Fire evacuation procedures for Innovation Building

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Introduction:

Regulator Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO 2005) requires the University of Oxford to have a strategy to evacuate all occupants within the Innovation building. This will be achieved by using nominated fire marshal(s) within the Innovation building. Fire marshals are nominated to coordinate and implement this guidance.

What is a fire marshal?

A fire marshal is a designated person within a department or a company who is allocated responsibilities to help support the ongoing management of fire safety by contributing to the safety of people in the event of a fire evacuation.

The role of the fire marshal

A fire marshal’s duties revolve around reacting to an emergency competently. They will know how to raise the alarm and be familiar with the means of escape in the area for which they are responsible.

It is also part of a fire marshal’s duty to ensure that an evacuation is carried out orderly. Therefore, they should conduct a quick but thorough sweep of their designated area, directing people to the nearest available fire exit and the assembly point whilst assisting disabled people. Refuge points are located on the Innovation Building’s basement, first, second, and third floors.

Fire marshals that have to sweep high-risk areas, such as laboratories, will also need to consider working with space users to make safe any hazardous activities which may be in progress. In addition, the fire marshal should be aware of compressed gas locations and piped gases within their area and report to the incident controller in charge if any gas sources are involved in the fire.

Once outside the building, the fire marshal should verbally encourage people towards the assembly point.

Once the incident controller/University Security services/fire service has ascertained that it is safe to return to the building, the fire marshals will assist people returning.

What extra responsibilities does a fire marshal have?

In addition to the actions listed below, the fire marshal should be observant throughout the innovation building, keeping an eye on day-to-day general fire safety.

Day-to-day role:

• To check the general fire safety of the allocated area, building or floor,
• Check corridors and stairwells to ensure combustible materials are not stored there,
• Monitor escape routes to see if they are kept free of obstructions,
• Check that fire doors are not tied, propped or wedged open where they should not be,
• Check that final exit doors open and are not obstructed,
• Check that the fire extinguishers are where they should be and that no blatant misuse or defect has occurred,
• Check that the smoke detectors are not covered,
• During the weekly fire alarm test, check that the alarm can be heard in their allocated area.

When the fire alarm sounds, a fire marshal should:

1. Put on the yellow high-visibility surcoat.
2. Sweep the designated area (office and laboratory) and check accessible areas such as toilets and shared space (e.g. freezer room on the first floor) to ensure people are leaving.
3. Report to the incident controller advising of any occupants left in the building or if their areas are clear of people.
4. Once outside at the assembly point, update building occupants and advise them they take shelter in Campus cafes if necessary. If this is the case, all building occupants shall take shelter in the ORCRB (green building café area), so it is easier to communicate with everyone.
5. After the event, communicate the outcome to users of their designated area. The Incident Controller shall reset the fire panel, reset any building systems (fire curtains, for example) and give staff the ‘all clear’ to re-enter the building OR close the facility, depending on the severity of the fire and advice of the fire and rescue service.
6. Take part in any post-alarm de-briefing to identify any shortcomings in the evacuation procedures.

Note:

1. In the absence of the appointed fire marshal, a team member will act as the fire marshal for the company.  
2. Each company or department must appoint a sufficient number of fire marshals to ‘sweep’ their area during an evacuation. 
3. Ensure those undertaking the role of fire marshals are appropriately instructed or trained.
4. University Security Services have no management responsibilities for university buildings out of hours apart from calling the fire and rescue service and providing a key-holder response.
5. As a condition of allowing out-of-hours access, when staff or facilities management is not on duty, occupants must be briefed on how to respond to a fire or evacuation signal and communicate with the fire service and security services.
6. If an out-of-hour event is held, particularly when visitors are present, sufficient staff should be kept on duty to manage an evacuation.