Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

13.10 
Fire detection and warning
In the event of fi re it is vital that everyone in the work-
place is alerted as soon as possible. The earlier the fi re 
is discovered, the more likely it is that people will be able 
to escape before the fi re takes hold and before it blocks 
escape routes or makes escape diffi cult.
Every workplace should have detection and warning 
arrangements. Usually the people who work there will 
detect the fi re and in many workplaces nothing further 
will be needed.
It is important to consider how long a fi re is likely 
to burn before it is discovered. Fires are likely to be 
Figure 13.8
Various storage arrangement for highly fl am-
mable liquids.

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Fire hazards and control
215
discovered quickly if they occur in places that are 
frequently visited by employees, or in occupied areas 
of a building. For example, employees are likely to smell 
burning or see smoke if a fi re breaks out in an offi ce.
Where there is concern that fi re may break out in 
an unoccupied part of the premises, for example, in 
a basement, some form of automatic fi re detection 
should be fi tted. Commercially available heat or smoke 
detection systems can be used. In small premises a 
series of interlinked domestic smoke alarms that can 
be heard by everyone present will be suffi cient. In most 
cases, staff can be relied upon to detect a fi re.
In small workplaces where occupancy is low, a 
shouted warning should be all that is needed, so long as 
the warning can be heard and understood everywhere 
on the premises.
If the size or occupancy of a workplace means that 
a shouted warning is insuffi cient, hand-operated devices 
such as bells, gongs or sirens can be used. They should 
be installed on exit routes and should be clearly audible 
throughout the workplace. In all other places an electric-
ally operated fi re alarm system should be fi tted. This 
will have call points adjacent to exit doors and enough 
bells or sounders to be clearly audible throughout the 
premises.
If it is thought that there might be some delay in 
fi re being detected, automatic fi re detection should be 
considered, linked into an electrical fi re alarm system. 
Where a workplace provides sleeping accommodation or 
where fi res may develop undetected, automatic detection 
must be provided. If a workplace provides sleeping 
accommodation for fewer than six people, interlinked 
domestic smoke alarms (wired to the mains electri-
city supply) can be used provided that they are audible 
throughout the workplace while people are present.