Ensuring Fire Safety in Schools, Best Practices and Essential Equipment

As parents, educators, and members of the community, we all have a responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of our children while they are at school. It’s more important than ever to understand the importance of school safety and what steps we can take to protect our students and staff. In this article, we will delve into the various aspects of fire safety at schools. We will explore the importance of having a well-trained staff, safety critical items, and emergency procedures in place, as well as the role of technology in enhancing school safety. We hope that this article will provide valuable information and insights that will help you, your school, and your community to be better prepared for any emergency. Together, we can work to create a safer and more secure environment for our children to learn and grow.

Fighting a fire in a school setting should not be attempted by anyone other than trained and dedicated fire personnel. While a teacher may be able to extinguish a small fire with a fire extinguisher or fire blanked, larger fires require the expertise and equipment of professional firefighters. These individuals have been trained to properly and safely combat fires, and have access to specialized tools and equipment that are necessary to effectively extinguish the blaze.

On hearing the fire alarm, students must be instructed to leave the building in single file and in a calm, orderly manner.
The person in charge of each class must indicate the exit route to be used and everyone must be directed to a predetermined emergency assembly point.
Specific arrangements must be made for students with physical or mental disabilities to ensure that they are assisted during evacuation.

• No running is to be permitted. Running can lead to panic.
• On staircases everyone must descend in single file. Overtaking of classes or individuals must not be permitted.
• Lifts must not be used.
• Anyone who is not in class when the fire alarm sounds must go immediately to the assembly point.

A sweep team is a group of designated individuals who are responsible for ensuring that all areas of a building have been thoroughly searched and cleared during the emergency evacuation. The sweep team’s main objective is to ensure that all students, staff, and visitors are safely evacuated from the building and accounted for.

During a fire at school, a sweep team would typically be responsible for searching all areas of the building, including classrooms, offices, restrooms, and hallways, to ensure that everyone has evacuated.

Two Emegency Assembly Points outside the school premises must be designated as an assembly point. They must meet the below criteria:

• They must be clearly marked and easily identified by anyone who may be on the school premises.
• Must be far enough away from the school premises to give protection from the heat and smoke given off by a fire.
• Should be in a position that does not put students and staff at risk by emergency vehicles responding to the incident.

Head Counter is nominated to have overall responsibility to ensure that a headcount is conducted in the event of a fire alarm. They should use the following instructions:

• Immediately after classes have assembled at the assembly point, a headcount must be made to check that no-one is still inside.
• Any visitors or contractors on the premises at that time must be included.
• The count at the assembly point must be checked with the Attendance Registers and Visitors Book to verify that everyone is out of the building.
• Each teacher must report to the Head Counter in charge of the evacuation to verify that everyone in their charge is accounted for or to inform him/her of the number of people missing.

The person in charge of the headcount must identify him/herself to the fire service on their arrival. This will allow the fire officer to decide the necessary actions to be carried out by the fire service.

Typical information the fire service will want to know:

• Is everyone accounted for?
• If anyone is missing: how many? What is their usual location? Where were they last seen?
• Where is the fire? What is on fire? (It may not be apparent)
• Are there any hazardous substances involved in the fire or stored in the building (e.g chemicals, solvents, liquified petroleum gas or acetylene cylinders)?

During the first week of term or as soon as possible thereafter, all new staff members and students should be orientaed about fire arrangements in the school. This information should include:

• Primary escape routes of the school.
• Fire Drill Schedule.
• Ways of raising fire alarm.
• And training appropriate to their responsibilities in the event of any emergency.

All members of staff should each receive a personal copy of Fire Instructions Sheet.

A record of the training and instructions given and fire drills held should be entered in Trainig Register.

Being prepared for a fire in a school setting involves having certain records and files readily available in case of an emergency. Below is the list of important records and documentation in general:

1. Emergency evacuation plan.
   Should outline the procedures for safely exiting the building in case of a fire.
2. Student emergency contacts.
   Information related to all students, and staff, as well as any relevant medical information such as allergies or disabilities that may affect the evacuation.
3. Emergency Services Contacts List.
   The list includes the contact information for the local fire department, as well as any other emergency services that may be needed in the event of a fire, such as paramedics or the police. Having an Emergency Services Contacts List can help ensure that the appropriate emergency services are notified and can respond to the situation in a timely manner.
4. Attendance Register.
   Is used to quickly account for everyone in the building and ensure that all individuals have safely evacuated.
5. Training Matrix.
   As such the record doesn’t have a value during the real fire, nevertheless it must be established in order to track the competencies of the staff with regards to the fire preparedness.
6. Training Record.
   Each training give n to the staff must be recorded and signed appropriately by both Instructor and Staff member.
7. Fire Intructions Sheet.
   Instruction Sheet should include details of how to behave during the fire as well as on how to contact emergency service.
8. Visitor Book.
   Visitors books contains the details of the visitors attending the school for business or personnel maters. Should be held at a central entrance and must be brought to the assembly point when the alarm sounds.
9. Drill Procedure.
   Including Drill scenarios and Schedules.

Fire safety critical items are items or equipment that are essential for the prevention, detection, and extinguishing of fires, as well as for ensuring the safety and well-being of individuals in the event of a fire. The below equipment can not be disabled or tampered with without proper authorization.

Disabling or tampering with fire safety critical items can put the safety of the individuals in the building at risk, as they are no longer able to function as intended. It is important that only after due authorization by the Person in Charge of the facility, it is allowed to perform any kind of maintenance or repairs on fire safety critical items.

• Fire alarms and smoke detectors
• Fire extinguishers
• Emergency lighting and exit signs
• Automatic sprinkler systems
• Fire suppression systems for kitchens or labs
• Fire hose reels and hydrants
• Loud speakers
• Walkie-talkies
• Hi-vis jackets

Fire drills, should be carried out at least once per term or at shorter invervals provided this is requested by authorities or standardisation bodies. The fire drill should simulate various scenarios in order to prepare the personnel for real-life unexpected events.

Teams involved in Fire Fighting and Search and Resuce must be notified in advance about the scenarios and arrangements.