Emergency Preparedness and the Fire Safety Plan

Understanding the sections of the fire safety plan (FSP) pertaining to the building occupant evacuation procedures does require advance preparation. There are critical activities required during the time between the identification of the fire emergency and commencement of evacuation. read more...

Mitigating the Unpredictability of Building Emergencies

Sooner or later one can expect a building evacuation to take place, whether it be a real alert or false alarm. The fact is that the majority of people entering a building have the expectation that they can come and go in reasonable safety, and to a large extent they rarely consider the consequences of a fire occurrence. read more...

Maintaining Clear Exit Ways

The first priority for building operators and property managers is to ensure that occupants can safely exit a building without becoming trapped or overcome by smoke in an emergency. It is therefore crucial that the fire alarm system, public address system, and/or other means of alerting occupants are in full working condition at all timesread more...

Reviewing Your Fire Safety Plan

Given that a fire safety plan (FSP) is to be reviewed at intervals of no greater than twelve months, some advance preparation may help in the management of this important task. On average, an FSP may easily run over fifty pages, and it may seem somewhat overwhelming to review and update. As a starting point to commence the update process, it is necessary to establish when the FSP was accepted by your city officials.read more...

Fire System Interruption

The term fire watch as outlined in the approved fire safety plan (FSP) relates to the role of a pre-designated person(s) having the sole responsibility to be on the lookout for fires in their assigned area(s). The FSP does contain guidelines in the event that the automatic fire systems are off-line for any reason whatsoever, and a description of the fire watch procedures to be implemented immediately. read more...

Ensuring the Integrity of Fire Barriers and Successful Evacuations

Overall, fire and life safety planning is a critical component of any building. The planning approach for the most part hinges on the building’s classification, its characteristics and the fire protection systems and safety equipment which are currently installed. For all concrete or steel-reinforced structures, and regardless of the number of floors or occupant load, it is imperative to assess hazards in the building.

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Readiness for Building Emergencies

A buildings fire safety plan (FSP) must clearly and precisely lay out the essential responsibilities of all personnel concerned, and specify the chain of command. To avoid confusion during an actual fire emergency, it is essential that all personnel in the organization know the precise role that they are expected to play.read more...

Fire Safety Awareness

Building management and the elected floor wardens play a critical role in ensuring the safety of all building occupants during an evacuation of the premises. It is equally important to confirm that the emergency procedures are prominently posted on each floor throughout the building, as is verifying that the fire safety plan (FSP) is in its designated location and readily available to the first responders.read more...

Effectiveness of Building Fire and Smoke Barriers

In most buildings over time, the fire and smoke-resistant assemblies may be affected by renovations. The walls or a floor may be penetrated by pipes or cables thus impeding the originally-listed design to safeguard adjacent areas. Building operators must develop an effective fire safety strategy to routinely inspect the designated safe egress routes and the constructed barriers to fire and smoke. read more...

Keeping Fire Safety Plans Current

Ensuring the contents of a fire safety plan (FSP) are up to date is an absolutely must, and the FSP is required by the fire code to be reviewed at intervals of no greater than twelve months. This undoubtedly may seem like a huge task as the FSP can easily run over some sixty plus pages, and a building manager can feel overwhelmed with the update process. read more...