Fire Extinguishers Vs Evacuation Equipment

We are often asked why there is not so much attention given to evacuation equipment, training and maintenance as there is to fire extinguishers that have British Standard Code of Practice.

The simple answer is a lack of awareness of current requirements.

Under current fire safety legislation it is the responsibility of the person(s) having responsibility for the building to provide a fire safety risk assessment that includes an emergency evacuation plan for all people likely to be in the premises, including disabled people, and how that plan will be implemented.

Such an evacuation plan should not rely upon the intervention of the Fire and Rescue Service to make it work.

In the case of multi-occupancy buildings, responsibility may rest with a number of persons for each occupying organisation and with the owners of the building. It is important that they co-operate and co-ordinate evacuation plans with each other. This could present a particular problem in multi-occupancy buildings when the different escape plans and strategies need to be co-ordinated from a central point.

For further information please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-means-of-escape-for-disabled-people/fire-safety-risk-assessment-means-of-escape-for-disabled-people-accessible-version

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