Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Introduction to Fire Safety Management
Protection against specifi ed hazards
Under PUWER, employers are required to implement
suitable controls for specifi c risks including the risk of
fi re or overheating of the work equipment, e.g. excessive
heat building up as a result of insuffi cient lubrication of a
moving part.
52
The ACoP relating to PUWER specifi cally
identifi es examples of hazards that the regulations
cover. The ACoP provides an example
of a risk of overheating or fi re due to: ‘Friction
(bearing running hot, conveyor belt on
jammed roller), electric motors burning out,
thermostat failure, cooling system failure. ’
A fi re risk assessment should therefore
consider each of these areas as part of the
primary hazard category in the risk assessment
process.
Emergency controls
These regulations require that work equipment is fi tted
with suitable controls for starting, stopping and emergency
stopping, as well as any other controls that may
be necessary.
Where appropriate, work equipment must be
provided with a suitable means to isolate it from all its
sources of energy. The method of isolation will depend
on the type of energy being isolated and should:
➤ Be clearly identifi ed
➤ Be readily accessible
➤ Ensure complete and positive isolation
➤ Protect all persons at risk
➤ Prevent accidental or unintentional reconnection.
In order to isolate work equipment that is involved in a
fi re the control must be capable of being isolated outside
the potential fi re danger zone. For example, the emergency
isolation for kitchen equipment, such as deep fat
fryers, ovens, etc., should be located in such a position
as to enable safe isolation during evacuation.
A permit to work system should be used to support
isolation procedures for high-risk work equipment (see
Chapter 6).
3.8 Hazardous substances
Managing hazardous substances in the workplace is an
important aspect of achieving a reasonable level of fi re
safety as overprovision or a lack of management of fl ammable
or reactive chemicals will impact upon the level of
fi re risk. The supply and use of hazardous substances
used at work are covered by a number of regulations.
The most fundamental in terms of the supply chain is the
Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply)
Regulations 2002 (CHIP). These regulations require the
suppliers of any substances to identify the hazards associated
with the substances they are supplying and classify
them by hazard type. They must then label the package
containing the substance (Appendix 3.1 shows an
example of a label required by CHIP) and provide information
relating to the hazards to those that they supply the
chemicals to and to package them safely including:
1. The name of the substance or preparation
2. Its chemical composition as regards hazards contents
3. Hazard classifi cations it holds, e.g. toxic, corrosive,
etc.
Figure 3.10 Isolation switch for gas-fi red kitchen
equipment Figure 3.11 Hazardous substances in the workplace