Fire safety in critical environments

Fire protection and control plays a vital role in safeguarding the lives of people and the integrity of property and assets. Both active and passive fire protection measures are essential throughout both the public and private sectors, with particular risks being present in establishments where potentially vulnerable people are in short or long term occupation; such as schools, hospitals and care homes.

Surefire offers expert guidance, qualified risk assessment and the latest technology and resources relating to the protection, detection and suppression of fire hazards. We also supply and install robust equipment relating to the safe evacuation of premises.

Our scope and experience covers all the industry and professional sectors mentioned above. They all require reliable fire protection, and control strategies in order to meet the specific health & safety demands required for their premises and any potential hazards identified within their workplace.

Singling out sectors at risk

Moreover, there are some working environments where Surefire is active that we would define as “critical.” These include:

• Data Centres
• MOD Establishments
• Energy and Waste Operations
• Offshore Installations
• Commercial Banking Premises

There are a number of reasons why fire protection and control measures are especially important for buildings and sites in these areas of activity. Accurate fire risk assessments are essential together with rigorous, regular reviews of the reliability of fire safety measures in place. For instance, passive fire protection emplacements can be compromised if changes are made to the fabric of a building or its usage, which would lead to their fire containment capabilities being consequently diminished.

Hazards to be considered

There are a number of reasons for certain working environments being defined as critical and requiring particularly rigorous fire protection and control measures to be implemented. For instance:

• Offshore Industry Installations pose significant potential fire hazards and there are a number of legislative instruments to protect personnel and assets in what can be a dangerous working environment, such as the “Offshore installations (prevention of fire and explosion, emergency response) regulations 1995”.
• Data Centres are at risk due to potential faults in power supply cables which could then constitute a significant fire hazard.
• Waste Management Sites have a wide range of fire safety issues to contend with; for example, the combustion of even non-toxic materials can release airborne pollutants which can cause long-term damage to human health.

The reasons for describing the Commercial Banking Sector as being a critical working environment are less obvious, but the hazards should not be minimised.

These include:

• Banks use wide range of electrical equipment for administration, processing transactions and security. The highest standards of fire protection and control are essential and the containment capabilities of passive fire protection measures can play a particularly important safety role.
• Members of the public can enter and leave their bank freely, and frequently many people may be present at a retail banking premises at certain times. This can make likely fire safety issues difficult to predict and prepare for.
• While bank employees will have had training in the correct procedures to undertake at their workplace in the event of a fire, the same will not be the case for the visiting public, who may be liable to panic when evacuating the building unless highly effective safety measures are in place.

Within every critical working environment, the products, services and guidance offered by Surefire can play an essential role in fire protection and control. If your workplace is subject to fire hazards that could be described as critical, we can offer you the best fire safety solutions available.