Abstract
Aim: The purpose of this article is to expose the link between procedures contained in fire safety instruction, fire incidents and evacuation drills, as key elements of the fire safety management system within buildings.
Introduction: This article is dedicated to elements of the fire safety management system encompassing fire safety instruction, fire incident scenarios and building evacuation drills combined with practical training for firefighters. The article identified legal requirements for the content of fire safety instruction, fire incident scenarios and frequency of evacuation drills. Simultaneously, the paper illustrates a variety of developed fire incident scenarios and elements, which should be considered in the construction of new evacuation instructions. In order to secure an appropriate level of safety, it is necessary to develop a fire safety management system based on credible and consistent articulation of fire conditions for a given building in associated fire safety instructions. The key part of which should contain a fire incident and evacuation scenario. Additionally, the article contains information gained during observation of seven evacuation drills performed in office buildings located in the Łódź region. Observations reveal that when safety procedures are incorporated in fire safety instructions and are subsequently practiced during cyclical training of building occupants, they have an influence on the ultimate behaviour of people who follow well established procedures during an eventual evacuation of a building.
Conclusions: A well-produced fire safety instruction should include well-analyzed fire incident scenarios as well as evacuation procedures. It is emphasised that the human factor impacts significantly on the efficient operation of safety management systems in buildings. In order to eliminate the potential for human error, it is necessary to regularly train building occupants and perform evacuation drills. Based on research and interviews, with occupants who participate in evacuation drills, it was noted that people attach a greater amount of importance to the analysis of building evacuation arrangements, when these are practiced on a cyclical basis. The implementation of training procedures should form a single coherent entity incorporating verification and introduction of improvements.
Relevance in practice: The Deming Wheel – PDCA system (Plan-Do-Check-Act), which was introduced in the article, may be utilised as a control mechanism for the implementation of a fire safety system in a given building and also help with the elimination of emerging problems as well as improvement of fire safety in a building.
Keywords: evacuation drill, fire incident scenario, fire safety instruction, Deming circle