The Importance of Fire Safety Audit

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A crucial but often overseen aspect of our workplace, that is fire safety. Most buildings are equipped with fire safety systems during the project phase. In many cases, the design of these systems are not compliant with the code, as it is not done by fire safety specialists. But even if the systems are designed properly, they need to be assessed from time to time, because during the life cycle of the building,  several changes take place because of which these systems stop working the way they are supposed to.

 For instance, some detectors go faulty. The Fire Extinguisher is unused and becomes ineffective. Existing Fire alarm system design in the building may not be sufficient, Some systems reach the end of life and need to be replaced. There may be modifications in other systems like HVAC. The impact of these changes to the safety of the people working is not known during the normal working of the building.

These factors come under light in the unfortunate event when fire occurs. When the fire mitigation efforts fail, the results are terrible – causing damage to property, injury to people  and even death.  A lot of managerial bandwidth is spent in managing the situation, which takes away focus from business. In some cases, irreparable harm is done to company reputation. The impact is felt by everyone, especially the top management of the company and its directors.

 There is one way that this kind of unfortunate outcome be prevented, and that is by conducting regular fire audits. The National Building Code 2016 part IV  Annex-E has given the following guidelines on the frequency of audit and the qualification of the person or agency conducting the audit.

Several companies conduct these audits in the said frequency, or even sooner. However, unfortunately most companies don’t comply.

The fire safety audit must be comprehensive and should cover not only the various systems such as fire alarm, public address, fire fighting, gas leak detection, water leak detection etc. but also the architectural and structural components. For instance, is there a separate fire exit staircase provided for the building ? Is the width of the staircase compliant with the code ? Is there sufficient space for occupants to take refuge in case of fire ? Are the doors made of fire rated material ? While the National Building Code 2016 part IV is the basic standard to be complied with, it is equally important to look into the respective Indian Standard ( IS) and ensure compliance.

The fire audit will bring to light the discrepancies in the fire system as well as in the property design and layout. Once the risk is known suitable action can be taken to correct them.

Written by Rajesh Venkiteswaran