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October 2008 saw the publication of a major new British Standard that gives recommendations and guidance on the design, management and use of buildings to achieve an acceptable level of fire safety for all people in and around buildings entitled: BS 9999:2008 Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings.

The standard builds on government guidance to legislative requirements, providing an advanced approach to fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings.The guidance on means of escape for disabled people (in respect of both design and management) is greatly expanded within BS 9999 and provides more emphasis on the need to provide adequate information in the form of an emergency pack to safeguard the lives of responding fire service personnel.

The early phases of any fire or emergency situation are critical
The fire service has to arrive on site, assess the situation, identify and evaluate the risks to life and property, and predict how the emergency is likely to develop. This is a period of intense and often stressful activity for the fire crews and especially so for the incident commander, who must make quick decisions on how best to bring the incident under control.

By providing the fire and rescue service with clear, concise and up to date plans of the building, hazards, access and specialist equipment, the time taken to define the appropriate strategy to bring the incident under control can be reduced. Including in these plans, salvage items such as high value and business critical information, help prioritise the salvage effort once the incident is under control. This not only helps the incident commander define where efforts should be allocated, but is of interest to insurers.

BS 9999 states that provision of 'suitable and sufficient information of the building layout, escape routes, special hazards and procedures' is essential.

Definition of the details required in the Emergency Packs goes beyond the provision of simplistic floor plans to include surrounding streets, utilities isolation equipment, risks to life, burn resistance of walls and doors and safe refuge areas. For complex buildings, some of this detail may be required in cut away or isometric format.

How we can help
Our unique service to meet this increasing demand from the fire service, insurers and current standards helps you collate and create the information and premises plans to form the basis of your Emergency Pack.

Our service helps you create the Emergency Pack information, as detailed by BS 9999 in a quick, easily readable and accurate format and includes:

- A survey your building and surrounding streets;
- Liaison with the local Fire and Rescue Service on your behalf, ensuring that you have met your duty of care to Fire and Rescue Service personnel; and
- Design and deliver the required floor plans and details to meet the fire service requirements.

We can also provide a cost effective maintenance package which will help you keep these plans up to date, helping ensure that they do not provide inaccurate information when they are needed.

If you would like to receive more information about this service or would like to discuss how we can help you achieve the requirements of this section of the BS 999 standard, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

Paul Moor
Commercial Manager
Evactools Ltd
T: 0845 652 191

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