Fire safety in any sort of home is important but care home fire safety can be even more critically important. In the event of a fire it can be extremely difficult to evacuate from a building and this can be made more difficult with vulnerable occupant’s fire safety sadly turns into a matter of life and death. There are different factors in a care home that can make fire safety more difficult such as staff shift patterns, especially at night time when there tends to be a fewer number of staff/carers on the premises.
To help keep your care home fire safety we have put together 5 simple tips that can help you to keep on to of your safety and comply with current regulations.
- Fire risk assessment – make sure you have a up to date fire risk assessment that has been completed by a competent person and reviewed regularly. Fire risk assessments are there to highlight any hazards you may have within your business so have on, review it and action any items that has been highlighted as a concern.
- Have a staged evacuation – firstly you should have an evacuation plan and your staff should be correctly trained and know how to complete this, this can be practised in house and we recommend this to be staged. (A staged evacuation is the practice of only evacuating the floors that are directly or immediately affected by the incident this is to provide quick evacuation to those that are in the immediate line of fire, while also protecting those that are still in the building, but not as close to the issue. If the situation escalates, a full evacuation will usually take place to vacate the rest of the occupants.
- Keep a good record of checking and testing – having fully working fire protection can be vital in the event of a fire, correct equipment can provide early warning signals and emergency lighting can help guide your way during the evacuation. Your emergency lighting and fire alarm should be tested on a bi annual basis and in house on a weekly basis, any faults or failures should be rectified immediately.
- Have suitable fire separation – make sure you have suitable fire doors fitted that comply with British standards and are checked quarterly.
- Trained staff – make sure all staff received regular fire safety training in care homes it is important that any new staff receive training and all staff receive refresher training on a regular basis.
If you need any more advice on care home fire safety or if you would like to book any of the items mentioned above, then contact us today.
