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Construction Fire Safety Regulations
Posted by admin on Jul 16, 2010 with No Comments
in construction
as Fire Safety Regulations, Storage, Working At Heights
in construction
as Fire Safety Regulations, Storage, Working At Heights
Martin Sejas asked:
Any comprehensive safety assessment will consider Construction Fire Safety as an essential part of the safety concerns of a site. Fire, in all its incarnations, is a very different part of safety to, say, working at heights. Ensuring your awareness of Construction Fire Safety and the four main areas is a great start to any assessment. Those areas are escape, compartmentation, storage and alarms.
The means for escape is, obviously, a massive element of construction fire safety. Establishing routes of escape and assembly areas are just a part of this. Assessing the floor surfaces, locks and emergency lighting is required to fully comly with H&S regulations. Questions you might have to ask in any construction fire safety checklist might be along the lines of “Will the construction work make any changes to existing escape routes?”or “Does my construction work alter the lighting and emergency lighting?” The chances are that you will answer ‘yes’ to an element of this, in which case, a referral must be made to the project manager.
Fire compartmentation is an element of construction fire safety which is dedicated to containing the fire within the zone of origin, and providing a degree of protection to the rest of the building. Delaying the spread of fire is one of the most important aspects of fire safety, as it provides time to exit the building and for the fire services to arrive. The areas concerned with this include alteration of electrical cabling as well as fire door maintenance and demolitions.
The storage of hazardous goods forms the third element of construction fire safety. Anything done by contractors to increase the risk to a construction site must be very carefully assessed. Combustible materials and any on-site hotworks should be included. Remember, it’s not simply the most obvious and extreme examples which need consideration, like potentially explosive cylinders and flammable liquids.
Warning devices, such as fire alarms form the final element. One of the most common reasons for fire damage on a building site is the incorrect maintenance of fire alarms. Fire detection devices are prone to dust contamination, and consideration should be given to this as well as the more regular checks and assessments.
Construction fire safety is every bit as important to health and safety as things like PPE and correct maintenance of working gear. In order to safely work, we need to consider the fire implications closely, and ensure we are complying with occupational health and safety regulations. Your work on any construction site, will almost certainly have an effect on how likely or serious a fire could be. Remember, construction fire safety is there for you and your co-workers to increase site safety.
construction safety
Any comprehensive safety assessment will consider Construction Fire Safety as an essential part of the safety concerns of a site. Fire, in all its incarnations, is a very different part of safety to, say, working at heights. Ensuring your awareness of Construction Fire Safety and the four main areas is a great start to any assessment. Those areas are escape, compartmentation, storage and alarms.
The means for escape is, obviously, a massive element of construction fire safety. Establishing routes of escape and assembly areas are just a part of this. Assessing the floor surfaces, locks and emergency lighting is required to fully comly with H&S regulations. Questions you might have to ask in any construction fire safety checklist might be along the lines of “Will the construction work make any changes to existing escape routes?”or “Does my construction work alter the lighting and emergency lighting?” The chances are that you will answer ‘yes’ to an element of this, in which case, a referral must be made to the project manager.
Fire compartmentation is an element of construction fire safety which is dedicated to containing the fire within the zone of origin, and providing a degree of protection to the rest of the building. Delaying the spread of fire is one of the most important aspects of fire safety, as it provides time to exit the building and for the fire services to arrive. The areas concerned with this include alteration of electrical cabling as well as fire door maintenance and demolitions.
The storage of hazardous goods forms the third element of construction fire safety. Anything done by contractors to increase the risk to a construction site must be very carefully assessed. Combustible materials and any on-site hotworks should be included. Remember, it’s not simply the most obvious and extreme examples which need consideration, like potentially explosive cylinders and flammable liquids.
Warning devices, such as fire alarms form the final element. One of the most common reasons for fire damage on a building site is the incorrect maintenance of fire alarms. Fire detection devices are prone to dust contamination, and consideration should be given to this as well as the more regular checks and assessments.
Construction fire safety is every bit as important to health and safety as things like PPE and correct maintenance of working gear. In order to safely work, we need to consider the fire implications closely, and ensure we are complying with occupational health and safety regulations. Your work on any construction site, will almost certainly have an effect on how likely or serious a fire could be. Remember, construction fire safety is there for you and your co-workers to increase site safety.
construction safety
