« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
FIRE SAFETY IN SCHOOLS BUILDING OUR FUTURE: SCOTLAND'S SCHOOL ESTATE
1 INTRODUCTION
1. This guidance is aimed at local authorities and other stakeholders with an interest in establishing and maintaining a safe school environment free from fire and its effects. It has been developed as part of the school estate strategy and complements 'Building Our Future: Scotland's School Estate'. 1
2. Each year more than 2000 schools in the UK suffer fires large enough to need action by the fire service. These range from small external rubbish fires to larger more damaging internal fires that seriously affect the operation of the school. The odds on having a fire in a school are about 1 in 15. This, however, is not the full picture. Many fires in schools go unreported to the fire services, particularly if a member of staff has extinguished them or they have burned themselves out.
3. The most recent estimate of the cost as a result of school fires in the UK is 115 million per annum. 2 This includes damage to the building and also costs incurred by the fire service and the police.
4. The cost of a fire cannot simply be expressed in financial terms. The effect of a school fire can be devastating to the local community. School records and course work may be irreparably damaged, classrooms and community facilities may be unusable for long periods and in extreme cases, entire schools may be destroyed.
5. In Scotland, an average of four educational establishments suffer a reported property fire every week. The effective management of fire in educational establishments is essential to ensure the safety of pupils, teachers and the wider community. This guidance provides essential information to those charged with managing schools in Scotland to enable them to effectively discharge their duties with regard to fire.
6. Standards of fire safety, together with management practices in schools, have ensured that fatalities and injuries caused by fire in school premises are rare. In 2001 in the UK, 3 there were no fatalities, but there were 47 non-fatal injuries.
7. Many fires in schools are started deliberately. An alarming trend is that deliberately set fires are becoming more prevalent during school time. These fires are generally set from inside the school, increasing the risk to the occupants. Over 70% of school fires are started deliberately: this includes 90% of larger fires, and accounts for 85% of the total cost of school fires.
8. The Scottish Executive is committed to decreasing instances of deliberate fires, particularly those fires with huge social costs. This follows on from Fire: Raising the Standard,4 a joint thematic review by The Fire Service Inspectorate and the Inspectorate of Constabulary.
STATUTORY DUTY
Local Authority
9. The responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of those in the school rests principally with the headteacher. However, for local authority schools, responsibility for fire safety is usually shared between the authority and the headteacher. Between them, they must ensure that fire precautions in schools comply with all relevant health and safety legislation, in particular, in respect of fire safety, the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations5 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.6
10. The local authority will generally be responsible for meeting the relevant building standards and it usually assumes responsibility for the installation and maintenance of fire alarm systems and the structural fire integrity of the buildings. All building work in schools that involves a change of use, an alteration or a building extension will require a building warrant application to be submitted to the local building authority. The Scottish Building Regulations provide requirements and standards with regard to the structural fire protection of the building and to the means of escape from the building should an emergency occur.
11. The headteacher will generally be responsible for on-going compliance with fire safety legislation and for fire safety management in the school.
12. In independent schools, responsibility for fire safety generally rests with the proprietor, who is required to register the school with the Scottish Registrar for Independent Schools. 7 Registration will depend, amongst other things, on the provision and maintenance of adequate fire precautions.
13. The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations require a risk assessment to be carried out with regard to the dangers fire presents in the workplace and for the provision of suitable fire precautions. Nearly all school premises require a written fire risk assessment that records the most significant findings of the fire safety assessment. These must be written down if there are five or more employees. Risk assessment should take into account all the people that are likely to enter the school buildings, including staff, pupils, parents, members of the public and contractors. Prior to the introduction of these regulations, some fire services carried out school inspections on a goodwill basis, giving recommendations and advice as necessary. There is a statutory duty on the employer to carry out a workplace fire risk assessment and failure to do so can be a criminal offence.
Fire Service
14. The fire service is responsible for enforcing the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations. However, enforcement is not their only role and they must also give fire safety advice when requested. This is usually provided by a local fire safety officer.
15. The fire service will not carry out fire risk assessments on behalf of the responsible person. However, as part of their enforcement role, they will use the school's fire risk assessment as a starting point for any inspection. Part of the inspection process will be to provide guidance on compliance.
16. The level of enforcement will depend on the findings of an inspection. Where the responsible person has caused or permitted a situation that places employees in danger from fire, the fire service can issue an Enforcement Notice, highlighting where breaches of the regulations have taken place. There is a 21-day period where the person served with a notice can appeal. In cases where the risk to people in the building is so severe that they are in imminent danger, the fire service can serve a Prohibition Notice 8 which prohibits the use of all or part of the building.
« Previous | Contents | Next »