The Social Network & Community JUST for Firefighters
Fixed Facility Fire & Life Safety Inspection Rules
Understanding that all jurisdictions are different, the one thing that remains a constant is the need for engine companies to conduct annual fire safety onsite inspections at all fixed facilities, schools, shopping malls, churches... anywhere you find a lot of people is your top priority to conduct fire and life safety inspections.
It doesn't matter which fire code your jurisdiction follows. The rules remain the same. There are only three major things that you need to make sure to get done (as soon as possible) to prevent an issue from escalating and giving you a chance to mitigate it.
Basic Fire & Life Safety Rules (CBzSOG†)
1. Exiting (Can People Get Out?) / You don't care if the building burns to the ground, that's why there is insurance. What you cannot replace is people. Make sure people can get out of the building. This means you focus on all exit pathways when you do a walkthrough of the entire building.
A side note here is that when you do this, you have the chance to both refer to site maps and log into your memory where certain things are located. As you know, when the smoke level drops, your sense of direction goes away. It's helpful to have some landmarks in your head sometimes from seeing it before the incident...
2. Separation of Incompatibles (If something spills, can it contact something and make things worse?) / You have three options here but first you have to ask, what is an uncompatible? Without making a big deal out of anything, simply put, don't combine hazard classes with the exception of flammable and combustible liquids.
1. Explosives
2. Gases
3. Flammable / Combustible Liquids
4. Flammable Solids
5. Oxidizers
6. Poisons
7. Radioactives
8. Corrosives
9. Miscellaneous
3. NFPA 704 Hazard Identification Diamonds are placed at entrances, and before you have to go into a door... rooms or areas with hazardous materials can get kind of rude sometimes, especially health wise. by placing NFPA 704 diamonds at these locations, both employees and firefighters know to watch out what's behind door number two...
TCSS,
CBz
Note: (CBzS) = Captain Busy Standard
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Roy Walker on
-
That's good Ralph, we don't want to loose a single life, even if it's an EMS critter LOL . On the serious side it's so easy for a property owner ,who sees his building daily to miss something that a stranger seeing the building for the first time will pick up on.
-
Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
-
and more importantly, we have a better idea what's behind door #3... no one likes surprises!
© 2025 Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief.
Powered by
