Fire safety in schools is vital, not least because large numbers of young people are gathered in one place, meaning the potential for catastrophe is high.

With a recent spate of fires at schools in Scotland, including incidents in Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire and Dunfermline, it’s vital that every school has to take necessary precautions to protect its pupils, staff and visitors in the event of a fire.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, schools must carry out risk assessments to identify the general fire precautions needed. This regulation (RRO) requires that fire precautions be put in place ‘where necessary’ and to the extent it is reasonable and practicable to do so.

The RRO applies in England and Wales, with similar regulation in Scotland. Under the RRO, ultimate responsibility for fire safety rests with the ‘responsible person’ – the individual who has control of the premises (or a degree of control). For schools, this is typically the headteacher or governing body.

How should school leaders mitigate fire risk?

In order for schools to implement effective fire safety measures, they must first understand the potential fire hazards present in their environment and how these are being controlled. This is achieved via a risk assessment.

A fire risk assessment is an organised and methodical look at your premises, the activities carried out, and the likelihood that a fire could start and cause harm to people in and around the buildings.

The aim is to:

  • Identify potential fire hazards – specifically sources of ignition (such as electrical appliances) and fuel (any combustible items);
  • Consider how to reduce the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low a level as is reasonable practicable; and
  • Decide what physical fire precautions and management arrangements are necessary to ensure people’s safety should a fire occur.

Much of the information required by your fire risk assessment will come from the knowledge your staff have of the school premises, as well as from people who have responsibility for your buildings. A tour of the premises will most likely be needed. The assessment should be carried out in a systematic way, taking into account the entire site, including outdoor locations and any rarely used areas.

Your fire risk assessment should be carried out by someone with sufficient training or experience in fire safety. If you require support, our network of qualified Health & Safety Consultants can take on this task for you to give you peace of mind. For hands-on help, call 0345 226 8393.

How do I conduct a fire risk assessment?

Fire risk assessments can be broken down into five key components:

Identify potential hazards
Determine who's at risk
Evaluate, reduce, remove and protect from risk
Record, plan, inform and train
Review and revise as needed

Following assessment, your responsible person will need to:

  • Tell staff about the identified risks;
  • Put in place and maintain appropriate fire safety measures;
  • Make sure staff and pupils are familiar with emergency evacuation procedures; and
  • Regularly review the fire risk assessment.

How often should fire risk assessments be reviewed?

In order to remain effective, fire risk assessments must be kept up to date. It is recommended that your responsible person completes a fire risk assessment at least once a year, and you must conduct a review whenever there is a significant change in the environment.

Fire precautions must also remain adequate and current; they must be maintained and should be reviewed in detail when significant alterations are made to premises.

What fire safety precautions should school leaders take?

There are three categories of basic fire precautions that schools should consider:

What training do staff require?

The RRO states that staff must undergo suitable and sufficient fire safety training.

  • Training should include basic fire safety matters, such as what action to take on discovering a fire or hearing the fire alarm.
  • Enhanced training should be given to personnel who are to act as fire marshals or use provided fire extinguishers.

Fire drills are critical in all circumstances. They should be carried out at least once a term and at different times of the day. You should assume a fire has occurred in a particular place and that one or two escape routes are affected as this will force people to react to changing circumstances.

Attempts to fight a fire must always be secondary to life safety – any attempt must be based on the circumstances and degree of training received.

It is important to maintain a ‘fire log book’ where all training and testing is recorded. Maintaining such records is not explicitly required by RRO, but is a simple way to prove compliance with the law to the enforcing authority.

How should evacuation be managed?

Someone should have overall responsibility for evacuation, ensuring:

  • Roll call is conducted immediately after people have assembled;
  • Your attendance register and visitor book are held at a central point and brought to the assembly point when alarm sounds; and
  • An assembly count is conducted and checked against your attendance register and visitor book to confirm everyone is outside premises and that no-one remains unaccounted for, including visitors/contractors.

During the first week of term, all new entrants should be shown your school’s primary escape routes and receive instruction on your fire evacuation routine.

Where should all of this information be recorded?

In addition to your evacuation plan, your school should have a fire safety policy that includes:

A brief outline of the relevant regulations and available guidance.
A ‘Statement of Intent’ regarding fire safety.
The name of the person with allocated responsibility for fire safety.
Your fire safety arrangements, including preventative maintenance of fire safety systems.
Your fire safety training policy for staff on induction, including employees required to perform extra duties such as fire marshals/wardens.
Your fire evacuation arrangements.
Means for calling the fire and rescue service.
The specific role of the fire marshal in the evacuation plan and firefighting within premises.
Specific arrangements for evacuating people with disabilities.
Arrangements for signing visitors in and out of school.

To help you carry out a fire risk assessment and identify the necessary general fire safety measures, the government has produced a fire safety assessment guide for educational premises.

Health & Safety support from education specialists

Fire can have a devastating impact on staff, students and parents alike, from loss of work to the disruption of relocating premises, not to mention the potential for serious injury.

With so much at stake, receiving competent support to help you manage risk is essential.

Ellis Whittam’s specialist Education Team work with education providers to implement our four-pillar approach focused on keeping both staff and pupils safe. We provide dedicated Health & Safety Consultants who will support you with all aspects of health and safety management, including fire safety. We will help you to take a proactive approach to keeping staff and pupils safe by conducting a thorough risk assessment of your premises, advising on practical risk-reducing solutions, and creating a robust Health & Safety Policy to provide direction and keep your school compliant.

To speak with one of our team, call 0345 226 8393.

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