The increasingly diverse safety considerations faced by those responsible for commercial buildings make it more important than ever to have in place a robust evacuation strategy. It is both a legal and a moral obligation for the managers and owners of buildings to uphold. In this article, John Robb, Commercial Buildings Segment Director at Eaton, navigates the complicated requirements involved in planning for safe evacuations.
For many decades, the primary safety risk faced by commercial buildings was fire but the scope is expanding. While the latest available UK figures show that there were 22,200 fires in non-domestic buildings in 2013-14[1] more modern threats such as terrorism, social activism and crime should also be borne in mind as potential evacuation triggers. One need not look too far back in the media for shocking examples.
London’s flagship shopping centre, Westfield in Stratford, for example, suffered a bomb scare in September 2014, which caused all staff and visitors to be evacuated. This incident came just a few days after a similar evacuation at Luton Airport in Bedfordshire.
The world is less secure and we must adapt to this changing landscape. Risks will undoubtedly vary depending on the type and usage of the building in question and this should be a key item to address as part of the risk assessment, the conducting of which is a formal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The potential consequences of failing to plan properly are difficult to overestimate. In total, there were 17 deaths and 1,083 casualties resulting from fires in non-domestic buildings in the UK in the year 2013-2014[2]. The preservation of life has to be the most important motivation but there are also financial costs to consider in terms of property and assets. According to figures from 2008, the cost of commercial fire damage in the UK was £865m[3].
An additional concern is the reputational damage that can result from neglecting to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the people in the building you are responsible for. It is arguably even more important to protect reputation than to protect property. According to research from ACE, 81 per cent of companies in EMEA regard reputation as their most significant asset[4]. Allied to reputation is the risk to business continuity. It’s estimated that over a third of businesses never resume operations after a major fire.
Another set of potential consequences can be found in the legal arena. Enforcement of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is leading to heavy fines, and even imprisonment for serious offenders.
This legislation requires commercial buildings, non-domestic and multi-occupancy premises in England and Wales to appoint a “responsible person” to undertake a “serious and sufficient fire risk assessment”.
The requirements can be briefly summed up as follows:
According to statistics from the Fire & Rescue Authorities of England, some 67,266 fire safety audits were carried out in non-domestic buildings in 2013-14, leading to 18,733 informal notifications and 2,050 enforcement notices. The most common cause of non-compliance, at 13.7 per cent, was the failure to conduct risk assessments, closely followed by problems relating to emergency routes and exits, at 11.8 per cent.
There is clearly a question mark over the proportion of building owners and managers who are fulfilling their obligations under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, not least with regard to completion of risk assessments.
Perhaps an even more worrying threat for executives is embodied in the Corporate Manslaughter Act. While this has yet to be rigorously tested in the UK regarding fire, the Act allows for court proceedings to be brought against senior individuals within a company.
Improving awareness of the risks and relevant regulations have to be the first steps in better preparing commercial buildings for an emergency.
Current guidance in the UK suggests three minutes as the maximum time in which an evacuation should be completed. Doing so within that accepted limit is reliant upon swift and accurate detection of danger, fast and reliable notification of occupants and the orderly use of predetermined exit routes.
Rather than being ‘fit and forget’ solutions, these detection and notification systems, as well as emergency lighting, require regular testing and maintenance, with all actions properly recorded and logged, to ensure fire systems are ready to activate in an emergency. However, it’s a duty that may be overlooked.
[1] Stats: Department for Communities and Local Government, Fire Statistics: Great Britain April 2013 to March 2014
[2] Stats: Department for Communities and Local Government, Fire Statistics: Great Britain April 2013 to March 2014
[3] ‘Tackling Fire: A Call For Action’, Association of British Insurers, December 2009.
[4] Reputation the Hardest Risk to Manage, says ACE Research’ July 23, 2013
John Robb is Commercial Buildings Segment Director at Eaton,
