2019 Yearbook

R E V I E W A N D A N A L Y S I S 37 a strategic plan in place to deal with such an eventuality. With this in mind, there are three main areas that require consideration: initial actions in the event of fire, interacting with the fire and rescue service, and salvage of artefacts from the building. It is accepted that all historic buildings are different in size, use, and layout and that in some cases there will be limited resources when dealing with a fire risk. However, even limited resources used carefully can have a positive impact and the basics of strategic planning are often not financially costly, with the biggest resource input required likely to be time. The first element of planning that needs to be considered is the actions that will be taken in the very early stages of a fire, as evidence from past fires indicates that these can have a significant impact on the outcome. The three priorities are evacuation, raising the alarm and first-aid firefighting. Given the importance of life safety, evacuation should in all cases be the first priority. Once the fire service arrives this will also be the first priority. The team will aim to confirm with the building management that the building has been evacuated and everyone is accounted for, and to assess the accuracy of this information. Having a robust system in place to account for persons in the building is a big advantage, possibly including some form of systematic physical sweep of the building to make sure that everyone is out. If there is any doubt about the credibility of the information, or if anyone is reported missing, the fire service will enter the building and search. Quick contact with the fire service to confirm that there is a fire and thus trigger the dispatch of fire appliances is potentially problematic and needs careful consideration. The service will respond either if it has received a call from the property informing them of a fire, or if an alarm receiving centre has been able to confirm a fire. The former requires a reliable means of contacting the service in all circumstances. The latter has implications for unattended properties, where there could be some delay in responding to an alarm. Most more modern historic buildings may not even have this type of external alarm contact, and an important point for contemplation is what would happen if there were a fire while the building was unattended. Early first-aid firefighting has the potential to limit fire growth and consequent spread, preventing a much bigger fire developing. Outside help at this point should not be relied on, and instead action should be taken as soon as the alarm is raised – with good detection in place this can potentially be very shortly after ignition. However, success relies on having the correct equipment in place and well-trained staff (or owners, tenants or occupiers) on the premises to operate it. For buildings in rural areas in particular, and there are many of these, it is reasonable to assume that the fire service response might be slower, given the likely distance from a fire station (often staffed by on-call firefighters), quality of roads and the influence of weather on road conditions. In such situations the emphasis should be on self- sufficiency, and first-aid firefighting measures therefore assume a greater importance. However, such action is not always appropriate. Standard advice is that staff should only attempt to fight a fire if they are trained to do so, if the fire is small enough that their intervention is worthwhile and most importantly, if it safe to do so. The importance of involving the fire service in emergency planning is widely acknowledged Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service takes part in an exercise at Hardwick Hall, in Derbyshire, to help train firefighters to respond to a potential fire.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=