Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Fire safety foundations
To enable successful management of both fi re and
health and safety it is vital to develop a solid base of
understanding and the key elements that will provide a
foundation upon which to build. For students and safety
professionals alike the information presented in this
book outlines the legal requirements and management
considerations that will assist the reader to successfully
minimise the risk of harm from fi re in the workplace.
1.1 Defi nitions
The terms relating to the management of safety in this
chapter are defi ned by a variety of publications. To clarify
the meaning of the text, it is important to establish a
This chapter discusses the following key
elements:
➤ The scope and nature of both fi re and occupational
health and safety
➤ The moral, legal and fi nancial reasons for
promoting good standards of safety within
an organisation
➤ The legal framework for the regulation of
fi re and health and safety
➤ The legal and fi nancial consequences of
failure to manage safety
➤ The nature and signifi cance of key sources
of fi re and health and safety information
➤ The basis of a system for managing safety.
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common understanding of the following, frequently used
basic terminology:
Occupational health and safety – factors and
conditions that can affect the well-being of persons
within the workplace, i.e. employees, contractors,
temporary workers and visitors.
Safety – the freedom from unacceptable risk
from harm.
Fire/combustion – a chemical reaction or series of
reactions involving the process of oxidisation, producing
heat, light and smoke. There are two classes of
fi re: confl agration (where combustion occurs relatively
slowly) and detonation (where combustion occurs
instantaneously).
Ill health – the term ill health includes acute and
chronic physical or mental illness which can be caused
or made worse by physical, chemical or biological
agents, work activity or environment.
Accident – an undesired event resulting in death, ill
health, injury, damage, environmental loss or other loss.
Incident – an undesired event that does not result
in any harm or loss. Incidents are often referred to as
near misses; some organisations refer more accurately
to ‘incidents’ as ‘near hits’.
False alarm – an unwanted fi re signal resulting
from a deliberate operation of a fi re safety system, the
unintentional electrical actuation of a fi re safety system,
or the actuation of a fi re safety system with good intent
(believing there to be a fi re).
Environmental protection – management arrangements
to cover the protection of the environment,
including mitigating the effects from fi re fi ghting and
other emergency operations from pollution, caused by
workplace operations.
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