Control measure
Situational awareness: Fires in buildings
Control measure knowledge
Understanding a building's design and construction,its performance in a fire and it's occupancy will help personnel to carry out appropriate and informed risk assessments.
To carry out an appropriate informed risk assessment of a fire in a building, personnel should have an appropriate understanding of:
- Building design
- Construction materials
- The effects of fire and firefighting on a building
- Building use
- Occupancy types
The following sources of information should help to inform situational awareness throughout the incident:
- Site-Specific Risk Information (SSRI) this should indicate the location of:
- Specified access points
- Building fire control room
- Building systems
- Emergency response plans, including event plans
- Building plans including:
- Fire safety plans
- Floor plans
- Site plans
- Evacuation strategies
- Premises information box
- Building systems, including:
- Fire alarm systems
- Security systems
- Closed-circuit television (CCTV)
- Integral communication systems
- Signage
- Premises information plates
- External surveys of the building
- Observations from thermal imaging
Information from:
- Fire control rooms
- Responsible person
- Occupants
- External safety officers
- Personnel operating inside the building
- Other agencies
Building plans
When developing a tactical plan, information contained in building plans should be considered. Plans may be available from:
- Fire control rooms
- Mobile data terminals
- The responsible person
- The site office
- Premises information boxes
Building systems
Buildings may have systems that can assist the fire and rescue service in obtaining information about the nature of an incident.
These systems could identify the initial location and time of any actuations and may indicate subsequent firespread. In some premises there will be a building fire control room that monitors the building’s systems.
Some buildings will have slave control or repeater panels, which could be helpful for gathering information, but may not have all of the functionality of a main control panel.
Other systems, including heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and suppression systems, may provide relevant information.
Engineered solutions
Information on the presence and status of complex fire engineering and associated fixed installations may be available from the responsible person, the building’s fire control room or from SSRI.
Fire engineered solutions can be complex, and as each building could have bespoke systems, it may be necessary to seek information from a responsible person, a competent person, such as fire safety officer, or from SSRI to assist incident commanders when evaluating the effect of fire engineered solutions.
See hazard Buildings with complex fire engineering for more information.
Strategic actions
Fire and rescue services should:
During fire safety inspections, gather information about fixed installations and building systems installed and ensure they function appropriately
Record information regarding building design, construction materials and occupancy type in SSRI
Gather information regarding any changes to buildings between fire safety inspections,including any change of use or occupancy
Ensure information about building systems is recorded in SSRI
Record contact details of the responsible person, where appropriate
Establish information sharing arrangements regarding unauthorised habitation or use of buildings
Provide personnel with information that has been gathered during fire safety inspections
Tactical actions
Incident commanders should:
Access information that will inform situational awareness at fires in buildings
Liaise with the responsible person to gather information about the fire in the building and any actions taken
Liaise with the responsible person to identify the fire strategy and evacuation routes
Document any relevant verbal information that is received
Check accuracy of plans with the responsible person
Use any available plans of the building to inform tactical decision making
Consider the building’s design, construction materials and occupancy type
Check building systems such as fire alarm or security systems and CCTV
TRAINING SPECIFICATION
Knowledge and understanding
| Control measure element | Learning outcome |
|---|---|
Use of observation and information at the scene of a construction or demolition site to identify signs of collapse |
Understand:
|
Practical application
| Control measure element | Learning outcome |
|---|---|
Use of observation and information at the scene of a construction or demolition site to identify signs of collapse |
Demonstrate the ability to:
|