yet another school fire

[mark]

http://www.thamenews.net/

[Chris Houston]

It's sad but there are about 3 a week in the UK.

[Ashley Wood]

On this subject as I think it is related, I recently had a meeting with my local education authority regarding FRA's. The purpose was to highlight deficiencies on an FRA that was done for the school my 8 year old goes to. I was passed a copy of the FRA by a concerned governor. I asked the education authority why there was no mention of the kitchens in the FRA, their reply was because they have a separate catering department who looks after this. I then asked why means of escape and structural integrity i.e fire doors were not mentioned, their reply was that they have a separate properties department who looks after that! This was a common theme all the way through their FRA. Did they feel concerned, NO, are they going to change the way things are done, NO? I also mentioned that there was nothing on the arson risk! Guess what, they have a separate department that deals with this!

Now, if this is a common theme across the whole of the UK, as a parent it worries me and as a tax payer it worries me.

[John Webb]

Surely the FRA must cover the premises as a whole? I don't see anything in either the RR(FS)O or the official guides to the same which allows such a piecemeal approach to the FRA. It's got to be 'joined up' surely?

[AM]

When I was inspecting schools, i found the standard of risk assessments to be amongst the worst for any property types. Those responsible would get a standard tick box form from the council (which I'd see for offices, vehicle depots, community centres etc) and all the boxes would be ticked 'yes' (ie no problems). The questions for each section were so limited that there really was no actual assessment of risk - for example, under fire alarms, the questions were 'is the system being tested and recorded' and 'are there spare break glasses on site' - nothing about 'is the system suitable for the risk?' This lead to CP10 19 systems not being identified. For Means of escape, the only questions were 'are the escape routes unobstructed', and 'are fire doors in good working order'.

A lot of the head teachers quite often felt that it was beneath them, and would hand it down and the caretaker (this was more common in primary schools) would end up doing it - someone with no power to change anything.

[kurnal]

If individual departments all have responsibility for some aspect of the school then they are all responsible persons who have a duty manage the basic fire precautions to the extent that they have control, and a duty to communicate and co-operate with all other responsible persons. The whole must be co-ordinated and controlled by the main responsible person ie the LEA or governors.
They choose to ignore the law at their peril. Its time someone educated them.

[The Lawman]

If individual departments all have responsibility for some aspect of the school then they are all responsible persons who have a duty manage the basic fire precautions to the extent that they have control, and a duty to communicate and co-operate with all other responsible persons. The whole must be co-ordinated and controlled by the main responsible person ie the LEA or governors.
They choose to ignore the law at their peril. Its time someone educated them.

I like that.

Case Law will dictate the ultimate liabilities and the buck will get passed up until it stops at the top!

[Ashley Wood]

The approach the schools authority I mentioned has taken is in my opinion 'disgusting'. I have seen an FRA done by a contractor and it refers to different levels or schemes that the school had opted for? It missed all of the points I referred to before. One area of concern I have is there management of what to do in the event of a fire. The school my 8 year old goes to have a 'lock in' policy, for security. It is the teachers or their assistant’s task to lead the kids to safety by opening a door. The problem I see is this. As we know all schools are now tasked with looking after children with special needs. These can sometimes be quite disruptive children or ones that need one on one help. So, here we are the fire alarm is going off, the teacher is trying to look after a special need child. Who is escorting the children to safety? Who is opening the doors? No mention of this was in the FRA and it worries me. I am in the process of taking this up with the board of governors as I think they need to be aware of the danger.

But what really gets to me is that this particular contractor (who is an H & S contractor) is doing a lot of these FRA's and no one is picking up on these things. The council say it is the responsibility of each school to hire a consultant and to review the FRA, not the councils. I have discussed this with the Fire service and they even mentioned the contractor!

[Gel]

Update at

http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.1518616.0.two_arrests_over_school_blaze.php