"Minor" ?????????

[Davo]

Anyone else think this is minor


http://www.info4fire.com/news-content/full/lancashire-schools-fall-short-on-fire-safety-measures

We are talking about people's kids here
davo

[Midland Retty]

It depends Davo... and its hard to say without seeing the schools in question.

Take the example about the lack of maintenance on a fire alarm system in of the schools for instance.

Would I call this minor? I suppose my answer would be no, but then again it doesn't mean to say that the alarm system isn't working perfectly, or that persons have been put at serious or imminent risk. And clearly any resulting enforcement has to be geared proportionately to the failings found.

So "minor" is perhaps an unfortunate term, but in fire inspector speak it normally refers to issues where informal action has been issued instead of formal notices.

Plus I dare say they fire service spokesperson probably used that terminology to avoid dausing panic amongst parent (the article was originally produced for the local news paper "This is Lancashire").

[Golden]

Davo - having carried out a number of FRAs on schools in the past three months these issues are 'minor' in comparison!!  

I have been shocked at what the local authorities (and private schools) have been able to get away with in the past 40 years or so. Its not only been the lack of maintaining fire precautions - particularly fire separation - but in some cases the complete lack of any awareness. I've recently found a letter at one of the schools from a certain fire authority written in 2006 under the RRO requiring the school to enclose the staircases in a four storey block (there is only a single central line of separation that has also been compromised) that was never followed up - now if only they had AFD or EL I could have seen if it had been maintained!

This is a small snapshot of the schools in the country and I would say that 20% of the schools I have inspected have issues that make me feel uncomfortable - is this reflected nationwide?

[kurnal]

We all have horror stories to tell I guess and yes many schools are to a very poor standard. Many have also been neglected for a number of years in anticipation of the replacement program, cancelled by the current government. Those schools built in the 60s and 70s are the worse in terms of lack of compartmentation and unseparated voids, open staircases and the like.

But for attitude and awareness this takes the biscuit. I was carrying out a fire risk assessment on behalf of a client who occupy a unit in a small shopping centre in the centre of the capital in the run up to Christmas. To reduce access by thieves and vandals, powered security gates with magnetic locks have been fitted to the exits and entrances of the basement service and delivery areas. There is no common areas fire alarm system  and the original exit buttons have been disconnected. Posh notices have been made and fitted at the exits. "If you need to leave please phone 0207xxxxxxx and request the gates to be unlocked" .