FIRE EMERGENCY CONTINGENCY PLAN
In the event of a fire in the factory, the following contingency plan will be put into action.
At the time that a fire is discovered, the following procedures should be followed:
1. Call 911 immediately and report the fire
2. Notify the department ER Team Leader or Department Supervisor, known as the Person In Charge
(PIC)
3. The fire should be inspected by the person notified in 2 and that person will decide whether the
building should be evacuated
4. In the case of a minor fire, all personnel in the area subject to smoke inhalation should be evacuated
5. The PIC will attempt to extinguish the fire
6. If the fire is not minor, or is not extinguishable by the PIC, he or she will be responsible for signaling
the fire alarm and evacuating their department.
7. All employees should be evacuated from the building and gather at the designated emergency meeting
area.
8. In the event of a fire, or any other emergency, elevators should not be used.
Each department will have a Team Leader and a Team Co-Leader. Responsibility falls on the Team Leader, or
Co-Leader, in the Leader’s absence, to account for all personnel in the department and assist in their
evacuation of the department offices and the building. The list below accounts for those personnel assigned to
each department.
Workshop Management/Quality Control
WMQC Safety Team Leader: James Nelson, President
WMQC Safety Team Co-Leader: Martin Chase, Vice President
Service and Repair
S&R Safety Team Leader: Albert Ronaldson, Department Manager
S&R Safety Team Co-Leader: Robert Thompson, Department Supervisor
Transportation
TR Safety Team Leader: Harold Johnson, Dispatch Manager
TR Safety Co-Team Leader: Mary Pearson, Transportation Manager
Raw Materials
RM Safety Team Leader: William Butler, Department Manager
RM Safety Co-Team Leader: Deborah Wilson, Department Assistant Manager
Prefabrication
PR Safety Team Leader: Peter Weisman, Department Manager
PR Safety Co-Team Leader: Sarah Brightall, Department Assistant Manager
Assembly
AS Safety Team Leader: Walter Davidson, Department Manager
AS Safety Team Co-Leader: David Houston, Department Assistant Manager
Finishing
FI Safety Team Leader: Wade Johnson, Department Manager
FI Safety Team Co-Leader: Carla Wright, Department Assistant Manager
Warehouse
WH Safety Team Leader: Amy Thompson, Department Manager
WH Safety Team Co-Leader: Joseph Gray, Department Assistant Manager
Shipping and Receiving
SH Safety Team Leader: Eric Hamilton, Department Manager
SH Safety Team Co-Leader: Bruce Rodney, Department Assistant Manager
Accounting
AC Safety Team Leader: Thomas Keerney, Department Manager
AC Safety Team Co-Leader: Lucille Davis, Department Assistant Manager
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Fire & Emergency Evacuation
Fire is a potential hazard in all workplaces, more of a risk in some than in others. Further, there may be a
number of other reasons why workers may have to evacuate. Has the employer done everything possible to
reduce the risk of a fire occurring? Is there an emergency evacuation plan in place? The information provided
here includes an Action Plan for reps, and a Fire Safety Assessment Form.
The Problem
Legal Standards
Action Plan for HSRs
The Problem
Fires in the work environment have significant potential to cause losses. These losses may be in the form of:
Loss of life
Injury to employees
Property damage
Product damage
Equipment damage
Loss of information
Community damage; and
Environmental damage
Fire causation factors
Many fires can be attributed to malfunctions in electrical euquipment through component failure. The
following can cause component failure:
Defective components or manufacture;
Overworking
Inappropriate use
Inadequate ventilation and overheating
Ageing
Lack of maintenance or neglect
Mistreatment or damage
Housekeeping
Flammable materials or substances stored or used incorrectly pose a potential fire risk. Poor housekeeping, for
example, where waste material is stored or allowed to accumulate in inappropriate locations, such as exit
routes, increases the likelihood of a fire occurring.
Some dusts (such as flour dust, coal dust, even dust from fabrics) have the potential to explode when coming
into contact with an ignition source.
Legal Standards
Under Section 21 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 the employer has a duty to provide and
maintain a healthy and safe working environment. This includes providing a safe system of work, information,
training, supervision, and where appropriate personal protective equipment. Under Section 26, persons who
manage or control workplaces must ensure that the workplace and the means of entering and leaving it are safe
and without risks to health.
Action Plan for Health and Safety Representatives
As with all workplace hazards, fire should be dealt with in this way:
Identification of the hazard
Assessment of the risk
Control: Elimination or reduction of the risk
Review and evaluation of any control strategies.
1 - Identification of Fire Hazards
Ensure you look for fire hazards as part of your regular workplace inspections. Use checklists to identify fire
hazards and to check the effectiveness of warning systems and emergency procedures.
Develop specific checklists to enable the process of identification to be carried out. These checklists should be
developed either with other OHS reps or the OHS Committee. You can download a brief checklist here - you
will need to adapt it for your workplace.
Ensure that the employer has provided you with all relevant information to identify and assess any hazards.
This includes Material Safety Data Sheets for all substances used and stored at the workplace, properties of
building materials, etc
Discuss the issue of fire hazards with members of your designated work group.
Ensure that all incidents are recorded.
2 - Assessment of the risk
Check all MSDS to ensure that flammable substances are used and stored correctly.
Check any past incidents.
3 - Control: Elimination/reduction of risk
As with other hazards, the preferred order of control should be followed - start by trying to eliminate the
hazard at the design stage. Sometimes a combination of control methods should be used.
Fire and Emergency Evacuation Plan
The emergency plan should cover:
Immediate action to stop or minimise the hazard (eg use of fire extinguishers if trained);
the need to stay calm;
who to call to raise the alarm;
how to notify emergency personnel (ambulance, fire brigade, SES, electricity, gas, police);
how, when and where to evacuate;
names of the key leaders responsible for making decisions during the emergency (and their duties eg, a
warden);
how to establish and use a fail-safe communications system.
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Escape Routes
All employees should know their fire escape plan. There needs to be at least two ways to get out of a building,
in case one of them has been blocked by fire. If you are the employer, make sure that all employees know what
their escape options are.
There must ALWAYS be a clear path to each exit. Obstacles in the way can cause people to trip and fall,
adding more possibility of injuries.
Make sure all escape routes are clearly marked so those who are trying to escape the building have no problem
finding where they need to go during a stressful situation.
Fire Safety
When it comes to those escape options, it is vital to make sure the doors are unlocked when there are
employees or visitors in the building. You don’t want employees to go to what they think is a way to get out of
a building safely and be stuck inside because the door has been chained or locked.
Never wedge fire doors open as they are designed to protect escape routes and prevent the spread of toxic
smoke and fumes. And as fire needs oxygen to survive, a fresh feed of air through wedged open fire doors may
only lead to building the fire hazard.
Fire Fighting
There should always be fire extinguishers in your workplace. If a fire is caught soon enough, a fire
extinguisher may be enough to put it out and save property and lives. Make sure you have an ample number of
fire extinguishers available through the building, which are designed for use in your particular industry (eg. if
chemical-related fire then use specific extinguisher, etc.).
Fire extinguishers should be inspected regularly to keep them in good working condition.
Workers should be warned not to attempt to deal with a fire unless they have been trained to do so. If you
have been given permission to deal with a fire, consider these steps:
1. Follow your training procedures – never putting yourself at risk.
2. Always ensure there is an escape route between you and the fire.
3. If your clothes catch fire, drop to the floor and roll around. This will help to extinguish the flames. Your
training should have covered this and you most probably know it as the ‘stop, drop and roll’.
Fire Evacuations
Always have an evacuation plan in place and let employees know where they should go outside the building
once they are safe. Put together a plan that makes sure that everyone checks in with someone, so you know that
all employees and visitors are accounted for – and have escaped safely and are not trapped inside.
Discovering a Fire
If you ever discover a fire follow these steps:
1. Remain calm.
2. Sound the fire alarm and/or alert all the occupants to evacuate.
3. Alert the fire brigade by dialling 000 (or your Security Staff – depending on what procedures are currently
in place).
4. Leave the building immeidately via the closest escape route. Never use the lift (elevator).
5. Assemble with other staff at the evacuation assembly point.
6. Apon their arrival, inform the firefighters of the situation.
Evacuating the Building
Upon being told to evacuate, or hearing the fire alarm, follow these steps:
1. Remain calm.
2. Stop what you are doing. Leave the building immediately via the closest escape route. Never use the lift
(elevator).
3. Walk briskly, and never turn back.
4. Never take anything with you.
5. Always follow the Fire Warden’s instructions.
6. Before opening any door feel the door and door handle. Never open a warm door as there could be a fire
behind it.
7. If the door is hot when you feel it then take another route. A window might be an option.
8. If you encounter smoke during your evacuation, drop to the floor and crawl.
9. Close all doors behind you and all windows along the way, as fresh air feeds fire.
10. Assemble and remain at the evacuation assembly point. Do NOT return to the building until you are told
by either the fire brigade or your immediate supervisor that it is safe.
11. Notify someone of any injuries you have sustained, as soon as possible.
12. Never cancel a fire alarm. Fire alarms should only be reset by those directed to do so.
If for some reason you are unable to get out of the building.
1. Alert others of your presence – via a phone, standing at a window, or by opening the window and hanging a
sheet or something to alert fire fighters of your presence.
2. Keep a wet cloth over your mouth.
3. Stay as close to the ground as possible. Not only will you be able to see better, there is more oxygen.
4. Keep the door closed to stop smoke getting into the room.
5. Block up the cracks around the doors, if possible with wet cloths, to stop smoke getting in.
6. If there is a lot of smoke, keep your hand against the wall to guide you if you need to move about.
7. If your clothes catch fire, immediately drop to the floor and roll around. This will help to extinguish the
flames.
Fires and evacuations are serious matters, therefore fire drills are essential for the safety of all staff (and
visitors) of a workplace.
