ability of an individual to safely leave the building in the time needed. Such additional needs may need to be captured in a person-centred fire risk assessment (PCFRA) or even a residential personal emergency evacuation plan (RPEEP), depending on the building in question. One other aspect of proper communications that FMs must be involved with is the keeping of emergency contact information and ensuring it is up to date.
Providing training to building occupants on fire safety protocols is the primary way to ensure they know how to respond to a fire emergency, and FMs must be involved in disseminating this vital information. It is also important that this training is not just a one-off box-ticking exercise, and that regular, ongoing education on fire safety and building evacuation is provided. FMs should be aware that updating and rerunning fire safety training is particularly important should there be any material changes made to the building, such as the installation of new systems or changes in the way the building is used.
Training and education must not be limited to passing information on to the users of the building, as FMs must keep their own knowledge of fire safety regulations and best practice up to date.
Systems and property
An FM having a good understanding of the fire safety needs of their building, its occupants, and the regulations that apply is, however, not enough.
To provide the necessary level of fire safety to their building, an FM must also collaborate on the selection and installation of suitable fire safety systems. They must be aware of their own level of knowledge and competence in this area, and consult appropriate experts to ensure that they meet the building’s requirements.
Systems and products that are vital to the emergency response plan are wide-ranging and will include fire detection, alarms, sprinklers, extinguishers, emergency lighting and signage, and fire doors. Even an experienced FM will struggle to be an expert in all these areas, and therefore, establishing relationships with fire protection specialists and installers is essential. By collaborating with these experts, FMs can not only ensure that the proper fire safety systems have been designed, installed, and maintained, but will be able to evidence this through good documentation. An FM may well be recognised as a dutyholder for fire safety, and as such, it is their responsibility to show all due diligence in ensuring that the works commissioned and completed are done so by a competent person.
Government guidance on the issue of competence should be borne in mind by all FMs when considering their building’s fire safety: “one indicator of a person’s competence is a recognition of limitations of their own abilities and demonstration of a willingness to supplement their own knowledge with external advice.”
Depending on the activities taking place in a building, the FM may well need to plan for the shutdown of any processes that may exacerbate a fire, leading to greater property damage and further risk of injury to the building occupants. These could include automated industrial or logistic processes, and a suitable emergency shutdown procedure in place will enable operations to be stopped quickly, protecting any critical systems. An emergency shutdown should shut off any fuel supply, isolate electrical circuits, and stop production lines, all vital actions to prevent the spread of fire.
Notwithstanding the need to comply with any regulatory requirements, the presence of a shutdown protocol, where necessary, will also make other emergency response efforts more effective, as the focus can then be on building evacuation and firefighting, rather than dealing with operational concerns. By creating and implementing an appropriate emergency shutdown procedure, the FM is providing a vital foundation for the management of a fire emergency and will improve the chances of any fire being controlled.
The work of the FM in keeping critical systems and infrastructure properly maintained is also a key part of fire emergency planning, as it prevents the continued operation of essential fire safety services from being disrupted. By undertaking regular inspections of the building and its systems, the FM will be able to identify and address any new or changing fire risks before an emergency situation occurs.
Where fire safety systems are installed, it is vital for FMs to keep well-maintained and updated documentation. This record-keeping, particularly when kept digitally, will allow for ease of access to key information about the building and its systems that an FM can share with first responders and firefighters. FMs can also look at new technology and innovation to improve the quality, reliability, and ease of data sharing to enhance emergency response. Digital systems can provide quick, reliable, and trackable storage of information to the emergency services relating to the building, its occupants, potential hazards, and the various fire safety systems in place.
During and after
Whilst most of the work of the FM will take place before any fire might happen – whether that be to prevent fires from happening, mitigating one should an incident occur, and planning for the safety of those in their building – there are some aspects to the FM role that will happen during and after a fire taking place.
One of the key responsibilities for an FM during a fire is coordinating with the fire and rescue services. By having established protocols for dealing with the emergency services, the FM will be able to provide firefighters with accurate information about the building and the systems and potential hazards in situ.
And of course, an FM’s involvement with a fire emergency does not end once the fire has been put out. They have a critical role in assisting with any investigations into the cause of the fire and in subsequently repairing any damage caused. An FM then has the opportunity to see how effective the emergency response plans actually were when put into action. By re-examining the fire safety of the building, from alarms, training, and evacuation protocols, to suppression systems, fire doors, and emergency responder communication, an FM can assess the success, or otherwise, of each part.
Any learnings from this post-incident assessment can then be used to implement improvements to the building’s fire safety, with a view to preventing or mitigating similar incidents in the future and further protecting the building and its occupants.
