Vulnerable people and people with disabilities and, or mobility problems will also require to be considered. Both groups of people may have slow reactions and not fully understand what is going on. These groups of people may need assistance and additional control measures. In some workplaces workers accommodation may include sleeping arrangements, an example being an offshore oil production platform). This will need to be carefully considered within the fire risk assessment. Will the alarm be loud enough to wake the workers when it has been activated? Some workers may be partially deaf that may require another method to alert them, such as a vibration pad under the pillow. Can the workers safely evacuate the accommodation to a place of safety? Can the workers activate the alarm and is there adequate fire protection present? These are just a few questions that will need to be answered. Old age reduces the ability to act and with regard to fire safety, the most significant factors are the lessening of the abilities of perception, comprehension, and mobility. As a result, residents or patients can no longer take care of their own safety in case of a fire or, for example escape to safety on their own. In addition, the reduction in the ability of them being able to act also increases the risk of fire breaking out. Step 3: Evaluate, remove, reduce, and protect from risk The risk of a fire starting will generally be low if your premises has few ignition sources and combustible materials are kept away from them. Fires generally start in one of three ways: • Accidentally (such as dropping smoking materials onto a fuel source. This happened at the Kings cross station in the UK in 1987, when a lit match fell through a gap on a wooden escalator and set fire to the grease and litter beneath the steps. 31 people sadly died). • Poor maintenance of equipment (such as electrical equipment). • Deliberately – such as Arson. The method of evaluating the risk can vary from a person's own judgements to a more analytical approach depending on the systems adopted by the company. Consider whether the existing fire safety provisions are adequate or need improvement. The principles of prevention to consider (as in any risk assessment) are, in preferred order: • Avoid risks • Evaluate unavoidable risks • Combat risks at source • Adapt work to the individual, especially the design of places of work • Adapt the place of work to technical progress • Replace dangerous articles, substances, or systems of work with non-dangerous or less dangerous articles, substances, or systems • Use collective protective measures over individual measures • Develop an adequate prevention policy • Give appropriate training and instruction to employees
Where possible fire hazards should be removed or reduced, For example:
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