Fire safety for schools
Design of School Buildings
Building work at all schools must comply with the Building Regulations
which are enforced by Local Building Control Bodies. Building Bulletin 100,
Design for Fire Safety in Schools will be published by RIBA Enterprises on 9
November 2007. It is the normal means of compliance with Building Regulations
for fire safety design in new school buildings and sets out the Department
Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) policy on sprinklers in schools that was
launched in March 2007. It applies to nursery schools, primary and secondary
schools, academies and city technology colleges, special schools and pupil
referral units.
Sprinklers in schools
Sprinkler systems have great potential to help prevent the devastating impact
that a fire can have in a school. In March 2007, Jim Knight, The Minister of
State for Schools and Learners, announced that it is now the DCSF expectation
that all new schools will have sprinklers fitted. Any exceptions to this will
have to be justified by demonstrating that a school is low risk and that the
use of sprinklers would not be good value for money. To help people make the
right decisions, the Building Research Establishment has developed two new
tools for DCSF. One covers risk assessments, enabling an existing or proposed
school to be ranked high, medium or low risk. The other is a cost benefit
analysis, specifically covering the use of sprinklers in schools.
Management of fire safety in schools
The law and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Services) Order 2005 (RRO), implemented in
October 2006, replaced The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997. The
RRO applies to both new and existing school buildings. It provides for minimum
fire safety standards and emphasise the duty of 'The Responsible
Person' to ensure that every school has risk assessments carried out.
Fire safety management
To ensure there is no doubt as to where the responsibility for fire safety
rests, and to enable consistency of approach, it is important that each
establishment appoints a designated Fire Safety Manager. This should be a
senior appointment preferably at Head or Deputy-Head level. It may be possible
to appoint a professional to take on this role but that will depend on the size
of the premises, costs, etc.
Fire statistics
Each year more than 1300 schools in the UK suffer fires large enough to be
attended by local authority fire and rescue services. Fifty-six per
cent of these were classed as non-accidental. According to government
estimates (CLG), the average cost of school fires 2000-2004 was
£58million per year. The odds on your school experiencing such a fire are
about 1 in 20, but that is not the whole picture. Many fires are not reported,
at least to fire brigades, particularly if they self-extinguish or are put out
by staff. Research by the Arson Prevention Bureau in 1998 found that more than
a half of all school fires fall in this category, but that the total cost of
unreported fires is unlikely to be very large.
Related Pages
- Design for fire safety in schools BB100
- New and Existing Buildings
- Sprinklers in schools
- The Law and the Regulatory Reform Order
- Public Entertainment and other licences
- Fire safety management
- Fires in schools (guidance)
- References on Fire Safety in schools
Last updated: 04 August 2008
