8.5 Fire safety and emergency evacuation

Policy statement

At Thorpe Acre Preschool Playgroup, we ensure the highest standards of fire precautions are in place.  The person in charge and our staff are familiar with the current legal requirements.  Where necessary we seek the advice of a competent person such as our fire officer or fire safety consultant.  A fire safety log book is used to record the findings of risk assessment, any actions taken or incidents that have occurred and our fire drills.  Downloadable fire safety log books are widely available free of charge online.

Procedures

• The basis of fire safety is risk assessment. These are carried out by a ‘competent person’.
• The manager has received training in fire safety sufficient to be competent to carry out risk assessment; this will be written where there are more than five staff. This will follow the guidance as set out in the Fire Safety Risk Assessment – Educational Premises document.
• Our fire safety risk assessment focuses on the following for each area of the setting:
  • Electrical plugs, wires and sockets, electrical items, gas boilers, cookers, matches, inflammable materials including furniture, furnishings, paper; flammable chemicals; means of escape; and anything else identified.
• Where we rent premises. we will ensure that we have a copy of the fire safety risk assessment that applies to the building and that we contribute to regular reviews.

Fire Safety Precautions Taken:

•  We ensure that Fire doors are clearly marked, never obstructed and easily opened from the inside.
• We ensure that smoke detectors/alarms and fire fighting appliances conform to BSEN standards, are fitted in appropriate high risk areas of the building and are checked as specified by the manufacturer.
• We have all electrical equipment checked annually by a qualified electrician, any faulty electrical equipment is taken out of use and either repaired or replaced.
• We ensure sockets are covered, our emergency evacuation procedures are approved by the Fire Safety Officer and are:
  • Clearly displayed in the premises
  • Explained to new members of staff, volunteers and parents
  • Practiced regularly at least once every term
  • Records are kept of fire drills and of the servicing of fire safety equipment

Emergency evacuation procedure

Every setting is different and the evacuation procedure will be suitable for each setting. It must cover procedures for practice drills including:

• How children are familiar with the sound of the fire alarm.
• How the children staff and parents know where the fire exits are.
• How children are led from the building to the assembly point.
• How children will be accounted for and who by.
• How long it takes to get the children out safely.
• Who calls the emergency services and when in the event of a real fire.
• How parents are contacted.

Fire Drills

We hold fire drills at least termly and record the following information about each fire drill in the fire safety log book:

• Date and time of the drill.
• Number of adults and children involved
• How long it took to evacuate
• Whether there were any problems that delayed evacuation.
• Any further action taken to improve the drill procedure.

Legal framework

• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Further guidance

• Fire Safety Risk Assessment - Educational Premises (HMG 2006)
   

Updated September 2019