S OULTON H ALL
FIRE SAFETY POLICY
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Contents Contents ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Soulton Hall Fire Action Plan .............................................................................................................................. 3 Context .................................................................................................................................................................... 3 1)
Fire Safety: ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
2)
Role of the Fire Officer: .............................................................................................................................. 5
3)
Emergency ‘In case of Fire’ notice: ........................................................................................................... 6
4)
Briefing of new members of staff and guests, contractors and visitors: .......................................... 7
5)
Training: ........................................................................................................................................................... 9
6)
Fire Prevention Measures ......................................................................................................................... 10
7)
Fire Risk Assessments: ............................................................................................................................... 12
8)
Record keeping ............................................................................................................................................ 13
Appendix 1: Sample Bespoke Fire safety Notice .......................................................................................... 14
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Soulton Hall Fire Action Plan Context On 01 November 2011, this policy document replaces any previously published documents, including elements of the Emergency Action Plan of October 2004. This Policy relates specifically to the Soulton Hall site. It is a report for Soulton Hall, and will pass to Soulton Hall LLP if/when that entity comes into existence. The cottages and Farm buildings are in some cases excluded from its scope. These have distinct organisational structures, and will not necessarily have been designated the same Fire Safety Officer. This policy will come into effect from November 2011.
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1) Fire Safety:
Setting priorities: a) The priority of Soulton Hall is to minimise the risk to life and to reduce injury by maintaining the fire safety integrity of all premises. b) The fire safety policy, fire evacuation procedures and risk assessments at Soulton Hall have been designed in such a manner as to help all members of the community, and our visitors, to respond calmly and effectively in the event that a fire occurs. c) The above should be approached in a manner which is sensitive to the historic fabric of this building. So, where an outcome (e.g. 30 minute firebreak) is identified as being appropriate, the least intrusive and most conservation compliant will be preferred, since there are very often a choice of methods to achieve this stated outcome1. Assistance can and has been sought from English Heritage and local authority Conservation Officers in this regard. Refer to Shropshire Council website for contact details.
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See Peter Jackman (lead author of BS476 Fire Standard), Fire Resistance of Historic Fabrics at http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/fireresist/fire_resistance.htm
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2) Role of the Fire Officer: a) John Ashton is the designated Fire Officer who has overall responsibility for ensuring that: i)
This Fire Safety Policy is kept under regular review;
ii) The information contained within the Fire Safety policy is made available to all members of the Soulton Hall community; iii) Clear, written instructions on the course of action to take in the event of an emergency are displayed in all areas of the site, with additional information being given when large numbers of visitors are on site, i.e. for weddings, play performances etc. iv) Clear, written instructions are freely available for all visitors and these instructions contain full information on the course of action to be taken in the event of an emergency. v) Contractors working for Soulton Hall will be given written documentation detailing the procedures that they should follow whilst working on site, and also informing them of the procedures in an emergency situation. vi) Basic fire training is given to all employees at least annually and for ensure that Fire Training is given to all new employees upon commencing work here. vii) Emergency evacuations and fire practices are carried out; viii) The Fire Risk are regularly reviewed (and that were this is done by external contractors they are not incompetent) incorporating any alterations to the layout, systems installed or operational use of the premises. ix) The integrity of all fire prevention systems and equipment in place is maintained in good working order.
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3) Emergency ‘In case of Fire’ notice: a) Bespoke ‘Fire Action’ notices, adapted specifically for each building will be displayed. Curently there are 15 over the site. b) There will be a BS luminescent ‘Fire Action’ sign on the interior side of each guest bedroom, as well as adjacent to each call point (located on each exit route, by the door giving egress to the building). c) This will be re-enforced with compliant fire signage will be used to facilitate the safe evacuation of all buildings. d)
‘In case of fire’ notice will be displayed in prominent positions throughout the building and will follow the following format: i) The actions to be taken upon discovery of a fire. ii) The actions to be taken to reach the assembly point safely with special regard to the needs of any disabled person(s). iii) The actions to be taken upon reaching the assembly point.
e) A copy of the bespoke ‘Fire Action’ notice is included with this policy as Appendix 1.
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4) Briefing of new members of staff and guests, contractors and visitors: a) Soulton Hall recognises the importance of making sure all those on the premises are aware of how they should respond in an emergency situation. b) All new members of staff (household, gardening, farm, contractors) and all new staff will be given a briefing on the emergency procedures on their first day at Soulton Hall. c) This briefing will include : i)
The importance of ensuring that individuals are familiar with the emergency exits in the buildings in which they will be using.
ii) The importance of ensuring that individuals are familiar with the routes of escape and emergency exits in the buildings in which they will work / live. iii) Familiarisation with the systems in place ie how to operate a ‘Break Glass’ point, location of the defined assembly point iv) The importance of adhering to the evacuation procedures and how the safe evacuation of everyone is the first priority and that protecting property comes second. v) The importance of ‘good housekeeping’ in all buildings and the systems in place to draw to the attention of the Fire Officer any issue that may be of concern. d) All visitors to the site should be made aware of the fire action procedures. This can be achieved in one of several ways: i)
Prominent posters will outline the action procedures (2 copies, one luminescent) in each bedroom, additional posters in public spaces;
ii) A QR code for smartphones, iPads and other mobile devices is displayed on bespoke fire action notices over the site; this links simply designed mobile compatible website which visitors are encouraged to book mark on their mobile phone, which will allow them to access contact numbers and procedures specific to this site from their device (assuming 3G or wireless connection, or the page is saved to the devices memory). The relevant QR code is below:
This also enables access to the policy on devices from remote areas without signage (e.g. farm, woodland, parts of gardens). Web-based publication of these policies will enable translation tools to make basic translations into 56 languages of any policy so published. Consider: http://translate.google.com/# 7
iii) For conferences, weddings, community events, etc, when there will be a larger number of visitors the organiser of the function will undertake to ensure that a brief safety announcement is made prior to the start of any performance, detailing the location of emergency exits and the action to be taken in the event of an alarm sounding. Museumstyle information paddles will be hung in Soulton Court to act as an aid memoir for basic procedures. In some circumstances bespoke risk assessments for an event will need to have reference made to them (e.g. where a marquee is up). Risk assessments in these circumstances are the responsibility of the contractor/contractee for the erection of the marquee. iv) This Fire Safety policy will be displayed on the Soulton Hall website, in pdf form. v) Where deemed necessary it may be necessary for stewards to be on duty for the duration of an event. External contractors can and have provided this service before. vi) Contractors to the household or farm will be given, or given access via the internet to, detailed Health & Safety documentation upon being awarded the contract and this will include specific information on the course of action to be taken by their operatives in the event of an emergency situation developing whilst they are on site. vii) The detailed health and safety audit undertaken by NFU Risk Management is available for inspection by those with an operational requirement to view by appointment, during office hours. viii) Contractors will also be required to ensure that their work processes do not compromise any aspect of any fire safety system in place. ix) Groups or other organisations making use of facilities (e.g HLS access visits, Community Groups, Local Authority Events for Service Users, Farming Groups etc) will be provided with detailed information with regards to the fire safety systems in the manner outlined above. x) A competent member of staff is on duty for events such as weddings that operate late at night, or out of normal working hours in holiday periods. On such occasions the individual on duty should not be involved with any other aspect of the event. xi) Residential groups will be required to provide Soulton Hall with their proposed fire procedures that will be in place during their stay, ensuring that these do not compromise the systems already in place. xii) Foreign guests/visitors will need to ensure that all fire procedures are explained to these individuals in a language they fully comprehend. Use of the QR code/internet translation tools may help with this xiii) Disabled individuals (even if only temporarily disabled) should be given one to one instruction on fire safety procedures by their host. 8
5) Training: a) All employees, routine independent contractors, and other staff will receive basic fire training annually. b) Due to the proximity of Soulton Hall to Fire & Rescue Services this will emphasise the importance of fire prevention and the safe evacuation of a building rather than on how to offensively ‘fight’ a fire. c) Additional training of individuals will be given as necessary and as determined by risk assessment. d) Fire practices will be held in all buildings each year. In residential accommodation there will be a minimum of at least 6 practices each term including at least one held at night. Lessons learnt will be acted upon.
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6) Fire Prevention Measures The following fire prevention measures are already in place: a) There are clear and unobstructed escape routes in all buildings. b) Fire evacuation notices and compliant signage are prominently displayed throughout all buildings. Fire extinguishers are located in all buildings and are maintained in a good working condition by a professional company contracted by Soulton Hall. The location of such equipment is as defined by our professional advisors or by Building Regulations. c) Automatic fire detection systems are in place in all residential accommodation, with an L1 standard system in Soulton Hall. d) An approved contractor services all installed systems every six months. Service records are maintained. e) All installed fire detection systems trigger sounders located throughout the building. f)
Emergency lighting systems are installed to all emergency exits and escape routes and these are regularly tested.
g) All installed fire systems are tested weekly. h) Regular room by room ‘walk-abouts’ are conducted to monitor any defects in any systems and all employees can submit a work request via board in Soulton Hall kitchen if they notice anything of concern. i)
The maintenance of the fire safety integrity of a building is given priority over other works that may be in progress.
j)
Comprehensive information is kept with regards to the location of emergency electric shut off points, hydrants etc. These are published here as Appendix 2.
k) Minor works certificates and / or electrical installation certificates are required for all electrical work undertaken by outside contractors. l)
Fixed electrical installation tests are undertaken on building periodically.
m) Appliances are visually inspected at least twice a year. Older appliance are replaced. n) Flammable rubbish is not allowed to accumulate in buildings and the central processing of the general waste and storage of recycled goods is away from buildings. The location of individual wheelie bins is to be reviewed in 2012.
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o) A member of our team is on the site nearly all the time, and continually during the presence of members of the public. They can respond to emergency situations, and Emergency Action Plans (for fire and other potential emergencies) are displayed by telephones they can use. p) We are ready to co-operate with any 7(2)d Risk Information Data request, should this be deemed necessary at any stage.
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7) Fire Risk Assessments: a) A generic Fire Risk Assessment has been undertaken for the whole site as well as more detailed assessments for individual activates. b) Assessments will be reviewed as and when any alteration (structural or operational) is made. c) All employees have a duty to inform the John Ashton, as the designated Fire Officer, of any such intended changes in their area of operation before implementing them. d) Risk Assessments (of all types) will be reviewed regularly. e) All Risk Assessments are held by the John Ashton in the Farm Office and are available for staff to see at any reasonable time. Consideration is being made to making these avaible in electronic form, via the website. For commercial reasons, for our contractors in risk assessment, this may not be possible, or may only be possible with password protection. All staff should read those that apply to them and any comments on how to improve them are always welcome.
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8) Record keeping Whilst the priority is that any fire safety systems in place should be properly installed and maintained we need to recognises that it is important to keep proper records to demonstrate that this is so. All records relating the Fire Safety are retained in the farm officer, or else at the site where the record are being compiled until such time as a sheet has been completed and needs filing and are available to view during normal office hours.
November 2011 (JSA) to be revised Nov 2012
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Appendix 1: Sample Bespoke Fire safety Notice
FIRE ACTI ON If you discover a fire: • Activate the nearest fire alarm (red “break glass” box on the wall next to exit doors); • Leave the building by the nearest available exit (follow signage); • Go to the fire assembly point (signed, on the Soulton Hall driveway); • Report the location of the fire to the responsible person; • Do not re-enter the building until it is declared safe. If you hear a continuous fire alarm: • Calmly leave the building by the nearest available exit (follow signage); • Go to the fire assembly point (signed, on the Soulton Hall driveway); • Do not re-enter the building until it is declared safe by the responsible person or fire officer. General Precautions: 1) Do not smoke or use candles anywhere inside: it is likely to trigger a full evacuation; 2) Do not leave luggage or furniture blocking doors (inside or outside); 3) Keep fire exits clear at all times; 4) Scanning the QR Code to the right with an enabled device will direct you to a simple webpage, giving you these details, with a 56-language translation tool, as well as emergency contact numbers. We recommend you bookmark this page while you are here.
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Appendix 2: Location of Utility Cut-offs &c [redacted for internet publication] 1) Utility cut off for Soulton Hall Site are as follows: a) Electricity. The Soulton Hall site has a three phase electricity supply. i) The main distribution room is in the drift house Switch Gear Room (at the end of the Soulton Court Terrace, door marked with yellow and black signage). This room is kept locked, and should be opened in the event of an emergency to assist the emergency services. Emergency services could force access if necessary. Important note: there are solar arrays generating domestic electricity by day to the site, these are located on the grain stores. In the switch gear room there is a clearly signed isolator. Additionally, there are isolators by each inverter. A total mains power failure will turn off this system, in accordance with MCS accreditation. Instagen have off site schematics for this array. The site has its own transformer with fuses. It is located to the west of the farm yard. ii) There are distribution boards in annex buildings situated as follows: (a) Soulton Hall: (i) Buttery passage, (ii) Log Stores, (iii) Cloakroom (iv) Nursery Room (v) Top floor landing
(b) Cedar Lodge (i) Cupboard of entrance portico (c) Carriage house (i) Lobby Area (d) Soulton Court (i) Stores at foot of stairs b) Water: i)
Mains Switch Off: on road side 20 yards east of 3rd drive way (‘Moot and Mouth Gate’); 15
ii) On opposite side of road, due north of Soulton Hall. Currently marked with yellow sign
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