Fire Safety Tips for Schools

The sooner we begin coaching our children about fire safety and prevention the better. If they are educated in fire safety they've got a higher chance of survival in an emergency scenario. Keeping students safe when they're at school or college is an important task.

Each school must take the time to develop a radical plan for fire safety and train both school/college students and the body of workers on what to do during a fire incident.

Though the number of school fires has decreased over recent years there still remains a risk of school fires happening. There are many causes including arson, electrical faults and accidents.

Taking measures to reduce the likely outbreak of a fire is very important. Below are a few steps that can be taken by the schools and colleges to safeguard the students and staff and properties from an unexpected fire incident

School exterior preparation

• Make the school premises a non-smoking zone. Improperly discarded cigarette can cause fire
• Trees and shrubs are trimmed to keep areas around the building unobstructed
• Make sure you keep an exterior lighting with timers, motion- or daylight-detection sensors
• Try to prevent unauthorised entry into the buildings because it may increase the opportunity for an offender to start a fire

Keep safety equipment ready and working

• Fire safety devices have a significant impact in reducing the loss of life and property during a fire incident
• Fire sprinkler systems act quickly in reducing heat, flames and smoke produced in a fire
• All schools should have their fire safety equipment maintained annually
• Regular checks are mandatory as in some schools fire safety equipment is moved or misused

Fire Safety Tips for School

Maintaining combustible items and a proper disposal of trash

• Schools need to maintain safe rooms to store combustible items
• Schools attract large amounts of paper, cardboard etc. It is best practice to keep fuel sources and ignition/heat sources apart from this room or space
• Trash receptacles should be stored away from buildings to reduce the danger of fire
• Laboratory wastes should be disposed of properly
• Keep flammable gasses and chemicals away from heat

Fire safety drills

Fire Drill

• Schools must conduct a minimum number of fire drills every year
• The aim of this drills is to make sure that the school building can be completely and quickly evacuated in an orderly manner
• Schools should conduct expected and unexpected monthly fire drills in which everyone participates, students, staff and visitors
• Make sure the students are aware of how to respond to a fire alarm
• By practice, you can help to eliminate panic during a real fire
• A plan for evacuation should be predesigned with the help of professionals where necessary
• School staff must receive training on the procedures prior to any drills
• The fire safety procedures should be revisited and updated on a regular basis