hotels
Most hotels and boarding houses used to
require a fire certificate under the the Fire Precautions Act 1971,
however the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 has now superseded
this, and the 'responsible person' is required to carry out a
fire risk assessment. Guidance on fire risk assessments in sleeping
accommodation can be downloaded free from the
Government web site.
People are at high risk in hotels and boarding houses as
they are often:
These factors mean that a high level of fire safety is
needed such as:
It is important that staff in hotels and
boarding houses are adequately trained, we can supply practical training
courses, or alternatively DVD type training programmes (see
below).
Emergency plan:
Under the Fire Safety Order, there is a
requirement to produce an emergency plan which must include evacuation of
staff and guests. It must also take account of disabled persons, and
where people need assistance to evacuate the building, your emergency plan
must make adequate provision without relying on the fire service. In other
words YOU are responsible for getting ALL your staff and guests to safety.
Where accommodation is provided on upper
floors, account must be taken of guests who depend on walking aids or
wheelchairs, as more often than not lifts cannot be used if there is a
fire. Many organisations use evacuation
chairs for this purpose, although is other equipment that can achieve
the same objective such as Ski Pads.
Although initially designed for patient evacuation in Hospitals there is
no reason why Ski Pads cannot be used for almost any evacuation
situation.
Escape Routes:
'Protected' escape routes are constructed so as to maintain a fire and
smoke free passage to open air for at least 30 minutes. This is achieved
with fire resisting walls, and floors with fire resisting, self closing
doors. It is the latter that usually proves to be the problem as fire
doors are heavy and interfere with free movement.
Training:
Good staff training is essential in hotels & boarding houses. People will
respond to staff telling them what to do whereas they seldom respond to a
fire alarm on its own. The most dangerous time is through the night when
guests are asleep and there are least staff on duty. It is essential that
staff respond swiftly to ensure the safety of all. There is no substitute
for good practical training sessions, however
training videos and DVD's
can be very useful for refresher and ongoing training.
People often wedge open fire doors in hotels,
which is
dangerous and illegal, and could attract an UNLIMITED FINE or
a 2-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE, OR BOTH.
An alternative is to fit automatic self closing devices to
fire doors which are integrated into the fire alarm system, so that when
the alarm actuates fire doors close automatically.
Automatic self closing devices can be expensive to fit,
especially if they are installed retrospectively. An economical alternative
is DORGARD, a battery operated 'door
wedge'
that can be fitted in under 5 minutes.
Dorgard
'listens' for the fire alarm,
then releases the door if it sounds. (NB!
Fire doors should always be closed at night, even if automatic self
closers are fitted).
Under the mandatory terms of the Disability Discrimination
Act, effective 1st October 2004, all Hoteliers are obliged to make
provision for the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing.
Using the latest technology, DEAFGARD is the safe, reliable
and portable choice to communicate the sounding of a fire alarm to the deaf
and hard of hearing.
For
more information please email
info@marsden-fire-safety.co.uk or ring 01282 691616
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