College Info > Health & Safety > Langside Campus Fire Procedure

3	FIRE TRAINING
3.1	There will be a minimum of four practice fire evacuation drills each academic year, one announced and three unannounced.
3.2	The fire drill will be well advertised with both date and time given.
3.3	Staff will have to act as role models for the students, many of whom may not have been involved in previous practice sessions, so that the element of responsible control of their charges can be exercised during evacuations.
3.4	Fire Marshals will be trained in fire extinguisher use for "first aid" fire fighting. Other members of staff will be given basic instruction on how to use the fire extinguishers. All staff and students will be made aware of an assembly point which will be their objective to reach in a drill or a real emergency situation, by the Evacuation Maps.

4	THE PRINCIPAL - THE EMERGENCY CONTROLLER
4.1	On hearing the fire alarm the Principal will assume the role of Emergency Controller. If he is absent at the time of an emergency his role will be taken by the Senior Vice Principal/ Depute Principal.
4.2	The Emergency Controller will go immediately to the Main Fire Alarm panel. From the reports he receives the Emergency Controller will be able to confirm the fire location and will then assumed a roving role going to whatever area he thinks most important at the time e.g. fire location.
4.3	The Emergency Controller will stay in radio contact with the Main Fire Alarm Panel advising the Estates Manager/ Facilities Team of actions being taken and requiring to be taken.
4.4	The Emergency Controller will delegate additional roles for staff as a situation develops.

5	FIRE MARSHALS (All Senior Staff)
5.1	On hearing the fire alarm, the Fire Marshals will immediately take responsibility for the area in which they find themselves, unless they are taking a class, in which case their first responsibility is to see to the evacuation of their students. This covers occasions such as taking a class or absence from the area due to distance within the College, illness or holidays.
5.2	At their area of responsibility, they will render assistance if required.
5.3	Fire Marshals will be responsible for checking all rooms in their areas have been emptied. This includes offices, stores, toilets, lecture rooms or laboratories. They will close doors as they go.
5.4	When sure that all the area has been checked clear of staff or students, the Fire Marshal will leave the buildings by the nearest exit route and report immediately to the Fire Warden at (a) Battlefield Road or (b) the main roadway into the College.
5.5	Until the reports from the Fire Marshals have been received, the Fire Warden cannot determine if the College buildings have been completely evacuated.
5.6	In the planned absence of the Fire Marshal, a designated member of staff will deputize and assume responsibility for the role.
5.7	Should a Fire Marshal be observed to be missing during an evacuation then a member of staff at the area should be deputize as above if free to do so.

6	SAFETY OFFICER (the Health and Safety Officer)
6.1	The Safety Officer and the Estates Manager on hearing the fire alarm, will proceed immediately to the Main Fire Alarm Panel, situated in the New Build,taking a radio with them. The Principal will also go to this point and take the role of either of the above if they are absent.
6.2	Should the Safety Officer pass the problem area on route, and being mindful of his own safety, he can assess the situation at first hand.
6.3	At the Main Fire Control Panel the Estates Manager can confirm the area experiencing the emergency from the alarm enunciator panel
6.4	The Safety Officer will then report to the Emergency Controller and assist as required.
6.5	The Safety Officer, assisted by the Estates Manager, will take the reports of the Fire Marshals as they arrive at the Fire Control points. In the absence of the ability to make a roll call, this information is vital for determining if there are people unaccounted for and the most likely area of their location. He will also receive reports from Senior Managers if there are known problems concerning the students reported at any of the assembly points.
6.6	As the reports come in to the Fire Control point the locations which have been cleared will be marked off in the evacuation checklist.
6.7	The Safety Officer will, at the request of the Emergency Controller, check on any area which has not reported in.
6.8	After the emergency situation has been resolved, the Safety Officer will collect all the relevant information on problems experienced, improvements suggested and whether there was lack of effective communication or information during the emergency.
6.9	Having updated these documents it will be his responsibility to ensure all copies held or posted have been replaced with the updated version.

7	THE ESTATES MANAGER
7.1	The Estates Manager and the Safety Officer, on hearing the fire alarm will go immediately to the Main Fire Control Panel. The Principal will also go to this point and deputise for either of the above if they are absent.
7.2	The area being flagged on the Alarm Enunciator panel is noted.
7.3	The Estates Manager will then try to get to the area which has been flagged. As this means he must go against the flow of people exiting the building, he must take great care of his own safety. At this point he could be joined by the Principal.
7.4	On arrival at the scene he will make a swift judgment of the situation.
7.5	He will stay in constant contact with the Emergency Controller and advise him of the position
7.6	The Estates Manager will take charge of any operations taking place until the arrival of the Fire & Rescue Services or until deciding conditions are unsafe and personnel tackling the fire are in danger, in which case he will advise all those present to evacuate immediately.
7.7	On leaving the building he will report to the Emergency Controller or his depute at the Main Fire Control Panel.
7.8	When the all clear is confirmed by the Fire and Rescue Services, he will cancel the alarm and replace the break glass on the alarm point.

8	EQUIPMENT TESTING
8.1	The Fire Alarm system will be tested once per week by the Facilities Team ensuring a different alarm point is used each time
8.2	The emergency lights in the area where the fire alarm is tested will be checked on a weekly basis. Draining and testing of the system will take place as planned.
8.3	The smoke vent system will be tested during every fire drill.
8.4	Disabled call points will be tested every week along with the fire alarm system.
8.5	All of the above test will be recorded in a Fire Systems Log Book and signed by the person carrying out the check.
8.6	All fire extinguishers will be examined once per year and the contractor will sign that the inspection has been done. The label on extinguishers will be updated.
8.7	Safety inspections in any area of the College will observe Fire Points to ensure signs are clear, numbers of fire extinguishers are correct and that break glasses are intact.
8.8	Members of safety inspection teams will observe that all evacuation routes and fire exits are clearly marked using conventional signs where necessary. Fire exit doors with push bars will be clearly marked with a "Push bar to open" sign.
8.9	The handheld siren and loud hailer will be tested periodically to ensure they will work when called upon.

9	DISABLED PERSONS OR PERSONS THOSE REQUIRING ASSISTANCE
9.1	During any evacuation the Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs), as agreed under the Evacuation of Disabled Persons Policy, will be operated.
9.2	During practice fire evacuation drills, staff and students with an agreed PEEP will make their way to the nearest temporary waiting area and contact the Emergency Controller at the Main Fire Alarm Panel using the Disabled Intercom provided. In the Business School, the LITEhouse and Link Corridors unless the evacuation routes are blocked, staff and students should normally make their way out of the building using the nearest emergency routes.

10	VISITORS
10.1	Visitors to the College must report to the reception, when entering the College.
10.2	Visitors will be asked to sign in and be given a visitor /contractor lapel badge.
10.3	A member of staff will then accompany the visitors at all times during the course of their visit.
10.4	If the nature of the visit renders 10.3 not viable then the visitors must been given a safety induction talk. This can be done by a member of staff. The information covered can also be incorporated onto the lapel badge and must cover:
	10.4.1 The nature of the fire alarm - continuous siren. 10.4.2 The nearest escape route and fire exit to the area they have been escorted to - floor plans are useful in showing this clearly. 10.4.3 The assembly point they must report to. 10.4.4 The instruction on the need to remain at the assembly point until the all clear is sounded. 10.4.5 The instruction to hand in the lapel badge to the Information Point to enable updating of the record to show their departure.
10.5	If the visitor is accompanied however then it will be the responsibility of the member of staff to ensure that the visitor is escorted safely from the building.
10.6	Where a visitor requires a PEEP, they will be offered the option of a standard College PEEP, a range of these have been prepared by the Health and Safety Officer.

11	CONTRACTORS
11.1	All contractors will report to the reception when entering the College.
11.2	The contractor(s) will he asked to sign in and he given a visitor/contractor lapel badge.
11.3	The contractors will be escorted to the office of the Estates Manager where they will be given a safety induction talk covering the following aspects of fire safety:
	11.3.1 The nature of the fire alarm - continuous siren. 11.3.2 The nearest escape route and fire exit to the point of their area of work and the nearest alarm point 11.3.3 The assembly point they will be expected to go to. 11.3.4 The need to remain at the assembly point until the all clear is sounded. 11.3.5 The person in charge of the contractors will be told he is responsible for accounting for all of his team at the Fire Control Point in a time of emergency.
11.4	Contractors will be given the limits of their area of work, marked out with tape if need be.
11.5	Contractors will he made aware of any flammable materials stored close to their place of work.
11.6	The Safety Officer will be informed if the contractors plan to use hot work.
11.7	On completion of the work, contractors will inform the Estates Manager when work is complete then will report to the reception to return their lapel badges and sign out. This records their departure from campus.

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12	THE GENERAL PUBLIC
12.1	It is inevitable, given the nature of the business of the College, that members of the public can be on campus in unknown numbers and unrecorded fashion. Such occasion could be prize ceremonies, open days and exhibitions of the work of students. There are also occasions when an area of the College can be let.
12.2	To cater for the influx of the public on such occasions' it is the intention to ensure that route signs, fire action notices, fire exit notices and other emergency information can he clearly observed and are plentiful in nature.
12.3	Should an emergency situation develop Fire Marshals will try to render assistance to those requiring it such as the very young, the elderly and the disabled

13	OUTWITH NORMAL HOURS - EARLY PERIOD
13.1	All College staff who work outwith normal day hours will also be trained to respond to the General Fire Action procedure - PAGE 3
13.2	The role of Emergency Controller during this early period will be assumed by a Facilities Team member. This will be true irrespective of whether other staff may have arrived at work earlier than normally expected.
13.3	On hearing the fire alarm the Emergency Controller will check the area flagged on the enunciator panel and await the phone call from the person raising the alarm. This will depend on whether access to a phone is possible. If not, the person should get to the Alarm Control board as soon as possible to report on the incident.
13.4	The Emergency Controller will then proceed to the Fire Control point with the daily register of persons on the premises.
13.5	All early morning staff will report to this assembly point, namely Fire Control point.
13.6	The Emergency Controller will conduct a roll-call as staff arrive to ensure all present at work are accounted for.
13.7	The person who raised the fire alarm will ensure contact has been made to the Emergency Controller before trying to tackle the outbreak locally.
13.8	The Emergency Controller will decide on whether anyone is to be allowed back into the building.
13.9	The Emergency Controller will confirm the nature and whereabouts of the fire and pass this information to the Fire and Rescue Services if they have been called.
13.10	If there is a discrepancy in the head count this information will be passed to the fire officers.
13.11	When the Fire Officers are satisfied that the building is safe to re-enter the Emergency Controller will give the all clear. If they are not called, the Emergency Controller will make this decision.

14	EVENING CLASSES
14.1	All College staff will he trained to respond to the General Fire action procedure which will be followed in all emergency situations (PAGE 3)
14.2	The role of Emergency Controller in this period will be assumed by the evening class supervisor or a member of the Facilities Team. If the emergency occurs in any other building the appropriate evening class supervisor will inform the emergency controller, oversee the evacuation of the building, and remove the signing-on book if possible
14.3	On hearing the fire alarm, the Emergency Controller will go to the Main Fire Alarm Panel point at Reception. The Facilities Team members on duty will inform the Emergency Controller of the location of the alarmed area and provide him/her with the loudhailer.
14.4	He/ she will then he will go to the main exit taking with him/ her the loudhailer, and the signing-on book
14.5	Other staff will ensure students in their class are alerted and then they and the class will evacuate the premises by the nearest escape route to the assembly point indicated by the fire action notice in the classroom.
14.6	The lecturer will report to the evening supervisor for that building at the main exit point should anyone be missing from his/her area of responsibility.
14.7	Staff will confirm their areas have been evacuated when reporting to the Emergency Controller at the Main Fire Control Panel.
14.8	The Emergency Controller will liaise with the Fire and Rescue Services and will receive the message when they confirm the building is safe to re-enter.