What is a Fire Management Plan in the Workplace?

Fire safety is an essential part of any workplace and if you’re trying to answer the question “what responsibilities do all staff have during a fire incident?” then there’s a strong chance you need a fire management plan.

This type of plan lays out everything that needs to be done to ensure all fire safety standards are met. A fire management plan puts things in place to ensure fires will not start and to ensure that if they do, everyone knows what to do in order to prevent the spread of a fire and ensure the safety of both people and property.

Your fire safety management plan will include details of all fire safety measures including how to plan, how to organise, how to monitor and how to review each aspect.

Planning

Planning is key to effective fire safety. A fire safety management plan will include details about all aspects of this type of management including:

• How the risk assessment will be completed

• How to prioritise hazards and risk reduction

• When risk assessments will be completed to best meet the needs of the workplace

• How risks will be eliminated or reduced

• Laying out responsibilities all staff have during a fire incident

• Drawing up a framework for monitoring fulfilment of these responsibilities

• Designing and delivering protective measures

Your plan will also include detailed emergency actions including:

1. What the fire warning is – describe the alarm sound or words that will be used

2. What to do if you discover a fire

3. How to decide if it’s safe to tackle a fire

4. How to evacuate – including those persons at high risk

5. Assembly points

6. Fire fighting equipment, along with how and when to use it

7. Details of fire escape routes

8. Details of specific responsibilities

9. Details of what to do if evacuation equipment is out of order

10. How to contact the emergency services

11. What to say to the emergency services, including highlighting particular hazards

It’s also useful to have a plan for what to do after the incident. Think about how people will retrieve their belongings and what measures you have in place to care for vulnerable people. Consider how your team will get home, and how you will provide shelter during poor weather.

Organisation

The organisation of your fire safety management plan will make sure everyone knows what to do, when it needs to be done and how to do it. It will include the following:

• How to communicate fire safety to all colleagues

• What responsibilities all staff have during a fire incident

• Who will draw up the preventative measures

• Who will implement the measures

• What training will be given to colleagues

• How to prevent fires – including things like housekeeping and arson prevention

• Details of fire doors

• Details of restricted areas

The organisation of your plan will also include a fire safety risk assessment, an evacuation plan, details of what happens during a fire drill and when they will take place.

Your evacuation plan will be based on your risk assessment and give details that are specific to your premises. It must be available to all employees.

Control

In the context of fire safety management, control means being sure that each person has a clear understanding of their role in ensuring fire safety. Control measures might include:

• Clear outline of the fire safety role

• Detailed description of what each person’s responsibility looks like

• Details of what is expected and how these expectations will be measured

• Plan for suitable supervision

Monitoring

As with any plan, a fire management plan is only as good as its implementation. The role of a fire safety manager is to make sure the plan is monitored and assessed for effectiveness. Monitoring your fire safety plan will include things like an investigation of any incidents, a framework for checking precautions, and a log to record compliance.

Your fire management plan will include regular inspections as well as appropriate measures to ensure consistency. If any incidents occur, these must be investigated and if necessary, the plan should be altered.

Review

The final part of your fire safety management plan is to plan a regular review process. This will mean any flaws in the plan can be addressed, and any changes can be assessed for success. It will have a defined system for any remedial work as well as a process for a review of management systems.