An evaluation of the role of fire extinguishers

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Extinguishers Findings 227. Standards and guidance in relation to fire safety and fire extinguishers tend to be framed in engineering and compliance terms. Academic and human behaviour references are rare. 228. The role of an extinguisher as stated in guidance is narrow and does not accord with their benefit as identified from real fires and the literature. 229. Concerns about the risk to the public arising from selecting an inappropriate extinguisher or because of one being damaged/stolen, are identified in various codes of practice and the recent Grenfell Inquiry Phase 1 report. The nature and scale of either is not evidenced and solutions are readily available to address both issues. 230. Training is often cited as an essential safety requirement, and some guides advocate restricting or not providing extinguishers solely because untrained personnel are present. And yet, the evidence shows extinguishers to be safe and effective. The requirement for, and benefit of training is not clear and is certainly insufficient for justifying a policy of using training to determine whether extinguishers should be provided or not. Discussion 231. Fire safety guidance and practice is built upon engineering foundations. This brings many advantages but may have tended to limit an appreciation or the influence of more social oriented or qualitative approaches. The implications of this are seen in numerous areas, the tone and content of standards and guidance being obvious ones. In some publications, strong emphasis is given to the onus placed on risk assessors should they fail to comply with guidance. If official policy and the public’s need/experience aligned, this would be reasonable but in so many areas, the evidence demonstrates that it differs. Without appropriate social science or public input throughout the policy cycle, this will continue to the detriment of the public and the fire safety sector. 232. The practice of referring to an extinguisher as a first aid device may need re-examining as it is potentially misleading. They are rarely used, as suggested in the guidance, just to buy time for escape before professional help arrives to extinguish the fire. Instead, the evidence suggests that the public discover most dwelling/HMO fires at an early stage, and even by using improvised means, they tackle most of them without requiring further assistance. Fire extinguishers, if more widely available, would then in most cases be sufficient to deal with the majority of dwelling/HMO fires. As such, they are not just a first aid product but are effectively a standalone intervention suited to most dwelling/HMO fires. If their contribution and needs are to be recognised, it will be crucial to fully adopt this concept. 43 1
233. Training in the use of fire extinguishers is a discretionary and not mandatory requirement, and its contribution towards reducing the potential risk of using one or enhancing the ability to tackle a fire is not clear. In fact, available studies and research find high rates of untrained people safely and effectively using extinguishers. This issue matters because some guidance states that extinguisher access should be restricted or even denied where those present are not trained. Given the evidence about the public ability, fire characteristics and increasing FRS response times, this seems hard to justify practically or ethically. Options exist to make relevant information more accessible to everyone and not just via formal courses. Alternatively, real-time and on demand support could be given to reduce any risks. But their potential for use by untrained personnel is not a viable justification to deny the public access to extinguishers. Recommendations 5 and 6 234. Social science and customer perspectives need to be better represented in the fire safety sector, informing both guidance and practice, including those in relation to fire extinguishers. 235. The requirement for, and role of training in relation to extinguishers needs to be reviewed. Any claims made about the critical role of training should be supported with evidence or rescinded. Research and data Findings 236. The fire sector attracts little and sporadic academic interest, resulting in many knowledge gaps or thin evidence. 237. Data collection represents institutional interests and there is little data relating to the customer/public experience. This is compounded by data silos resulting from multiple stakeholders. Discussion 238. The recognition that the fire sector attracts limited academic interest is not new but is reemphasised. Since the demise of the national facility, there have been many attempts to create a research strategy and capability, but none have been realised. This increasingly places the effectiveness and credibility of the sector at risk and undermines any aspiration to be demonstrably evidence-based. It also leaves the sector unable to meaningfully exploit new and transformative technologies such as AI and machine learning. More importantly, it leaves the public exposed to avoidable risks and harm through the failure to collate, assess and disseminate knowledge. 239. Institutionally biased and siloed data collection means the public experience is almost invisible to policymakers and other professionals. In place of knowledge, assumptions are made. Good practice would, as a minimum, see these made explicit as they represent unverified beliefs and therefore cannot be relied upon. Better still, the opportunity to collect relevant data through routine activities (including dwelling/HMO fires) should be exploited to both inform and evaluate interventions. 240. However, the fire sector is not unique in facing these challenges, and, if the will were there, quick progress would be possible by learning from other sectors. Concepts such as the ‘What Works’ centres may be replicable in part or at reduced scale. 44 2
Page 4 and 5: Aim and audience This report was pr
Page 6 and 7: Definitions Dwelling fires - fires
Page 8: 10. There is limited literature and
Page 11 and 12: 25. Limiting the fire to the smalle
Page 13: 40. To capture the concept of indir
Page 16 and 17: 52. Between 2001/02 and 2002/03, th
Page 18 and 19: 65. In Wales: • the proportion of
Page 20 and 21: 79. This quantified modelling appro
Page 23 and 24: Human behaviour and motivation in d
Page 25 and 26: 106. It is a dilemma found in many
Page 27 and 28: 120. Surveys from the National Asso
Page 29: 133. A 2003 UK survey found that pr
Page 32 and 33: The role of portable fire extinguis
Page 34 and 35: 159. To help the end user distingui
Page 36 and 37: 174. BS 5306-8 considers that encou
Page 39 and 40: Research and data 184. The point ha
Page 42 and 43: Key findings, discussion, and recom
Page 44 and 45: 212. Response times do not appear t
Page 48 and 49: 241. Recognition of the influence o
Page 50 and 51: REFERENCES British Standards Instit
Page 52 and 53: Harpur, A., Boyce, K. and McConnell
Page 54 and 55: LACORS (2008) Housing - Fire Safety
Page 56 and 57: United Nations Office for Disaster
Page 58 and 59: Acknowledgement The author is grate

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