Appraisal of Fire Safety Management Systems at Educational Buildings

Abstract

Abstract. Educational buildings are one type of government asset that should be protected, and they play an important role as temporary communal meeting places for children, teachers and communities. In terms of management, schools need to emphasize fire safety for their buildings. It is well known that fires are not only a threat to the building's occupants, but also to the property and the school environment. A study on fire safety management has been carried out on schools that have recently experienced fires in Penang. From the study, it was found that the school buildings require further enhancement in terms of both active and passive fire protection systems. For instance, adequate fire extinguishers should be provided to the school and the management should inspect and maintain fire protection devices regularly. The most effective methods to increase the level of awareness on fire safety are by organizing related programs on the management of fire safety involving all staff, teachers and students, educational talks on the dangers of fire and important actions to take in the event of an emergency, and, lastly, to appoint particular staff to join the management safety team in schools.

A code-compliance assessment tool for fire prevention measures in educational facilities

“…A review of the relevant literature (Meacham, 1999; Subramaniam, 2004; Cullen et al , 2015; Hassanain and Mudhei, 2006; Flynn, 2009; Marincioni and Fraboni, 2012; Nadzim and Taib, 2014; Campbell, 2017; Ebenehi et al , 2017) and applicable fire codes and standards (DSFRS, 2018; IBC, 2018; IFC, 2018; NFPA 10, 2018; NFPA 101, 2018; NFPA 80, 2019; NFPA 70, 2020) in the domain of fire prevention in educational facilities was carried out. This activity served to comprehend the various sources of fire hazards in educational facilities and the required prevention measures to eliminate their occurrence.…”

“…These assessments entail the investigation of the compliance level of the educational facilities with the applicable fire codes and standards, in terms of passive and active prevention requirements. In other words, these assessments need to address the level of compliance with all behavioral and technical safety measures (Lavy, 2008; Nadzim and Taib, 2014).…”

Risk Assessment of Industrial Fires for Surrounding Vulnerable Facilities Using a Multi-Criteria Decision Support Approach and GIS

“…Schools have large masses of different age groups, and these are not easy to manage in emergency cases. Whether the fire originated from the interior parts of the school or the fire threat is from a nearby place, the lack of emergency staff able to manage emergency cases and with no experience of initial extinguishing and rescue increases the risk potential of schools and similar places [31]. Shopping centers have shops such as restaurants with considerable flammable material loads and are crowded at certain hours; thus, it is rather hard to evacuate these areas in the case of a fire.…”

Response to a Fire Incident in the Operation Room: A Cautionary Tale

“…Fire safety encompasses the combination and coordination of certain activities, such as fire safety regulations, installation of fire and smoke detectors and fire alarms, staff training, and fire drill training, to mitigate fire incidents. 25,26 Fire safety strategy must be an ongoing process in which fire safety systems are regularly checked, updated, and maintained, just as continuous regular trainings, open communication, and self-accountability improves the infection control and patient safety standards in hospitals. 27 In the present study, the institute has in place a well-established and robust firefighting and fire prevention system.…”