I. Introduction Loss Prevention Surveys
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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Sample Fire Drill Checklist
- Fire Prevention Flammable Liquids
- "NOT AN EXIT"
- Banquets, Meetings Functions
- Fire Fighting Equipment Portable Fire Equipment
Performance: It is vital for the safety of all employees that hotel evacuations occur smoothly and with minimal delay. For this reason, a detailed evaluation should be made after every fire drill and kept in a fire drill log. This log should include recording the date and time of the drill, a list of the participating hotel staff and the total elapsed time from the initiation of the alarm to the evacuation of the last hotel employee. In addition, input should be solicited from employees and supervisors as to how to improve the procedure. These suggestions should be evaluated and incorporated, as necessary, into the hotel’s emergency procedures manual. Copies of the fire drill log should be kept on file.
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Due to the varying size of hotels, a common standard cannot be set for an acceptable length of time needed for a successful evacuation. Every effort should be made to evacuate the hotel as quickly as possible.
In the days prior to the drill:
The drill should be documented to identify the effectiveness of the procedures, areas for improvement and any problems with equipment. A sample fire drill report form is included in the appendix.
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Sample Lobby Sign: Sample Guest Letter: Sample Post Drill Evaluation Form for Evacuations: Date: _________________ Shift: _________________ Time initial alarm sounds: _________________am / pm Time evacuation is complete: ______________am / pm Total time to complete evacuation: _________ < 4 min: Excellent 4 – 8 min: Acceptable 8 – 12 min: Needs Improvement > 12 min: Unacceptable (Note: These times will vary depending upon building size and complexity. Check with your local fire marshal to determine what is acceptable for your hotel.) Employee Suggestions: Changes implemented: Updated training completed on: ___________________ Dear Guest, While you are staying at our hotel, we will be performing a fire drill. The drill will occur on (insert day and date here) at approximately (insert time here). Hotel participation in the fire drill helps ensure that our staff is adequately trained in the event of a fire. Please excuse any inconvenience this may cause you while staying at our facility. We will make every effort to minimize the impact upon your stay. Your participation is appreciated but is not required. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me through the hotel operator. Sincerely, __________________________ General Manager To help ensure guest and employee safety, the hotel will be practicing a fire drill today at (insert time). Your participation is appreciated but is not required. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause. If you have any questions, please see a member of the hotel staff at the front desk. Fire Safety IX-7
Fire Prevention Flammable Liquids The use of flammable liquids should be minimized whenever possible. Often, nonflammable paints and chemicals may be easily substituted. The following should be required when handling or storing flammable liquids:
Often, the hotel may have a need for the storage of gasoline for yard maintenance, snow removal and other equipment. When gasoline is required, the amount should be limited to a maximum of 5 gallons. Gasoline should be stored in an approved safety can. Plastic and non-rated containers should be avoided. Laundry Greasy kitchen rags are a major cause of laundry fires. The presence of grease on combustible material, in a closed environment creates the potential for spontaneous combustion. Rag fires usually occur when they are washed at the end of a shift and then placed in a driver over night. The heat from the dryer begins the combustion process. It may take several hours of the rags smoldering before full ignition takes place. To prevent greasy kitchen rag fires from occurring, the following procedures should be implemented:
Since it takes a long time for the combustion process to begin, by washing the rags in the morning, staff will have ample notice of a problem before a fire can ignite. Another cause of fire in laundry rooms is a buildup of highly combustible dryer lint. To prevent this, dryer lint screens should be cleaned at the beginning of each shift. Secondary traps and filters should be inspected and cleaned on a regular basis.
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Laundry & Trash Chutes To help prevent smoke spread during a fire, the terminus of laundry and trash chutes should be equipped with a fire rated door and self-closing mechanism. The door should only be held open with a fusible link to ensure it will close during a fire. Laundry and trash chute doors located on guest floors should be equipped with fire rated doors and self-closing/self-latching hardware. The doors should remain closed at all times to help limit smoke spread. To help prevent unauthorized use or guest injury, either the chute door or the door leading to the chute area should remain locked at all times.
Grease, if allowed to accumulate in kitchen hood, creates a significant potential for fire. Regular maintenance is necessary to limit this hazard. Kitchen hood filters should be removed and cleaned on a daily basis. The hood and duct system should be professionally cleaned by a third party on a quarterly basis. Additional cleanings may be necessary depending on operations. Kitchen hoods and ducts should be protected by a full surface extinguishing system. The system should be inspected on a semi-annual basis. Many gas lines are equipped with devices which will automatically shut off the flow of gas in the event the kitchen hood extinguishing system activates. In systems which lack this feature, the manual gas shut off should be conspicuously labeled and easily accessible. Deep fryers should be protected from sources of open flame. The fryer should either be eighteen inches from all open flame appliances or an eight inch high baffle should be installed between the fryer and the open flame equipment. Cooking food should never be left unattended. When the kitchen closes, care should be taken to ensure all cooking appliances are turned off. Non-kitchen staff should not be allowed to enter the kitchen or prepare food after the kitchen is closed. Public Areas Adequate receptacles for smoking materials should be available and maintained. Material should not be stored in stairwells or guest corridors.
Smoking is the number one cause of accidental fires. For this reason, the hotel should establish a specific smoking policy. Smoking should be allowed in designated areas only. This helps to ensure a safe working environment. Employees should be informed at the time of orientation where the designated smoking areas are and when they may use them. If the smoking area is outside of the hotel, consideration should be given to providing the employees with some level of protection from the environment. Employees should be informed that the smoking policy is not designed to inconvenience Fire Safety IX-9
smokers or to isolate them from other employees, rather it has been established to save lives and property. A sample Fire Safety Inspection Report is available in the appendix.
Early notification of guests and employees to a potential fire is necessary to ensure their safety. All fire alarms should be reacted to as if they are real and fully investigated. Alarms both false and actual should be documented in an alarm log along with the date, time, and cause of the alarm. The MOD or other designated individual trained in the operation of the fire panel should inspect the fire panel once per shift to ensure it is operating normally. Trouble alarms, tamper alarms or other problems indicated on the panel should be investigated immediately. The panel condition should be documented in a log along with the date, time and individual inspecting the panel. If the fire alarm system becomes inoperative, immediately notify the General Manager, the fire department and the Risk Management Department. The repair company should be contacted and asked for expedited service. One or more persons should be given the responsibility for a fire watch that patrols the affected area(s), and necessary precautions should be taken to maintain the safety of employees and guests. When the repairs are completed and have been satisfactorily tested, written certification from the servicing company of the repairs that were made and that the system was made fully operational should be obtained and filed. All aforementioned persons and organizations should be informed of the return to normal operations. If local officials of the fire marshal's office inspect the hotel and indicate that additional fire protection equipment is necessary to comply with the local fire code, please contact the Loss Prevention Department for assistance. Fire Safety IX-10
Smoke Control Smoke control is essential for saving lives in the event of a fire. In the majority of all fires, more injuries and deaths occur from smoke inhalation than from the actual fire itself. Smoke control is accomplished through the concept of compartmentalization. The following components are important to ensure proper compartmentalization of the hotel: Fire doors including stairwell, guest room, storage and mechanical room doors should be equipped with self-closing and self-latching hardware and should not be propped open.
Laundry and trash chutes should be equipped with self-closing and self-latching fire rated doors. Doors should not be propped open. Unprotected openings in fire rated walls, floors and ceilings including pipe chases, ductwork, cables and conduit should be sealed with an approved fire stopping material.
Places of assembly shall have three (3) exits (on opposite ends) for 300 - 1,000 people and two (2) exits for between 50 and 300 people. All EXITS should be properly identified and illuminated. Corridors, stairways and aisles should be free of temporary or permanent blockages such as chairs, tables, linen, trays, trolleys or trash. To provide illumination in the event of a power failure, emergency lighting should be available in all meeting and public areas. Entry and exit doors should not be held open with wedges or latch bolts. If required to remain open, they should be held open magnetically and close automatically upon activation of the fire alarm system. Exit doors should not be locked or secured in a way that could prevent egress at any time. Doors to exit stairs should close and latch automatically after. Exits should be clearly labeled. Care should be taken to ensure directional arrows lead to the exit. Doors, which may be mistaken for an exit, should be clearly marked "NOT AN EXIT" or should be marked by a sign indicating its actual use e.g. "STORAGE ROOM" . Care should be taken to ensure that items such as decorations or furnishings do not impair the visibility of the exit. Exit doors should remain free of obstructions and should only be secured through the use of panic hardware. Fire Safety IX-11
Banquets, Meetings & Functions During banquets, parties and other functions the hotel should consider: Decoration materials should be flame-retardant. Minor decoration materials that are not flame retardant should not be located near spotlights nor any other possible ignition sources. Note: Temporary flame-retardancy can be achieved through chemical treatment. Booths, stages, etc. constructed of readily combustible materials should not be permitted. Example: Styrofoam. Adequate services and facilities should be available for the removal of packing and other combustible materials before an exhibit opens, and no such materials should be permitted to accumulate. Preferably, there should not be more than 14 seats between aisles and no more than 7 seats between a wall and an aisle. Where necessary, maintain a fire watch in the exhibit areas during set-up, while the exhibit is open, and during exhibit breakdown. Local codes and ordinances should be observed regarding the use of flammable and combustible materials as a part of the meeting or exhibition. In rooms seating more than 200 people, the chairs should be fastened to each other to maintain safe egress. Spread of fire from potential ignition sources, such as open flames from handy fuel for chafing dishes, flambé cooking, candle-light dinners etc., shall be prevented by providing flame-retardant decoration materials, full sprinkler coverage, and fire detection and alarm systems. Such ignition sources shall be remote from any flame supporting material. Gas and charcoal cooking in areas not designated for this purpose, as defined by the NFPA, should not be permitted. Protected outdoor areas are excluded from this requirement. Buffets and other temporary set-ups should not obstruct access to exits, electric panels and fire fighting equipment such as hoses and fire extinguishers. Movable electric cooking, heating or warming equipment is not to be connected or used in a manner that may present a fire hazard. Secure ladders and platforms should be used in the erection of materials on walls and ceilings. Pyrotechnics (fireworks) within function rooms are not permitted, and their use outdoors on hotel property should be carefully monitored by specialized professionals retained for their use. Precautions should be taken to ensure that only authorized people are admitted to function areas. Function rooms not in use should remain locked. While occupied, all exits should be unlocked. Fire Safety IX-12
Self Inspection To assist your safety committee members in conducting inspections of the property, a Loss Prevention Checklist is provided in the appendix. This checklist should be revised by individual General Managers to conform to their property requirements. It is suggested that a different member of the safety committee be requested to complete this checklist each month and present the results at the safety committee meeting for discussion.
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Maintenance To help ensure the availability and functionality of life safety equipment, it should be inspected and tested on a regular schedule in compliance of local codes and brand standards. The following is a suggested inspection and testing schedule: Kitchen - Dry or Wet Chemical - 6 Months Automatic Sprinkler System - 6 Months Fire Alarm - 6 Months Fire Pump - 12 Months Hood & Duct System (cleaning) - 3 Months Emergency Generator (load test) - 12 Months Portable Extinguishers - 12 Months Guest Room Smoke Detectors - 3 Months All inspections, with the exception of guestroom smoke detectors, should be conducted by a licensed and insured contractor. Guestroom smoke detectors may be tested inhouse. Work Orders To help ensure that prompt attention is given to any life safety issue, and to help maintain a safe environment for guests and employees, each hotel should have a work order prioritizing system. This system should designate all life safety work orders so that they receive immediate priority when scheduling repairs. There are many ways of designating life safety work orders, such as having life safety work orders be a different color or be placed into a separate bin. Upon receipt of the work order, the Chief Engineer or their designee should give immediate attention to the life safety request. These work orders should take precedence over other maintenance issues.
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Sprinklers Many hotels are equipped with automatic fire sprinkler systems. These systems are designed to contain a fire until the fire department can respond. Sprinklers operate individually and are activated by the heat created by a fire. When a sprinkler head reaches the set temperature, the head opens and water will begin flowing. This will send a signal to the fire alarm indicating a sprinkler head has activated. Water will continue to flow until the system is shut off. If a head malfunctions or if it is damaged by a guest or employee, there is significant potential for water damage. Selected members of staff and MOD's on all shifts should be trained how to respond when a head malfunctions. A map of the hotel indicating the location of sprinkler isolation valves should be posted at the fire panel. Care should be taken to isolate only the affected section of the system. After a section has been isolated the procedures outlined in the "Impairments" section of this manual should be implemented. Smoke Detectors Hotels have been provided with smoke detection equipment. There are two basic types of smoke detectors in use: The photoelectric detector operates on a simple mechanism, which transmits a beam of light from one cell to another. As the smoke enters the light chamber, the intensity of the light beam is reduced. This reduction of light causes the detector to alarm. The ionization detector operates by ionizing the air in a special chamber. Smoke particles entering the chamber upset the normal ionization, which results in an alarm condition. Hotels should be equipped with in-room smoke detectors for the guestrooms. These are typically “stand alone”, “hardwired” smoke detectors. That is, these smoke detectors typically only sound a local alarm within the room in which they are located, and they are connected to the hotel’s electrical system and equipped with a battery back-up. In addition to guestroom smoke detectors, hotels may also be equipped with “system” smoke detectors located in the guestroom corridors and throughout the rest of the hotel. These smoke detectors are connected to the fire alarm panel and will activate a general alarm throughout the building. They are powered by the alarm system. Fire Safety IX-15
Fire Fighting Equipment Portable Fire Equipment Fire extinguishers may be designed to work with one or more of these types of fires. Care should be taken to ensure that the appropriate class of extinguisher is available for the hazards in each area. The most common extinguisher is the multi-purpose extinguisher typically these are designed to fight ABC or BC type fires. Each hotel should have a full complement of fire extinguishers in compliance with local codes. Extinguishers should be visually checked on a monthly basis to ensure they are in place and fully charged. Missing or defective extinguishers should be removed and replaced. Extinguishers should be serviced annually be a third party. A fire extinguisher can only be as effective as its operator. All employees should be familiar with the use and operation of the various types of fire extinguishers on the property. Yüklə 2,18 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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