Seven Steps to a Stronger Fire Protection Plan

Fire codes and standards merely provide the bare minimum requirements for buildings. Effective fire safety and emergency planning rely on creating a program in which building owners do more than is required, especially when people’s lives are at stake. Fire protection equipment is legislated by city, state, and federal laws, often based on guidelines from organizations such as the International Code Council (ICC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Building owners and facilities managers must comply with the fire codes of their area; however, given the history of fires and the potential severity of future ones, they may want to evaluate their fire protection plan and exceed local code requirements for added protection.

Know and understand the functions of your building. When designing an effective Life Safety Plan for your building or facility, you need to consider the building type, use, and construction. Here are some questions to ask:

1. 1. Does it include an operating room or other care unit that has an oxygen-enriched environment?
   2. Does the building contain flammable or combustible materials?
   3. Does the building contain telecommunications, data centers, or other storage rooms?
   4. Does it have commercial cooking appliances in a kitchen or eating area?

The first step is to check NFPA 10, which is the Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers. NFPA 10 applies to the selection, installation, inspection, maintenance, recharging, and testing of portable fire extinguishers. Keep in mind, once again, that the codes and standards require the minimum number of fire extinguishers. Assess your building and the hazards involved, and consider exceeding these requirements to create an effective Life Safety Plan.

An effective Life Safety Plan should include the building’s fire protection equipment designed to protect individuals from developing fires. In addition to portable fire extinguishers, Class 2 and 3 standpipe fire hose stations are designed exactly for that purpose and could be a key component in your Life Safety Plan. This equipment is needed in buildings, such as offices, dormitories, schools, airports, hotels, hospitals, and anywhere else where fire department response time may exceed five minutes.

NFPA standards mandate a pre-engineered fire suppression system in special hazard situations, such as restaurants and industrial areas. Fire suppression systems provide fast, on-site protection at the earliest stage of a fire. Designed to NFPA and Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) standards, fire suppression systems are pre-tested to effectively extinguish specific types of fires in special hazard situations. Check NFPA Standards for a complete listing of places where pre-engineered systems are mandated.

Exit signage and emergency communications are important elements of escape planning. Every building should have well-lit and visibly placed signs to indicate where exits are located, and building occupants should practice escape planning regularly. This includes knowing where the primary and secondary exits are located and learning how to crawl on the floor to avoid toxic smoke. According to the NFPA, some important things to remember include: practicing the evacuation and using the different available exit stairs, staying low to the ground to avoid smoke, staying by a window to protect yourself from smoke, and signaling to firefighters with a light or colored cloth so they know where you are located.

Key personnel must be properly trained in accordance with their specified responsibilities, and all training documentation must be kept on file in each business's human resources department. There are several ways to educate and train building occupants and employees, including hosting in-house safety seminars by manufacturers, inviting the local fire department for hands-on fire extinguisher training or for safety tips on evacuation plans, and visiting online resources like www.fireextinguisherssavelives.org and www.fireextinguishertraining.com.