7.1 General Fire Safety Guidance

Good housekeeping and sensible fire precautions greatly reduce the possibility of a fire occurring. Poor housekeeping, carelessness and neglect, not only make the outbreak of a fire more likely, but inevitably allows fire to spread more rapidly.

Common Causes Of Fire:

• Faulty electrical wiring, plugs and sockets which are in poor condition, overloaded or inadequately protected by fuses or other devices such as RCB's
• Electrical equipment left switched on when not in use (unless it is designed to be permanently connected)
• Accumulation of rubbish, paper or other materials that can easily catch fire
• Combustible material, including furniture, left close to sources of heat
• Misuse of portable heaters
• Obstruction to the ventilation of heaters, machinery or office equipment
• Careless disposal of cigarettes, or matches
• Inadequate supervision of cooking activities, notably with toasters, grills and hobs.

Advised Prevention And Good Practice

• Appreciating the above causes of fire
• Competence in the use of fire extinguishing equipment
• Keeping escape routes and exits clear of obstructions
• Keeping Fire doors closed, especially when a room is not occupied
• Knowing the fire evacuation procedure for the building you occupy.

Note:

1. The careless disposal of cigarettes and other hot substances is a major cause of accidental fires.
2. Statistics show that most fires in boarding houses occur in bedrooms or kitchens, more than a third of boarding house fires are caused by the misuse of cooking appliances.

Fire Precautions

The University buildings are provided with Fire Doors, Fire Alarms and Notices, Fire Detectors (Smoke and Heat), Emergency Lights, Fire/ Emergency Break Glass Call Points and Fire Extinguishes, to protect persons form the risk of fire. The University doe snot have any Fire Hose Reels for fire fighting.

There are Fire Wardens appointed by Area Safety Managers and all staff and students are empowered to be Fire Marshals.

Notice Boards - Fire Safety

Fire rated notice boards are required in:

1. Protected staircases, that is a means of escape from an upper / lower level in a building.
2. Dead end corridors, where escape from a fire is only available in one direction.

The Building Regulations / Fire Safety Regulations require that all materials meet a minimum of Class 0 or 1 in respect to fire propagation properties as defined in BS476: Part 7.

In areas, other than 1 or 2 above, including corridors with escape in two directions, open notice boards are allowable, but they must meet these criteria:

• The corridor has smoke detectors in the vicinity of the notice boards
• The boards are at least one metre from a heater / radiator
• Only one side of the corridor is used for notice boards
• The corridor must be at least 1050 mm wide.

All posters and notices should be placed on the approved notice boards. Fly posting is not allowed in corridors, stairwells and emergency exit routes within University buildings. It is advised that all notice boards are managed. the displayed notices must be approved and redundant notices removed. Notices in corridors and stairwells must not be used for dispensing leaflets.

Guidance on the placing or use of notice boards is available from the University SHE office.

"Hold Open" Devices for Fire Doors.

Fire doors generally must be kept closed to prevent smoke and heat entering a Means of Escape route out of a building. Wedging open a fire door is not acceptable. However, it is acceptable to hold open a fire door by using a device that meets the requirements of BS5839: Part 3 in its operation. These may be electro - magnetic holding devices connected to the building's fire alarm system.

Alternatively, a fire door fitted with a "Dorgard" which complies with BS5839: Part 3, is acceptable provided the area sealed by the Dorgarded fire door is monitored by an installed fire detector, that activates an alarm sounder that triggers the "Dorgard" within 15 seconds of sounding.

Revised September 2011