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October 1, 2015

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Comment: never take fire safety for granted

The explosion in China this summer is a stark reminder that fire safety should never be taken for granted.  As of 2 September, 159 people were confirmed dead, with 14 people still missing, as well as hundreds of injured people and considerable damage to property and livelihoods.  Sadly, the majority of the missing people are firefighters.

Although the cause of the initial fire is currently not known, the size of the explosion was due to the stockpile of dangerous chemicals, far in excess of the amounts allowed.  It would also appear that the emergency response inadvertently contributed to the explosion, as the firefighters tackled the blaze using water, unaware of the chemicals involved and the potential for adverse reactions with water.

Despite advances and innovation in fire engineering and safety design, this tragic accident is a stark reminder that the best systems can be flouted, with dire consequences.  Regulations and design criteria exist to help businesses and individuals reduce the risk of a fire starting and the consequences if one does start.  Not only must they be complied with but, crucially, they must be understood by the end users.

Premises owners, occupiers and users need to understand the importance and relevance of providing fire safety information about the premises to all relevant parties, and how to respond in the event of an emergency.  And fire safety professionals must take the lead in educating, informing and guiding these people.

Firefighters have a difficult enough task already when called upon, without it being made more hazardous by a lack of relevant information about the premises, their content or the flouting of safety rules.

 Jerry FlechaisJerry Flechais is the Director of Safety, Safeguarding and Risk at MSSC, the parent charity of Sea Cadets, and Vice Chair of the IOSH Fire Risk Management Group.  Over the last 15 years, he has worked with different clients, from SMEs to Corporate entities, providing operational and strategic advice and support.  He is passionate about putting common sense back into risk management and raising the profile of fire safety management. 

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Les Agate
Les Agate
8 years ago

Agreed, and the fire risk assessment is the ideal vehicle, although the situation is complicated in that the fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 excludes process risks, which are covered by other regulations. Many of the fire hazards in a premises are already known by the responsible person, because they know what is going on in their premises. After all, how do they cost their work and charge their customers otherwise? Resonsible persons should be advised to expect to liaise with firefighters and firefighters should be advised to ask for hazard information and the fire… Read more »