“Fire risk assessment” is a topic of great interest. Fire risk assessment aims to reduce the danger of fire. ‘Fire Risk’ can be defined as the Likelihood of a fire hazard event into the consequence of the fire. Recognizing the potential cause of harm and determining control measures requires the assessor to bring the risk to an acceptable level. This blog covers both building and construction fire risk assessment.
For a fire to start, the fuel, heat and oxidizer called a “fire triangle” must be in a sufficient energy state in space and time for the reaction between them to occur. The energy necessary for this reaction to take place is called activation energy. This activation energy is the one provided by the ignition sources.
The combustion reaction is exothermic. Of the
energy released, part is dissipated in the environment producing the thermal
effects of the fire and part heats more reactants. When this energy is equal to
or greater than that necessary, the process continues as long as there are
reactants. It is then said that there is a chain reaction. These four factors
fuel, oxygen, heat and chain reaction are called the "tetrahedron of
fire."
Now, taking into account that the oxidizer (air) is always
present and that the chain reaction is a consequence of the fire, the basic
conditions that will cause the start of the fire are the fuel and the
activation energy (heat). Therefore, to evaluate the risk of fire, it is
necessary to evaluate the probability the fuel and the ignition source coexist
in space, time and sufficient intensity.
Fire risk assessors must focus on eliminating one of these
factors to prevent them from coexisting. The other preventive aspects such as
extinguishing measures, correct evacuation etc., are parameters that will be
considered and evaluated to estimate the consequences.
Consequences of fire hazard
Inhalation of toxic gases, lack of oxygen and thick smoke.
These three hazards can cause serious health problems, such as respiratory
problems, burns, and even death. You must understand how these
hazards work so that you can take steps to prevent them from entering the
workplace.
Toxic gases are released when a fire breaks out in the workplace.
These gases include carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and nitrogen dioxide.
These gases can be very harmful if exposed to them for a long time or
in large quantities.
Once the fire starts, if action is not taken in time and with the appropriate means, it will spread and consequences will occur with property and environment damage. Overview of the OSHA Fire Safety
Who is responsible for fire safety in the workplace
It is the responsibility of the responsible person to ensure
that emergency exits, fire drills, extinguishing systems, fire extinguishers
and other protection systems are installed at all times in the company
facilities.
This means that if you are a business owner or manager, you must ensure that your workplace complies with all fire safety
regulations. You can do this by choosing a “responsible person” and ensuring
that your staff and workers know how to protect themselves from fires when they
occur.
If you are an employee, it should also be your
responsibility to know what actions to take in the event of a fire or other emergency
based on the responsible person's policies. Where are the exits and fire
extinguishers? Does the workplace have poor housekeeping issues? Hot work safety
requirements are acceptable? These are questions that should be reviewed and
discussed regularly to ensure that everyone involved is on the same page when
it comes to fire safety.
Fire risk assessment steps
What is a fire risk assessment? How is a fire risk assessment actually carried out? Fire risk assessment should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Here are the five main steps that industries typically use in their audits, as well as some HSE fire risk assessment guidelines to ensure your assessment is carried out successfully:
STEP 1: EXAMINE THE ENTIRE FIRE HAZARDS
It is essential to carry out a thorough scan of all areas
where fires are likely to occur in an inspection similar to the so-called
walkthrough. This includes examining working conditions, employee habits and
behaviours, and equipment used in production processes. You should also look at how
things are stored for example, if flammable materials, such as paints or
chemicals, are on the premises at all times.
If so, this will require special attention when performing
risk classification, as certain precautions must be taken to keep these
substances safe from damage or misuse by employees who may use them without
training or proper supervision.
Additionally, you need to look at the workplace (or
building) from different perspectives and think about what could be considered
a hazard in that environment.
Be sure to include both internal and external factors when
inventorying your facilities. For example, if your company has multiple floors
or buildings, each of them must be evaluated separately because their exposure
to fire risks may vary depending on their location within the building.
Check areas with naked flames, heaters, fabrics, air
conditioning areas, commercial oxygen supplies, Acetylene storage areas, hot work
areas, smoking shelters, electric panels, ducts, chimneys, and excessively long
escape routes as possible structural exit areas for fire hazards.
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON FIRE HAZARDS IN WORKPLACES?
- Other common workplace fire hazards include:
- Smoking materials
- Substances and chemicals
- Electrical appliances and panel
- Improperly stored or discarded materials
STEP 2: MONITOR PEOPLE WHO ARE AT RISK
One of the most important parts of assessing fire risk is
finding out who is at risk. This may seem mundane, but it will help you greatly
in establishing protection and prevention measures that keep everyone safe,
from production workers to office staff, or cleaning staff.
- How many people working?
- Are there people with vision, hearing and mobility problems working?
- Are the people working isolated or in groups?
- Are there elderly or sick people living near the workplace?
- Where is the smoking shelter?
- Do they know the PASS system?
- Do they know the emergency contact number?
- Fire watch and work permit systems are available?
Once you have identified all these risks, it is time to
analyze all the factors that could affect them. For example, if someone works
with flammable chemical liquids then you will need to ensure that there are no
ignition sources in the area where he works or lives.
It is also important to classify the level of risks from low
to medium to high, or from trivial to moderate, substantial and high risk,
depending on your company's own definitions and use a fire risk assessment checklist.
STEP 3: ANALYZE WHETHER CURRENT FIRE SAFETY MEASURES ARE SUFFICIENT OR NEED TO BE IMPROVED
This step requires management to evaluate which areas of
fire safety the company is having problems with. This can be done by analyzing
all relevant data (such as accident risk records ) and recorded safety
measures, which will then help management come up with ways to resolve problem
areas or install new protocols.
Fire starts, the time required to effectively control it
includes two phases:
- The time required to discover the fire and transmit the alarm.
- The time necessary for the extinguishing media to come into action.
Any specific fire risk will be reduced, not only by
improving prevention measures but also, and especially, by complementary
measures such as reducing the time necessary to initiate extinction. This is
the purpose of automatic fire protection installations (fire detection and
extinguishing installations).
STEP 4: INSTALL MEASURES TO PROTECT THE WORKPLACE AND PEOPLE
In this step, you will determine what measures are necessary
to protect your employees, customers, and other workers, and decide how to
apply these measures. Better use hierarchy of control.
For example, if you work in an area with a risk of fire or
explosion, you may need to install fire extinguishers and fire alarms. If you
notice that your workers are using extension cords as permanent fixtures
because there are not enough outlets available, you can install additional
outlets immediately to prevent this from happening again and avoid a fire
hazard.
These are firefighting measures
- Firefighting organization
- Training of personnel in firefighting actions
- Fire detection means
- Alarm transmission
- Firefighting means (fire extinguishers, sprinklers, fire blankets, fire hoses etc.)
- Escape routes
- Emergency plan
- Ease of access to outdoor firefighting services
- Maintenance of detection, alarm systems and fire extinguisher
STEP 5: REGULARLY UPDATE INSPECTIONS TO IMPROVE
This will help you
keep track of what's working well in your workplace and what's not and ensure
continuous improvement. The frequency of inspections depends on the type of
installation and the type of fire safety system installed. For example, if you
have a sprinkler system, you may only need to perform an inspection once a
year. If you have a system that relies on fire extinguishers or smoke
detectors, you should inspect them more often.
Conclusion of fire risk assessment
- Hazards: A list of all the fire hazards identified in the assessment, such as flammable materials, electrical hazards, and sources of ignition.
- Risks: An assessment of the risk posed by each hazard, taking into account the likelihood of the hazard occurring and the severity of the consequences.
- People at risk: An identification of the people who are at risk from fire, such as employees, customers, and visitors.
- Existing control measures: A list of available all the fire safety measures that are currently in place, such as fire extinguishers, fire alarms, and emergency exits.
- Further control measures: Improving fire safety procedures: This may involve things like developing a fire evacuation plan, training staff on fire safety, and providing fire extinguishers. Carrying out regular fire safety checks
