Fire Safety Management Plans

Fire Safety Management Systems (FSMS) also known as fire safety management plans are a set of procedures that establish how to manage risks associated with fires and other emergency situations.

They can be used as part of an overall strategy for managing risk or they may form the basis of a separate system.

The fire safety management plan should be an extension of the fire risk assessment with both documents been used in conjunction with each other.

The fire safety management plan document should include as a minimum:

Statement of Intent (company / responsible person).
Introduction
Planning
Organisation and Control
Managing
Review
The fire safety plan itself (listed below)
Fire safety management strategy
Fire safety management structure
Fire safety maintenance checklists
Details of staff fire safety training programme

A fire safety management system should cover all aspects of fire safety management.

It will include guidance on:

How people will be warned if there is a fire

What staff should do if they discover a fire

How the evacuation of the premises should be carried out

Where people should assemble after they have left the premises and procedures for checking whether the premises have been evacuated

Identification of key escape routes, how people can gain access to them and escape from them to a place of total safety

The duties and identity of staff who have specific responsibilities if there is a fire known as the competent person (s) & normally designated by the responsible person.

Arrangements for the safe evacuation of people at risk, such as those with disabilities, lone workers and young persons (PEEP's)

Any machines, appliance, processes/power supplies that need to be stopped/isolated if there is a fire

Specific arrangements, if necessary, for high-fire-risk areas

Contingency plans for when life safety systems such as evacuation lifts, fire-detection and warning systems, sprinklers or smoke control systems are out of order

How the fire and rescue service and any other necessary services will be called and who will be responsible for doing this

Procedures for meeting the fire and rescue service on their arrival and notifying them of any special risks, the location of highly flammable materials including dangerous substances

What training employees need and the arrangements for ensuring that this training is given which should include any findings from the fire risk assessment.

Phased evacuation plans (where some areas are evacuated while others are alerted but not evacuated until later)

Plans to deal with people once they have left the premises

As part of your emergency plan it is good practice to prepare post-incident plans for dealing with situations that might arise.

We have experience in writing and implementing fire safety management plans and if you would like further advice for your premises or would like us to review your current management plan please get in touch.