1. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Welcome to the Fire Safety information collated for the staff of Tibshelf Community School. Please take time to view the following material, and direct any urgent questions to your line manager, the Premises Manager, the Business Director or the Headteacher.

2. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 The School has an automatic sprinkler system (very widely distributed within the School) which will activate once smoke, heat or fire is detected. On discovering fire …

3. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Raise the alarm ….. Use fire alarm call-points to activate fire alarms and initiate an evacuation. You may spot a fire even before the sensors are activated. But also call out to staff and pupils in the vicinity, impressing upon them that they really are at risk.

4. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 No automatic fire alarm seems to work quite as well as people shouting out the word “Fire!” So, even if the alarms are already sounding, call out to colleagues and other people in the area. Raise the alarm …..

5. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Activate a fire alarm call point Press against the front of any one of the red- coloured fire alarm call points (pressing lightly over the black spot between the two black arrows). That will activate the alarm.

6. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 A Fire Action Notice is located alongside each fire alarm call-point, summarising actions that should be taken in the event of discovering fire or hearing alarms begin to sound … But the time to become familiar with these arrangements is now, and not when fire is licking at the backs of your heels. Take time every so often to read, and regularly re-read, one of the Fire Action Notices for your area, so that your response to any fire emergency will remain immediate and correct, and so that your response becomes quite intuitive.

7. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 The design of the building means that large areas of our School can be protected from others by physical distances, wall thicknesses, fire doors etc so that a fire simply could not spread quickly from one area to another. Note that there is no danger of becoming stuck in a lift if the alarm is activated, in those circumstances, the lift will continue to ascend/descend, the doors will open, and people may then exit the lift. Only then will the lift cease to be available for further use. Building Design

8. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Upon hearing a fire alarm … NEVER assume that it’s going to turn out to be a false alarm. Yes, it may prove to be just that, but it would be extremely unwise to work on that assumption and then discover that there really is a fire heading your way. Treat every single fire alarm as though you are at real and immediate risk of death, and react accordingly with all due urgency.

9. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 When you hear the fire alarm…. Evacuate immediately! Get Up! Get Out! Stay Out! Upon hearing a fire alarm …

10. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Proceed to the NEAREST ESCAPE ROUTE (closing doors – but not locking them behind you to help trap fire and smoke). Follow white-on-green “running man” signs and white arrows to the NEAREST EXIT. Evacuation

11. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Do not delay your evacuation by collecting personal possessions These are generally replaceable. YOU invariably aren’t!!!! Evacuation

12. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 The escape route may well lead you to a fire exit door through which you would not normally enter or leave the building. Do not assume that the best route to safety is the same route that you usually use to enter and leave the building … It may well not be so please familiarise yourself with the nearest fire exit. Evacuation

13. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Look for white-on-green “running man” signs, which point out the best route to the exit closest to where you are standing at the time (wherever you are in the school). When alarms start to sound, proceed in the direction indicated by the arrow towards the nearest fire exit. Where is my escape route?

14. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 What if the route is obstructed? Yes, that’s possible … and it might even be fire that’s obstructing your safe exit. If so, simply turn around, proceed away from the obstruction, and look for signs pointing to the nearest alternative exit. Proceed in the direction indicated by the white arrows towards the nearest alternative exit.

15. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Ultimately, the white-on-green “running man” signs are pointing you towards the Fire Exit closest to where you are standing at the time (wherever you are in the school). The final exit will be signed like this which, you will note, has no white arrow. Where is the nearest Fire Exit?

16. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Simply push the bar (or operate an alternative door release mechanism) and proceed through the open doors to a safe location away from the building. Fire escape routes and fire doors must be kept free from obstructions, and are inspected regularly by the Premises Manager. And what do I do when I reach it?

17. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 As is the case for an obstructed fire escape route simply turn around, proceed away from the obstruction, and look for signs pointing to the nearest alternative exit. Proceed in the direction indicated by the white arrows towards the nearest alternative exit. What if the Fire Exit is obstructed?

18. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Proceed directly to the correct Evacuation Assembly Point. And then … ?

19. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Don’t re-enter the building until you are told that it’s safe to do so by fire-fighters (though, given the size of our buildings, be prepared for that to take some time). Do not interpret silenced alarms as indicating that it’s safe to re- enter; fire-fighters do that shortly after arrival simply so that they can explore the building without being deafened.

20. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Where are the Evacuation Assembly Points? Years 7, 8 and 9 - Astroturf Area Years 10 & 11, along with Visitors & Non-Teaching staff - Tennis Courts Kitchen staff & Midday Supervisors - High Jump area Pupils & Staff from the ARC - car park adjacent to the Sprinkler Tank

21. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Years 10 & 11 Visitors & Non- Teaching Staff Kitchen Staff Years 7, 8 & 9 ARC Where are the Evacuation Assembly Points?

22. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Remember … If the school really is on fire, temperatures will be increasing, and so will air pressure. Glass will eventually explode outwards, and possibly over quite some distance. All our Assembly Points are a safe distance from the building. Is that likely? You’ll want to avoid that!

23. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 It is extremely important that people with any form of mobility impairment, whether temporary or permanent, including people who may not be able to hear fire alarms, should report these facts immediately to either the Premises Manager, the Business Director or the Headteacher so that special arrangements can be made for their protection in the event of a building emergency. Mobility Impairment

24. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 A mobility impairment can either be permanent or temporary (eg, a broken leg which has been managed by plastering the broken limb). A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan will be prepared and tailored to the special needs of each person with a permanent mobility impairment. A Risk Assessment will be prepared and tailored to the special needs of each person with a temporary mobility impairment. Special arrangements for people with mobility impairments

25. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Fire-fighting There are fire extinguishers situated in several locations around the school. The correct first action is not to reach for a fire extinguisher. It is to raise the alarm! Otherwise time spent tackling a fire, and quite possibly failing to bring it under control, will be time that has been wasted in failing to evacuate people to safety.

26. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 It’s also vital that you know and understand that no property or premises is worth more than a single human life, and that preservation of life, most certainly including your own, takes priority, each and every time. Fire-fighting

27. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 After raising the alarm and ensuring that the evacuation has begun, and if you’ve received some training in the correct use of these you can think about fire-fighting providing the following is followed….. Fire-Fighting

28. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 ALWAYS: Confirm that the alarm has first been raised, and ensure that pupils and staff are beginning to evacuate. Know the proper use and limitations on use of each type of extinguisher (it is possible to make a bad situation a whole lot worse by using the wrong type of extinguisher). Fire-Fighting

29. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 NEVER Take personal risks or attempt or continue to fight a fire: If your escape route might be cut off by fire or smoke. If the fire continues to grow in spite of your efforts If there are gas cylinders or other flammable/explosive items nearby. Fire-Fighting

30. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 If you’re not entirely confident on any of these points … DO NOT (never) attempt to tackle the fire. To repeat … Your life and safety, and that of others, is infinitely more important than any building or property! Fire-Fighting

31. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 All the information that you need to know about each type of fire extinguisher is written onto the extinguisher itself (and sometimes also displayed on the wall where it is mounted). But the time to learn about this stuff for the first time is not when a fire has broken out. If you don’t already know, don’t take a risk … Get up, get out, and stay out! Fire-Fighting

32. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Fire-Fighting

33. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Signage and Information Green signs draw attention to safety guidance, including signs related to fire safety.

34. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Red signs draw attention to a prohibition and/or relate to fire safety. Signage and Information

35. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Yellow signs draw attention to warning, which may include specific fire risks. Signage and Information

36. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Arrangements for regular testing, inspections and maintenance of fire equipment and procedures is carried out. There is an agreed schedule of testing and inspections which can be found in the school’s Fire Strategy Plan. Monitoring Fire Safety

37. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 The fire alarm is tested on a weekly basis. This will usually be out of school hours. Fire Alarm Tests

38. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Emergency arrangements, including actual evacuation of the school will take place each term. Fire Drills

39. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Familiarise yourself with the location of Fire Alarm Call Points, particularly in the areas where you will be working most often. Read a Fire Action Notice. Know the location of Fire Escape Routes and Fire Exits from the areas where you work. Make it your most urgent priority now to:

40. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Further information can be found in the Fire Strategy Plan. Along with detailed duties that people are required to carried out. Further Information

41. Tibshelf Community School Fire Safety April 2015 Further clarification and/or help and advice can be sought from in the first instance your Line Manager/Head of Faculty, followed by either: Craig Selby, Premises Manager Louise Crowder, Business Director Mike Pollard, Headteacher Further Information