WHEN DISCUSSING fire risk in schools, there is a range of statistics which indicate the extent of the problem. According to the latest estimates from Communities and Local Government, the average cost of school fires for 2000-2004 was £58m per year. Over this period, there was an annual average of about 1,300 fires in schools attended by fire and rescue services. This gives a crude estimate of £43,000 per fire-damaged school.
The UK Association of Teachers and Lecturers estimates that, on average, some 2,000 schools are damaged or destroyed by fire each year – equating to one school every week. The annual cost of rebuilding or refurbishing affected schools is almost £100m. Fires in schools are a worrying problem for our economy.
Financial costs, though, are only part of the problem. Fires interrupt learning, and more than 90,000 pupils a year will experience disruption to their education as a result of damage to classrooms or school property. This can range from an individual classroom being out of action for a matter of weeks, to whole schools operating in temporary accommodation for two to three years years. There will inevitably be an impact on the quality of learning for pupils affected. It is common knowledge that, in order to learn, we need a good environment to learn in.
Although schools often experience fires, this is not to say that their fire precautions are lacking – all such premises are required by law to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and put in place appropriate measures such as alarm and detection systems, effective fire risk management procedures and evacuation drills.
Arson risk
The major cause of fire in schools is arson. But by using a dynamic risk assessment, a school can protect itself as far as possible from being targeted by deliberate fire-setters. Security is a very high profile way of discouraging vandals although, if intent is high enough, this will override the deterrent that systems such as closed-circuit television can provide.
A fire safety manager will ensure they make it as hard as possible for their premises to experience a fire. However, it is every employee’s responsibility to assist their efforts and contribute to fire safety. This will ultimately come from training and improving fire awareness knowledge.
It should not always be presumed that when a school experiences a fire through vandalism, it was the vandal’s intention to inflict that much damage. It may have started out as messing about with lighters/matches which simply got out of control. We must not forget that embedded in human nature is the fascination with fire and its effects. The excitement surrounding fire does not simply disappear as one gets older, but the foresight of knowing the implications of our actions stops us from becoming a potential fire starter.
Prevention schemes
The fire and rescue service is doing a remarkable job in bringing knowledge to our youth. Community education and awareness-raising schemes are fundamental in discouraging the arsonists of tomorrow, and helping the young participants to better understand the risks and consequences of fire.
However, arson in schools continues to cost our economy and society so much money that something needs to change. Perhaps educational courses should occur more frequently, or perhaps additional resources and teaching aids should be developed.
One suggestion is that, rather than dealing with the end result of a deliberate fire, we should deliver a more widespread grass-roots campaign. Responsibility for improving fire safety knowledge should not solely rest at the feet of the fire and rescue service. Perhaps it should be brought into schools as part of the National Curriculum. Prevention is better than cure, and this should be actively encouraged throughout our community – from community fire safety managers, to teachers and parents. By extending and increasing fire awareness teaching programmes, we might also help nurture the next generation of fire engineers.
Assessing risk
Large school fires devastate. Their aftermath lingers for years. As the figures cited earlier illustrate, the long-term disruption that follows can put staff and pupils under stress and impose large financial, educational and administrative costs.
Risk assessing is the key process to decreasing risk in any business, undertaking or building but especially a school, which has vulnerable people and a high chance of fire. After analysis by a competent person, a fire risk assessment will reduce, remove and resolve the risk. By ensuring schools have adequate fire precautions in place, ensuring people on site – including pupils – have adequate knowledge, and by keeping the process under review, the risk of fire by arson, mechanical fault or human error can be significantly reduced to a level which is as low as reasonably practicable.
The odds of a school experiencing a large fire are about one in 20, but that is not the whole picture. Many fires are not reported, at least to fire services, particularly if they self-extinguish or are put out by staff. Research carried out in 1998 by the Arson Prevention Bureau found that more than half of all school fires fall into this latter category,
but that the total cost of unreported fires is unlikely to be very large.
This might suggest that the possibility of a costly fire at a school is small enough that it can be considered an acceptable risk, and that many fire safety measures are not justified in terms of time and resources. But this viewpoint is wrong. Fire is indiscriminate; it can occur at a small rural school as readily as at a large, urban comprehensive.
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 school establishment appoints a designated fire safety manager. This should be a senior appointment preferably at head or deputy-head level. However, it may be possible to appoint a professional to take on this role, although that will depend on the size of the premises, costs, etc.
Protection arrangements
Sprinklers are proven to be an effective and reliable method of reducing the impact of fire, but we do not live in a perfect world and the protection that sprinklers offer will not be something that every school will have the luxury of affording instantly. Each school has to work with what they have, and it is down to the skill of a risk assessor to negate risk as best as possible with current resources.
Each school is unique and comes with its own risks, so there is no such thing as a ‘one-size fits all’ solution. All buildings are different; it is not possible to construct a model procedure that will be suitable for use in all premises and situations.
The fire evacuation procedure should be kept as concise and focused as possible. Essentially, it should be a brief but suitable procedure that is specifically tailored and designed for the premises in which it has to operate. The way to ensure that something like a fire evacuation procedure is suitable is by having a ‘live’ risk assessment in place that is constantly updated as required.
This is why a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is so valuable. It must be a dynamic document that is able to identify not only risks but shortcomings in precautions and procedures – to ensure, for example, that not only are maintenance regimes for fire safety systems being followed, but that the ‘people power’ that helps ensure fire safety is also being maintained.
Schools should test their fire risk assessment, their staff, even their pupils. If a problem is identified, it is best to find it when it is just a drill
Tom Welland is a member of the Fire Industry Association’s Fire Risk Assessment Council