Fire Safety

Standard

To advise the Trust and work with Trust Staff to ensure a safe and secure environment that adheres to all statutory guidelines.

Fire Training

There is now a legal requirement for everyone to attend Fire Training once a year. In order to keep an accurate record we must ask that the following be adhered to.

Fire Policy

The Trust is required to clearly define fire safety policies for all premises under its control. Such policies should include a carefully prepared programme for dealing with fire prevention, fire-fighting and the movement or evacuation of patients and other building occupants in an emergency. The programme should include the implementation of precautionary measures to prevent the occurrence of fire, and provisions for dealing with outbreaks (including minimising the impact of fire). Policies should also include instruction and training to ensure that every member of staff has a clear understanding of his or her role, and will cooperate in taking effective emergency action.

In addition to statutory requirements under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Trust has a mandatory requirement by the Department of Health (DoH) document FIRECODE: to have for each of its premises:

1. A clearly defined Fire Safety Policy;
2. A programme, agreed with the local Fire Authority, for installing and satisfactorily maintaining an adequate level of physical fire precautions designed to prevent the occurrence of fire, ensure its early detection and warning and to control and stop the spread of fire;
3. An emergency evacuation plan to include means for raising the alarm in case of fire, first aid fire-fighting, methods for the movement or evacuation of patients, staff and other occupants in an emergency and appropriate, periodic and formally recorded staff training in all these matters.

The role of all employees

Every member of staff has a responsibility to:

• make themselves fully conversant with the action to take in the event of fire and to familiarise themselves with any special fire safety requirements relating to their place of work or work practices;
• safeguard themselves, so far as is reasonably practicable and ensure that other people, equipment or property are not put in jeopardy by their actions, either by instruction, example or behaviour;
• follow prescribed working methods and safety procedures at all times;
• co-operate with the Trust with regard to all physical fire safety provisions, procedures, practices etc. that the Trust puts into place for the safety of its employees;
• comply with the requirement for mandatory training and assessment;
• not interfere with or misuse any fire safety equipment, which includes, fire doors, fire extinguishers, fire alarm systems and automatic fire/smoke detectors, which are provided by the Trust for the health and safety of its staff; and
• report any hazard (potential or actual) to their line managers immediately they spot it. Any member of staff requiring special support in the event of a fire emergency must support his or her line manager with the development of a PEEP (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) relevant to their personal needs.