Introduction to Fire Safety Management

2.3
Case study
Following a fi re risk assessment, an offi ce-based organ-
isation whose headquarters operated out of a three-storey 
Actions in the event of a fi re 
Fire safety and electrical 
equipment
Catering fi re safety
Fire safety furnishings
management and 
fabrics
Contingency planning 
Fire safety inspections, 
reviews and audits
Emergency lighting systems 
Fire safety training and 
instruction
Emergency planning
Fire service liaison
Evacuation exercises 
Fixed fi re fi ghting 
equipment/installations
Highly fl ammable liquids –
Management of contractors
transportation storage
and hot work permits
and use
Fire alarms and detection
Means of escape (fi re doors
systems and 
routes)
Fire investigation and
Personal emergency
reporting (false alarms and
evacuation plans
incidents) (disabled 
persons)
Fire plans (the production of) 
Portable fi re fi ghting 
equipment
Fire risk assessment 
Security against arson
Table 2.1
Elements of a fi re safety arrangements section
While it will be necessary for all staff members to be 
aware of key elements within the arrangements section, 
namely actions in the event of fi re, evacuation exercises 
and means of escape, specifi c personnel with allocated 
roles and responsibilities will need to have a far greater 
and in-depth knowledge of specifi c arrangements, e.g. 
for those involved with assisting the escape of disabled 
persons or those involved in conducting and reviewing 
fi re risk assessments.
2.2.4 Review and revision
To ensure that the safety policy remains up to date and 
refl ects the organisation’s safety management systems 
and the risks associated with the organisation’s activ-
ities, the policy should be subject to regular review and, 
where necessary, revision. To ensure that the policy 

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Safety policy
35
detached building, which included offi ces, meeting rooms, 
a plant room and roof-mounted equipment, identifi ed a 
number of areas in which improvements could be made.
The fi re action plan produced from the risk assess-
ment identifi ed that no one in the organisation had been 
allocated the responsibility for coordinating a fi re incident 
procedure (gathering information from fi re wardens) or 
providing information to oncoming fi re crews. This was 
addressed by allocating a role and responsibilities for an 
incident controller, nominating staff members and the 
introduction of formulating plans and information sheets 
to be provided to oncoming fi re crews.
During the risk assessment process it was also 
identifi ed that the installation of IT cabling had breached 
a number of the fi re compartment walls (fi re resisting) as 
no one had been allocated the responsibility for review-
ing the works undertaken by contractors. This was 
addressed by reviewing the roles of the facilities manage-
ment team (FMT) to incorporate this aspect and provid-
ing the FMT members with appropriate training.