Displays are often located in corridors, entrance foyers and shop floors, and generally comprise materials such as paper, cardboard and plastic which provide a means for the rapid spread of fire. You should assess how these materials could contribute to the development of a fire in the area where they are located. To reduce the risk of fire spread, you should consider the following:
- avoid the use of displays in corridors and foyers;
- minimise the size and number of display areas to discrete, separated areas;
- treating displays with proprietary flame-retardant sprays;
- the use of display boxes;
- keep displays away from curtains, light fittings and heaters;
- keep displays away from ceiling voids which may lack fire barriers; and
- ensure that there are no ignition sources in the vicinity.
Staff information should be confined to appropriately located display boards in areas away from escape routes. Display boards may be used on escape routes as long as they are no bigger than 1m2 or have been enclosed in a sealed display case.
Catering facilities
Wherever possible any extensive catering facilities, particularly those with deep fryers, should be located in a separate building, or alternatively, separated from the remainder of the building by fire doors and fire resisting construction and provided with adequate ventilation.
Where flues pass through any part of the structure, the structure should be protected by fire resisting construction. Where fire shutters are used these should be capable of operating both manually and by fusible link. Where a fire detection and warning system is installed, the fire shutter should also be designed to close on activation of the system via a controlled geared mechanism.
Fire-resisting structures
Many buildings are divided into different areas by fire doors and fire-resisting walls and floors. These are partly designed to keep a fire within one area, giving people more time to escape. You will need to identify which doors, walls and floors in your building are fire-resisting. There may be information available from when the building was built, if alterations have been made, or from a previously held fire certificate.
High-risk areas should be separated from the rest of the premises by either 60 or 30-minute fire-resisting construction. Normally if there are fire doors in a wall, then the wall itself will also need to be fire-resisting. If a wall or floor is required to be fire-resisting then you should not make any holes in it, e.g. for extra doors or pipe ducts, without consulting a competent person.
Smoke control
In larger buildings and some units in shopping complexes, there may be some form of automatic smoke ventilation provided for the safety of the occupants and to assist fire-fighting (e.g. Smoke and Heat Exhaust Ventilation Systems (SHEVS)). These systems are designed to restrict the spread of fire and smoke usually by venting the heat and smoke through the roof or via other routes to the outside. Low level inlet air is essential for the operation of SHEVS and all openings for this purpose should not be obstructed.
Special down-stands may have been installed to create a reservoir which will contain the smoke and hot gases at roof level, while vents allow the smoke to escape. It is important that any smoke can flow easily into the reservoirs and that nothing which could cause an obstruction, e.g. display material, is fixed near the vents. It is important that any smoke can flow easily into the reservoirs and that nothing which could cause an obstruction, e.g. large advertising displays, is fixed near the vents.
In shopping complexes the front of individual shops often forms part of the smoke control design. If your building has smoke vents fitted, or any other form of smoke control, then you may need to seek advice from someone who is competent in such systems. Further information on smoke control can be found from CIBSE Guide E or from the BRE.
Arson
Recent studies indicate that, across all premises types, over 2,100 deliberately set fires, resulting in two deaths and 55 injuries, occur every week. In shops it is estimated that 44% of all fires are deliberately set.* All premises can be targeted either deliberately or just because they offer easy access.
Be aware of other small, deliberately set fires in the locality, which can indicate an increased risk to your premises. Be suspicious of any small ‘accidental’ fires on the premises and investigate them fully and record your findings.
Fires started deliberately can be particularly dangerous because they generally develop much faster and may be intentionally started in escape routes. Of all the risk-reduction measures, the most benefit may come from efforts to reduce the threat from arson. Measures to reduce arson may include the following:
- ensure the outside of the premises is well lit and, if practical, secure the perimeter of the premises;
- thoroughly secure all entry points to the premises, including windows and the roof, but make sure that this doesnot compromise people’s ability to use the escape routes;
- make sure you regularly remove all combustible rubbish;
- do not place rubbish skips adjacent to the building and secure waste bins in a compound separated from the building;
- do not park vehicles or store goods or materials in the open next to windows or doors opening into buildings;
- encourage staff to report people acting suspiciously;
- remove automatic entry rights from staff who have been dismissed;
- ensure that your security alarm/fire detection system is monitored and acted on;
- secure flammable liquids so that intruders cannot use them;
- secure all storage areas and unused areas of the building that do not form part of an escape route against unauthorised access, ensure access to keys to those areas is restricted; and
- fit secure metal letterboxes on the inside of letter flaps to contain any burning materials that may be pushed through.
Further guidance on reducing the risk of arson has been published by the Arson Prevention Bureau.
Help for people with special needs
Of all the people who may be especially at risk you will need to pay particular attention to people who may have special needs, including those with a disability. The Disability Rights Commission estimates that 11 million people in this country have some form of disability, which may mean that they find it more difficult to leave a building if there is a fire. Under the Disability Discrimination Act if disabled people could realistically expect to use your premises, then you must anticipate any reasonable adjustments that would make it easier for that right to be exercised.
The Disability Discrimination Act includes the concept of ‘reasonable adjustments’ and this can be carried over into fire safety law. It can mean different things in different circumstances. For a small business, it may be considered reasonable to provide contrasting colours on a handrail to help those with vision impairment to follow an escape route more easily. However, it might be unreasonable to expect that same business to install an expensive voice-alarm system. Appropriate ‘reasonable adjustments’ for a large business or organisation may be much more significant.
If disabled people are going to be in your premises then you must also provide a safe means for them to leave if there is a fire. You and your staff should be aware that disabled people may not react, or can react differently, to a fire warning or small fire. You should give similar consideration to others with special needs such as parents with young children or the elderly.
In premises with a simple layout, a commonsense approach, such as offering to help lead a blind person or helping an elderly person down steps may be enough. In more complex premises, more elaborate plans and procedures will be needed, with trained staff assigned to specified duties. In this case you may also wish to contact a professional consultant or take advice from disability organisations.
Consider the needs of those with mental disabilities or spatial recognition problems. The range of disabilities encountered can be considerable, extending from mild epilepsy to complete disorientation in an emergency situation. Many of these can be addressed by properly trained staff, discreet and empathetic use of the ‘buddy system’ or by careful planning of colour and texture to identify escape routes.
Where people with special needs use or work in the premises, their needs should, so far as is practicable, be discussed with them. These will often be modest and may require only changes or modifications to existing procedures. You may need to develop individual ‘personal emergency evacuation plans’ (PEEPs) for disabled people who frequently use a building. They will need to be confident of any plan/PEEP that is put in place after consultation with them. As part of your consultation exercise you will need to consider the matter of personal dignity.
If members of the public use your building then you may need to develop a range of standard PEEPs which can be provided on request to a disabled person or others with special needs.
Guidance on removing barriers to the everyday needs of disabled people is in BS 8300. Much of this advice will also help disabled people during an evacuation.
Further advice can be obtained from the Disability Rights Commission at www.drc-gb.org.
