School Case Study
Client: St Josephs Catholic Primary School
Location: Wigan, Lancashire
URL: None Available
Project: Fire Risk Assessment | Fire Safety Training
Applications: FRAME
Keywords: Fire Risk Assessment, Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety)
Order 2005
Safety experts from SOA conducted a uniquely modern fire safety assessment for a
primary school in Lancashire in December 2005. The objectives were two-fold. Primarily,
the assessment would enable the school to comply with the new fire safety legislation
coming into effect in2006. Secondly the assessment would demonstrate the effectiveness
ofSOA's evacuation simulation software, EvaQ8, for school premises. St. Joseph's
Catholic Primary school in Wrightington, Lancashire is atypical primary school set
in a semi-rural area between Wigan and Preston. The original school building and
caretakers residence date back to 1872 but have been extended and modified in stages
over the years to form the current facility comprising: five classrooms, assembly/dining
hall, staff offices and kitchen.
The head teacher, Mrs Janice Keating, had been in-post around 12months at the time
of the assessment. “I was concerned that our fire safety assessment and procedures
may need updating, and I also knew of the new fire safety legislation due to come
into effect” explained Mrs Keating.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO) was due to come into effect
in April 2006 but was put back to October 2006. A key factor in this legislation
is the identification of the `responsible person' for the premises or activity. This
person must appoint a `competent person' to undertake a fire risk assessment, which
is then used to ensure that risks are reduced to `as low as reasonably practicable'
(ALARP). From the moment the RRFSO is in effect all Fire Safety Certificates will
cease to have status. Instead the responsible person must demonstrate adequate fire
safety management policies, procedures (especially regarding evacuation) and staff
training. This goes beyond simple prescribed measures such as testing alarms; it
places full responsibility for fire safety on the responsible person. Failure to
carry out an adequate fire risk assessment, implement sufficient fire precautions
and comply with the legislation is a criminal offence and could result in an enforcement
order, prohibition or alterations notice on the premises.
Mrs Keating went on to say “We needed advice to help us understand exactly what would
be required by the new legislation and to help demonstrate we achieved an appropriate
level of safety.”
An engineer from SOA continues: “One of the challenges with the new regime is in
knowing how far to take the risk reduction measures. You can virtually always identify
more and more safety improvements either by spending more on facilities or restricting
activities. Identifying the right cut-off point is key to demonstrating due process
and hence compliance with the legislation, at the right cost. This is where the`competent
person' is critical. They should help show that an acceptable level of safety is
achieved and that the impact of further improvements are grossly disproportionate
to the benefits; then the risks are by definition ALARP. SOA have decades of experience making
safety cases and demonstrating ALARP in a wide range of safety projects, from senior
safety engineering roles on large projects like designing nuclear submarines, right
through to alterations in small retail premises.”
SOA conducted a full fire risk assessment and evacuation study on the school. These
identified a number of actions to address areas of concern and bring the fire safety
management planning up-to-date. The evacuation study looked at all the different
activities of the school such as: classroom teaching, assembly, dining, before and
after school clubs, evening functions, Christmas play, etc. For each case it demonstrated
the school could be evacuated within the government's target time limits for safety.
It also derived occupancy limits for evening functions to ensure the time limits
would be met. Regarding SOA's services, Mrs Keating remarks: “I have to admit that
I wasn't sure initially what the output from the assessments would be. What impressed
me about the report is that the assessment is clear, thorough and professional,
but also the recommendations are fair and practicable. We now have an action plan
to ensure compliance with the new regulations and more importantly ensure that safety
is adequate. It is also a workable document that we will continue to use in our
fire safety management planning and training.”
SOA – Providing Safety Engineering Solutions
SOA provide first class fire safety & evacuation analyses and advice to all our clients.
We are an enterprising and flexible company that work hand in hand with our clients
to implement the right fire safety strategy to reduce the risks to life, assets and
business. We have a proven track record of ensuring that our clients meet their legal
responsibilities with a fire safety strategy that supports their business objectives.
We are committed to finding cost-effective solutions for our customer’s needs. Our
unique company structure combined with our suite of specialist software tools enables
us to meet the challenge for any project size or complexity.
EvaQ8 – Evacuation Simulation Software
The EvaQ8 toolset is a simulation software tool is a Windows based software suite
used to model the evacuation of buildings and structures. It simulates occupants moving
through compartments to pre-assigned places of ‘ultimate safety’ following a pre-defined
route. The tool displays dynamic information for each compartment as the simulation
runs, namely, the current populations and evacuated populations. This software is
a heuristic device which enables the optimization of evacuations.
ALARP – As Low As Reasonably Practicable
ALARP refers to a level of risk that is
neither negligibly low nor intolerably high, for which further investment of resources
for risk reduction is not justifiable. The ALARP Principle Risk should be reduced
to As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) level considering the cost effectiveness
of the risk control options.