List the components of a comprehensive fire safety program

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Assessment
Assessment of job sites for fire hazards should be continuous and on going. Although the company's "competent person" will have primary responsibility for this, committee members also need to be involved and involve the subcontractors or trades that they represent. Members of the safety committee should be trained in the fundamentals of fire hazard assessment. They should then pass this knowledge on to workers in their units and teams. In this way, all employees are involved in continually looking for fire hazards and communicating their concerns to the safety committee.
Planning
OSHA requires that an organization's emergency fire safety plan have at least the following components:
• Emergency escape procedures and routes
• Critical "shutdown" procedures
• Employee headcount procedures
• Rescue and medical procedures
• Procedures for reporting fires and emergencies
• Important contact personnel for additional information
• Once the plan is in place, it should be reviewed at least annually and updated as necessary.
Awareness and Prevention
After the fire safety committee has completed the emergency plan and upper management has approved it, workers must become acquainted with it. All workers should receive awareness training so they understand their role in carrying out the emergency plan. The fire safety committee should evaluate the training program periodically.

Response
Emergencies can occur in even the safest companies. Therefore, it is important that workers understand the emergency plan and periodically practice responding. Just knowing what the plan says is not sufficient. People do not always think clearly in emergency situations. They will, however, do what they have learned to do through practice. Consequently, one of the fire safety committee's most important responsibilities is to arrange periodic drills so that workers can automatically respond properly.