Introduction
Being prepared for any possibility and take preventive measures is the need of the hour to avoid any untoward situation in life. But, prevention is always better than cure for the treatment of any situational ailment. Such kind of happening could be meeting with minor or major accident or incident. As any untoward happening is an external phenomena which is beyond the control of anyone. Also, it is known what will happen next and to whom. In this context, taking safety precautions and adopting safety measures is the only way to take on the challenges of any unfortunate incident or accident.
Let us look at a case of electric fire and analyse it to understand its nuances of problems and effective actions. As all of us know that electric fire causes fatal damage and destruction to person and property, and its outbreak demands to adopt an effective emergency evacuation process. Such a process depends on the type, location and size of the building. If a building is big that accommodates more people, the evacuation procedures should be cohesively planned in order to save the people and property from the engulfing of inferno. There is a need to devise a meticulous planning and process-based procedures to minimize the degree and intensity of risk and damage. In addition, the role of the contractor to build a strong and secured building plays a pivotal role in making the residential or official premises safe. In order to meet this requirement of safety and security, planning for the provision of safety amenities is indispensable. Further, the contactor must ensure that the building meets the compliance of safety, security, and fire policies and regulations of the local bodies and the government. As given the scenario that a truck, in the process of saving a boy, accidentally knocks down the electricity post. As a result, the electric post fells on one side of the building, thereby causing the evolution and accident of fire. So, keeping the aforesaid scenario into account, it makes good sense to adopt an emergency procedure of fire with a view to ensuring the safety of the building and its occupants, and endeavor to save them from fire.
When such a scenario of emergency occurs in our life, there is a need to define the role and responsibilities of different agencies and the people concerned and make them accountable. Further, it is also necessary to make the rules, regulations, demarcations of accountability for each person and agency clear, unambiguous and transparent. In order to understand the circumstances of fire and the follow-up actions for preventive and evacuative measures, there are some guidelines and procedures for different agencies and the general public. These are as as follows:
Nomenclature of a Person or Agency
Nature of Responsibility
Fire Warden
a) Collect the information about the location, nature, time, and type of fire.
b) Inform the police and fire-fighting stations.
c) Co-ordinate with other agencies for help and seek the help of the neighboring fire station for controlling the fire and evacuating the people.
d) Inform the civil administration and local agencies.
e) Issue precise instruction to the evacuating and rescuing teams.
f) Monitor the situation and take suitable actions.
g) On reaching the site of fire accident, try to find out the location of fire alarm and press it to warn the people. Also, switch off the main electrical supply point of the building.
h) To be conversant with the escape route and location of fire-fighting equipment in the building.
i) To be also aware of the people who reside in the building.
j) Based on the nature of fire and its intensity, operate the fire-fighting equipment and fire-fighting vehicle to extinguish the fire.
k) After extinguishing the fire, evacuating people and property, and declaring area safe, prepare a report and submit to the high official for further investigation and analysis.
General Public
a) On detecting the fire in any building, inform the fire- fighting station and inform them briefly about the location, nature, time, and type of fire.
b) Also inform the neighboring police station and hospitals.
c) Avoid creating panicky and spreading propaganda.
d) Keep your head cool and stable, and mobilize the local residents for help and rescue.
e) If possible, switch off the main electrical supply point of building or the area.
f) If anyone is aware of the nature of fire and operating system of the hand-held fire extinguishers, try to operate them to mitigate the influence of fire.
g) Guide the fire-fighting personnel in locating destination of fire accurately and quickly.
h) Help the fire-fighting personnel in evacuation and rescue operation.
i) If possible, help with personal vehicles in carrying the injured or the affected people to the hospitals.
j) After the fire is extinguished, console the affected people.
k) As precautionary and preventive measures, organize a meeting of local people and make them aware of the safety, rescue, and preventive measures in case of such eventualities in future.
l) To be aware of emergency plan and basic rules and guidelines of preventive measures.
Emergency Procedure
In case of fire emergency, it is the role of contractor to put in place measures to guide the workers and construct the building that meets all the safety norms and policies. Some of the prominent policies and guidelines are:
a) Availability of preventive tools and equipment
b) Compliance of fire safety requirements such as hardwired smoke alarms
c) Provisioning of fire extinguishers at strategic points such as junctions of gangways or centrally in a working area
d) Adoption of legal safety measures by employers for the employees
e) Care and maintenance of health and fire safety of the people and employees .
f) Presence of general notices that normally guide the staff or employers on procedures to follow during the emergence of fire
g) In case of small premises, evacuation of the staff or employers to safer places as fast as possible.
h) In case of the large premises, passage of information swiftly to the workers who are at higher risk
Evacuation Procedure
There are several evacuation processes and one of them is “Simultaneous” evacuation. In this case, the evacuation processes involve reaction from all the people involved in the event of the outbreak or discovery of fire. However, this type of evacuation does not suit the scenario which is given here for analysis. This is because of the fact that all the people in the building are not aware of the accident. So, the question of simultaneous evacuation does not arise. Moreover, this form of evacuation is normally initiated by the sounding of the general alarm. However, it is given that the building was still under construction, the simultaneous evacuation might not apply. So, what could apply for this type of evacuation procedure is the vertical phased evacuation. Principally, this form of evacuation is more appropriate for the larger complex premises. According to this strategy, the evacuation of people is based on the nature and gravity of the immediate risk. If people are not at immediate risk from the fire, they delay in exiting the premises. This is a mechanism of reducing the congestion. The area closest to the fire is evacuated immediately. But, the people who are away from the fire, are just notified to remain standby for evacuative and rescue operation. According to this strategy, the fire warning system should be designed in a manner that it gives two distinct signals. These signals are warning and evacuation. In case, there are no signals installed, the voice messages can be done.
Plant and Equipment Requirement
The contractor and employer constitute the main individuals responsible for ensuring the safety plans of the building. They should also maintain a register of injuries in which workers record details of work-related injuries. In event of accident, the employer should notify the insurer of all workplace injuries within few hours. He or she should also notify that the working place is declared safe immediately after any serious incidents or accidents. In addition, workers also have a role of reporting the incidence as soon as possible. They are also expected to follow the stipulated guideline related to the outbreak of fire so that they can also actively participate in facilitating the evacuation and rescue operation. Insurer, on the other hand, is expected to act swiftly o ensure that the injured individuals get appropriate medical care and suitable compensation. However, there are other personnel that should also be involved in the event of fire outbreak. Firstly, fire warden scheme must be notified immediately in the event of its occurrence. On notification, the system and procedure must ensure and instruct that the lifts and escalators are available at the site of the fire. Though the fire team can enter into the building for rescue operation, it is a responsibility of every individual to ensure that he or she does not enter the building. This is because the fire team is more trained and competent to deal with the challenges of fire.
Another person that is expected to act swiftly in event of fire is the switchboard operator. It is the responsibility of switchboard operator to ensure that all the switches are OFF condition. He or she should also be aware of the emergency evacuation plan. This awareness of switching off in time would reduce the impact and intensity of fire and assist the workers during the evacuation process. Further, the switchboard operator is expected to notify the fire brigades. In case of his unavailability, the standby or caretaker can play his role. The other persons who are also important players in case of fire outbreak are “Fire marshals or fire wardens.” As far as the plant and equipment procedures are concerned, the management must ensure that all the fire extinguishers are in place, tested, serviceable and operable. Finally, the emergency lighting should also be serviceable and function properly.
Notification to the Required Authorities
Any unlocked doors should be opened immediately. They are also expected to appoint staff or workers to assist in evacuation process. It is also the role of senior fire marshal to ensure that notices that display procedures of evacuation plan, are in place. They are also expected to take the attendance of the staff in the event of fire so that missing persons can be and traced and tracked. Fire marshals are also expected to nominate the person who is in charge of the assembly point. His responsibility is to communicate with the fire- fighting personal. An important person who has a significant role to play in the evacuation process is the senior managers. The manager has several responsibilities. He or she is expected to ensure that the site has the fire policy that is practical and feasible. Another responsibility is to ensure that the fire detection and fire testing equipments are in serviceable and operable conditions and they are not life-expired. Further, they are also expected to ensure that the fire exit routes are properly labeled and maintained.
Documentation Required
Some of the documentations required to be verified for functionalities of equipment and “role and responsibilities” of managers are:
a) The emergency lightings are functional.
b) They should appoint competent fire marshals.
c) Managers should prepare an appropriate emergency plan.
d) There should be coordination between fire and security emergency planning.
e) The managers on the site should ensure that the fire risk assessment are conducted .
f) The managers should brief the workers about the emergency procedures that should be taken during evacuation and rescue processes.
g) The managers on the site should cooperate with fire marshals.
h) The site managers should work together with the fire marshals in ensuring that all the necessary procedures are executed urgently.
Part B
Summary
In the light of the aforesaid facts of fire incident, adoption of safety precautions, and demarcation of accountabilities of various agencies and people, it is crystal clear that the fire incident occurred due to the falling of electricity poll over one side of the building. This was followed by hectic mitigation procedures that involved many people. Later the site manager notified the fire brigades for future course of action. Meanwhile, the fire marshal worked hard to extinguish the fire and took necessary measures for efficient and faster evacuation process. Alarms were raised immediately. This action helped a lot in ensuring that the workers were out of the building within the shortest time possible. After ensuring that all the people were out of the building, the fire marshal rushed the injured to the nearest hospital for medical care.
In the end, it was found that ten persons were severely injured due to burn and 20 people had minor burn. The major reason that contributed to the most cases of minor injuries, was congestion around the exit routes. From this incidence of fire, it is apparent that preventive measures should be put in place to facilitate the evacuation process during such emergency cases. Some of the preventive measures include the effective evacuation and rescue procedures. The evacuation procedures should be documented, planned, and executed without any compromises with the rules and regulations. There should be mock-drill to practice and check the rate of efficiency. Every worker must read and understand them. The managers should also take the lead in ensuring the quality of the emergency lighting, alarm bell, and serviceability of fire-fighting equipment. I am confident that this procedures and rules of safety and preventives measures, if taken, will result in saving the people and property, and providing relief and rescue operation in an efficient and effective manner. Another very important preventive measure is to ensure that there is a peripheral fence around the building.
