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THE REGULATORY REFORM (FIRE SAFETY) ORDER 2005 => Q & A => Topic started by: Richard Earl on December 13, 2006, 09:54:38 PM
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hello gentlemen
i have been asked if 60 sec to sweep an area is part of the rro or just something essex fire put in their video as best practice.
can any one tell me if this is the case or not
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It is not written into the RRO, nor is it mentioned in the new guides. It does sound reasonable though... 2.5mins approx for evac of mobile people in an average building, 1 min after for sweep, quick roll call outside to ensure areas/zones are clear (or not as the case may be), fire service arrive and the information is ready for them.
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3.5 minutes for a FRS to arrive, have you not heard of IRMP?
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In the past I have witnessed many evacuation drills in medium sized buildings and the evacuation time was more like 15 minutes give or take 5 minutes. The MOE in all of them was designed on the guides of the day which used the 40 feet per minute travel distances from the post war studies.
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I usually make an guestimate of how long the building is likely to remain tenable in the event of a fire. Big spaces take longer to sweep but are likely to remain tenable for longer than small spaces.
I usually put a maximum limit of about 5 mins for the sweep and I usually tell wardens to make their way out and report if the have not finished their sweep in that time. And of course to abandon their sweep if they encounter smokeor other signs of fire. Sweeping in smoke would not be sensible- leave that to the experts.
Lets also remember that the role of the fire warden is to initiate the evacuation and get people moving. People tend to wait for someone else to start moving first. Fire Wardens and managers are the people they look to for guidance.
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Lets also remember that the role of the fire warden is to initiate the evacuation and get people moving. People tend to wait for someone else to start moving first. Fire Wardens and managers are the people they look to for guidance.
Absolutely - I saw a film on a research project conducted by Portsmouth University Psychology Department. The subject was how people would react to a fire evacuation. They invited a number of people to a university building on some pretense and while they were waiting they operated the fire alarm and then recorded the actions. The most notable thing was the time taken to react to the sound of the alarm. Finally it was a nurse who eventually made the first move, followed by the rest.