Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

identify any sources of heat
– All workplaces will con-
tain heat/ignition sources, some will be obvious such 
as cooking sources, heaters, boilers, engines, smoking 
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
Smokers' materials
Matches
Cooking appliances
Space heating
appliances
Central and water
heating
Blowlamps, welding
and cutting
Electrical distribution
Other electrical
appliances
Other/not specified
Figure 13.6
Accidental fi res – sources of ignition.

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Introduction to Health and Safety at Work
210
materials or heat from processes, whether in normal use 
or through carelessness or accidental failure. Others may 
be less obvious such as heat from chemical processes 
or electrical circuits and equipment. The potential for an 
arson attack must be considered.
Where possible, sources of ignition should be removed 
from the workplace or replaced with safer forms. Where 
this cannot be done the ignition source should be kept 
well away from combustible materials or made the sub-
ject of management controls.
Particular care should be taken in areas where 
portable heaters are used or where smoking is permit-
ted (now banned inside premises). Where heat is used as 
part of a process, it should be used carefully to reduce 
the chance of a fi re as much as possible. Good security 
both inside and outside the workplace will help to combat 
the risk of arson.
identify any unsafe acts
– Persons undertaking unsafe 
acts such as smoking next to combustible materials, etc.
identify any unsafe conditions
– These are hazards that 
may assist a fi re to spread in the workplace, e.g. if there 
are large areas of hardboard or polystyrene tiles etc., or 
open stairs that can cause a fi re to spread quickly, trap-
ping people and involving the whole building.
An ideal method of identifying and recording these haz-
ards is by means of a simple single line plan, an exam-
ple of which is illustrated in Figure 13.7. Checklists may 
also be used.