Fire Prevention Officers

Emergency exits These doors should be identified and the local fire prevention officer consulted before any key-operated locks is fitted. 

The actual design of a smoke-ventilation system is very complex, and although much published guidance is available it should be left to experts, and a fire-prevention officer should approve the design. 

Since all fire alarm installations must comply with the relevant statutory regulations, good practice recommends that contact be made with the local fire prevention officer at the design stage in order to identify any particular local regulations and obtain the necessary certification. 

Fire Prevention Officers report through the Fire Authority to the Home Office but work closely with the HSE on industrial matters. 

Like all areas of occupational activities, fire has its legal requirements, both of a detailed and a general nature. The Fire Services Act 1947 places on the local authority the duty to create and maintain an efficient fire fighting force and outlines the fire fighting procedures, the powers of firemen and fire authorities and other matters necessary to ensure an efficient and speedy fire service. It also created Fire Prevention Officers. 

Fire detection and sprinkler systems are beneficial but if used with high bay racking consideration should be given to incorporating inter-rack sprinklers which counteract the chimney effect of a fire. Where sprinklers are fitted care should be taken that no water-reactive chemicals are stored. The advice of the local fire prevention officers, sprinkler suppliers, insurance surveyors and safety advisers should be sought on storage and rack layouts and on the arrangement of the sprinklers. 

An increasing wide range of fire terminology is now being used and it is important to have a basic understanding of the most frequently used terms. This is important in discussions with Fire Prevention Officers to ensure there is no misunderstanding. Some of the more commonly used terms are listed below. 

The experience of many forensic investigators is that faulty wiring is often blamed for fires in buildings where the cause of the fire is unknown. This may be because fire prevention officers have to state the probable cause of the fire in their report form. If the fire has destroyed the evidence, which is not unusual, there is a temptation to attribute the fire to a cigarette end or faulty wiring. 

America Burning The Report of the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control. Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, DC, 1973. 

EPA,( May 1998) Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office. Fire hazard from carbon adsorption deodorizing systems. EPA 550-F-97-002-e. 

No specific requirements in respect of fire, fire prevention, or fire precautions are contained in the HSW Act although under section 78 the Fire Precautions Act 1971 was extended to include places of work. This Act took over the fire clauses of the Factories Act, and Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act, and introduced the requirement for a fire certificate rather than a means-of-escape certificate. 

The text of any book is enhanced by the inclusion of tables, diagrams and figures and I am grateful to the many companies who have kindly provided illustrations. I would also like to acknowledge the help I have received from a number of organisations who have provided information. Particularly I would like to thank the journal Engineering, the Fire Prevention Association, the Health and Safety Executive, the British Standards Institution and the International Labour Office. 

State Fire Marshal Office of the State Fire Marshal Division of Fire Prevention 1035 Stevenson Drive... 

State Fire Administrator Office of Fire Prevention 41 State Street Albany, NY 12231... 

Fire prevention arrangements in buildings include a requirement to compartmentise the building with at least one hour fire separation between compartments. In buildings fitted with sprinklers an Approved Document B allows some relaxations of this requirement. For example, office, shop, commercial, assembly, recreation, industrial, storage and... 

Of all workplace hazards fire is probably the most universal. It causes death and severe injury to persons and, in the United Kingdom, results in financial losses of between 400 and 500 million each year. In museums a fire, unlike other hazards, does not distinguish between employee and visitor, or between priceless artifacts of antiquity and modern reproductions all are at risk. Consequently, fire precautions must assume a central position in the safety management of museums, and fire prevention should be the concern of curators, safety officers and all other grades of staff. 

CWS responsibility for safety in its arsenals and plants became crystallized in July 1942. From then until the close of the war the service had responsibilities for plant protection, which included accident and fire prevention as well as measures designed to prevent sabotage and espionage, at the CWS arsenals and plants and at designated contractor plants. To supervise these functions throughout the CWS a Plant Protection, Safety, and Labor Branch was activated in the Industrial Division, OC CWS, in mid-1942. This office was headed, for the duration of the war, by Col. James C. Sawders. 

If we fail to think in this way about adverse events, we focus on what happened at the sharp end, fire the nurse, and summon our lawyers and loss prevention officers. We forfeit the opportunity to figure out how to fix the problems at the chisel s blunt end. 

As soon as the personnel at the gate office saw the flame, one of them made a "999" emergency call. The employee requested the ambulance and fire services, but spoke only to the former before the call was terminated at the exchange. Thereafter incoming calls prevented further outgoing calls for assistance. 

Printing Office(1946) 5 )H. W.Heinrich. Indus trial Accident Prevention A Scientific Approach5, 3rd ed, McGraw-Hill,NY( 1950) 6)National Safety Council,"Accident Prevention Manual for Industrial Operations, 2nd ed, Chicago,111(1951) 7)Underwriters Laboratories,Inc, Lists Relating to Accident Equipment , NY(1951) 8)National Fire Protection Association,"National Fire Codes for the Prevention of Dust Explosions, Bostoh(1952) 9)W.M.Kunstler,"The Law of Accidents, Oceana Publications,NY( 1954) 10)US Bureau of Mines,"Accidents from Explosives at Metal and Non-metallic Mines, JuIy(1956)(See also Safety Measures in Industry)... 

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are added to many consumer and commercial products to prevent these products from burning even if they have been exposed to a spark or a smoldering cigarette. BFRs are added to polyurethane foam that is used in furniture found in most homes and offices to commercial fabrics used in, for example, auditorium seating and to carpeting. BFRs certainly save lives by preventing large fires, but some of these chemicals have become environmentally ubiquitous. 

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