Emergency Facility Analysis and Hazard Assessments - Term Paper Example

Critical Reflection/Log Name: College: Abstract Understanding of existing conditions that would be of benefit to the incidences of fire outbreaks can be very effective in contributing to the efforts put forward to try and ensure that effects of fire outbreaks to human lives have been mitigated to the highest level possible. Prevention is very important as far as fire outbreaks are concerned. This is because such measures not only help to mitigated case of fire outbreaks but also play a significant role in ensuring that individuals’ confidence in their line of duty is maintained as it ensures vigilance and great care at all times. However prevention alone cannot be the mainstay with matters related to fire outbreaks. Knowledge and understanding of the various ways that can be used to salvage individuals’ lives in times of fire outbreaks is very crucial in this endeavour. It is important for organisations to understand the importance of the enlightment of the organisation’s member. In this case therefore it is rather rational for organisations to ensure that its members are sufficiently informed of the various ways of taking action in the event of fire outbreaks in the organisation. In this regard therefore the research will make good use of both the descriptive as well as the qualitative methodologies in trying to evaluate the level of information individuals have with regards to fire outbreaks. This simply means the level of awareness of the course of action individuals are required to undertake in the event of a fire outbreak. The review of emergency management and scientific literature, systematic assessment of critical structures and informal interviews with planning and building officials, will be of very high importance to the study as it will facilitate the conceptualisation of these ideas and therefore enhance their use in time to come. The results of the study will definitely include vulnerability analysis, emergency facility analysis, and hazard assessments. Among the recommendations structural upgrades, education measures and planning will be included. Introduction My partner Fire outbreak service and I were called to attend to a fire outbreak that had occurred at a nearby manufacturing firm in the streets of the capital city. As usual we carried with us the relevant tools and facilities that were aimed at mitigating the fire from spreading to the nearby buildings. Within no time we had made our way into the building and with help of other expatriates we were able to bring down the fire as it had not spread by large magnitudes. The employees were very grateful to us and although terrified, they were willing to share with us their experiences of indeed what truly occurred during the fire outbreak. I came into the realisation that indeed the employees did not know anything they needed to do when the fire broke out. In fact one employee narrated to us that indeed it was the passer- bys who noticed the fire blazes and therefore called us to help. This was very disturbing to me especially having the mercy of the employees at heart. I could not conceptualise the fact that the lives of so many employees was at stake yet no one seemed to care availing this relevant information to the employees. It is indeed very surprising to me that the management took this issue very lightly without even realising the threats it caused to the organisation. According to me I think the owners of the organisation were deeply concerned about their wealth and not even the lives of the individuals who worked for them. They could not even feel sorry for exposing the lives of faithful citizens to such high risks, because if immediate action had not been taken, it is more likely that some employees would have lost their lives. This would have been very detrimental not only to the organisation but also to the employees who would forever remain disturbed about the incident, and some might never even recover from the aftermaths of this incident. In this case I thought it wise for the management to take up the responsibility of ensuring that employees are well versed with the relevant information about what needs to be done in case of fire outbreaks. Hefty salaries and bonuses alone cannot safeguard the needs of employees if indeed their physical health remains at steak. It was from here shared experiences that I was able to capture certain aspects about their lack of sufficient knowledge on what course of action one needs to task in the event of fire outbreaks. It was indeed very shocking to notice that most employees of the organisation did not have a slight idea of indeed what they need to do in cases of fire outbreaks. This was indeed very shocking to me bearing in mind the complexity as well as the size of the organisation. The large number of the employees indeed sends a message to one about the need to avail information regarding fire outbreaks as well as the various causes of fire and thus the need to establish measure to curb these tragedies. This incident is what drove me to venture into this research with the aim of critically analysing the level of information people in various organisations have with regards to fire outbreaks. The statistics released recently, by communities as well as local governments indicate that over 800,000 case of fire have been attended to by the fire fighters. This is according to the national statistics (2009). Among these incidences about 300,000 are Primary while the rest are Secondary with the other incidences being either apparatus caused false alarms or malicious false alarms (National Statistics, 2009). This is indeed a decrease of 9% from the previous 12%. It should be noted there are various challenges facing the entire world at the moment, this includes the changing world climate, terrorism threats and other factors increasing the vulnerability of structures and individuals’ to fire risks. In this case therefore there is increasing need for continued efforts to reduce the incidences of fire by adequately planning, preparing and responding adequately to reduce and mitigate the effects of such cataclysmic outcomes. It is important for organisations to ensure that Successful preparation, response effort and planning outcomes are entrenched into the minds of the individuals in order to curb these incidences. In this case it is relevant for people to have additional understanding of the pre-existing conditions can greatly help in determining the likely extent of damage in case of fire and thus enhance preparation and response effort. In depth knowledge of the course of action to take in case of fire can be helpful in times of need. This is indeed very true owing to my experience in the incident stated above as it can greatly improve the chances of salvaging the structures from destruction by fire through provision of necessary information that would guide fire prevention and emergency response efforts. My research problem that I intend to address, stems from the fact that many individuals especially in the UK have little knowledge and understanding of the course of action that needs to be taken in the event of a fire outbreak. This goes again to the responsibility of various managers in their line of duty to lack of their commitment to avail such information to their employees. It should be noted that the damage cause in the building that I and my friend went to salvage would have been reduced if indeed the employees in that particular organisation had been furnished with relevant information of what they needed to do in such cases. The research therefore intends to determine the level of information not only to that particular organisation but to a couple of similar organisation. This is strictly limited to the employees’ response requirements in case of fire outbreaks. This information will definitely be of very good use by providing the recommendations on what specific measures need to be implemented with regards to policy and education in order to alleviate such cases of fire outbreaks like the one I witnessed. The feeling I had about the event as it happened and afterwards is indeed with regards to the consequences that could have befallen the victims. In my own thinking I thought that such consequences could go as far as paralysing their social life forever bearing in mind the complexity of the state of things at the moment. I could not understand clearly what on earth such organisations are still doing especially with regards to information dissemination. It is indeed very clear that technology has really brought transformations to the entire world, in this case therefore I expected most organisations to have embraced technology to very large extend. In this case therefore I was thinking that such technological advancements could have been the basis through which the management would have used to disseminate information regarding the risks involved in fire outbreaks and therefore the need for employees to have such information at their fingertips. The fact that such employees did not have relevant information really troubled my heart because of the experiences I have had initially in my line of duty. I could only stop to imagine how various individuals have been hospitalised while some have even lost their lives simply because no one was willing to give them information on the safety measures that they needed to observe in the event of fire outbreaks. If one can listen to the stories of the survivors, the sympathy as well as the agony that will be captured tells a lot about the importance of having such information in good time. It is however unfortunate that people still do not see the need to have such information and therefore continue to ignore the risks of fire outbreaks. With regards to my study, the incidence played an important role in that I was able to understand some underlying theoretical aspects that can be realistic in real life. I was able to conceptualise the fact that various risk exposures come about as a result of misinformation or complete lack of information. It is in this regard that I was able to internalise the fact that there is need to design solutions to the fire safety concerns. This would indeed involve certain control measures that need to be put into practise if indeed effectiveness is to be achieved in any way possible, for example controlling flammability of the materials within structures. Flammability can occur in a number of ways depending on the complexity of the situation at hand. In this regard therefore if such occurrence can be avoided then it goes without saying that effectiveness in controlling fire outbreaks would have been achieved. The identification of major risks for example the lack of suitable escape facilities is one such aspect that I think needs to be addressed. Also the imposition of various requirements with regards to statutes will be very effective in this regard as it will provide avenues that will forcefully demand institutions to bring about reforms in this aspect. I strongly believe that there are some individuals who need to be compelled to do certain things which are just but necessary. The incidence therefore opened my insight in this regard and thus enabled ne to agree to this fact. The incidence was of great benefit to me as it brought some limelight to my understanding of various threats that surround individuals. I came into the realisation that indeed lack of information can be very detrimental not only with regards to fires but with regards to any aspect of life. In my lifetime I have always lived with the assumption that information is power and therefore lack of it exposes individuals to powerlessness. In this regard therefore the incidence also enabled me to understand clearly the ignorance of people to certain risks, as if such risks do not exist at all. It also enabled me to understand how selfish certain individuals can be especially when it comes to their personal gains. This is driven form the fact that the management of the institution in discussion could not at all consider training of employees with regards to the issues of fire outbreaks. I cannot agree to the fact that cost cutting can be driven to such extents. This is because there can never be an excuse to exposure of risks to individuals life, in the name of cost cutting. In any case, it is the same individuals who bring about returns to the organisation therefore I think their health needs to be prioritised. In particular I would say that the Availability of such information would be very crucial as far as meeting the objectives of the research is concerned. It is important to underscore the fact that such information indeed provides critical data. This data can be used for planning purposes for instance it can come into play by identifying the risk levels and fire safety awareness and preparedness for fire risks. The incidence was indeed very helpful in my research because it is through this incident that I would possibly entrench various techniques in highlighting the number of ways through which fires may develop and therefore underscore the most suitable control measures that should be adopted. This will go hand in hand with ensuring that the identification of the gaps that exist in existing measures which will not only facilitate strict adherence to certain measure but also will enhance efforts aimed at controlling the risks levels and the actual levels of risks, not forgetting the provision of current literature on fire safety management. The research results would be very instrumental in ensuring that the importance of fire risk assessment in planning emergency responses, are totally highlighted. In this regard therefore mitigation of the harmful effects of fire through identification of planning benefits would definitely be attained and most importantly, the provision of accurate information on the level of prevalence of each risk factor. It should also be noted that the incidence would be of very good help to the research as it would act as a guide to policy makers in aligning various policies aimed at mitigating the highest risk areas. This will be through focusing more resources and policy measures on areas which to my understanding are identified to be necessarily high risk and high impact areas. In the same way the research results would thus be very important ensuring that incidences of fire are reduced. This will also enable adequate planning, preparation and response towards reduction of fire incidences, which will be aimed at mitigating the effects of such cataclysmic outcomes. Conclusion In summary, I am very much in support of the implementation of reforms in various institutions with regards to the risks involved in fire outbreaks. My main concern is with regards to the ignorance of some managers of certain organisations who have bee redundant in their duties. This is mainly driven by my experience in the fire incidence which I was involved in with my friend fire fighter service. It is in this regard that I believe that understanding of existing conditions that would be of benefit to the incidences of fire outbreaks can be very effective in contributing to the efforts put forward to try and ensure that effects of fire outbreaks to human lives have been mitigated to the highest level possible. The incidence was of great benefit to me as it brought some limelight to my understanding of various threats that surround individuals. I came into the realisation that indeed lack of information can be very detrimental not only with regards to fires but with regards to any aspect of life. With regards to my study, the incidence played an important role in that I was able to understand some underlying theoretical aspects that can be realistic in real life. I was able to conceptualise the fact that various risk exposures come about as a result of misinformation or complete lack of information. It is in this regard that I was able to internalise the fact that there is need to design solutions to the fire safety concerns. Prevention is very important as far as fire outbreaks are concerned, and this can effectively be achieved if indeed relevant information is availed to individuals. References Christian S. D. (2003). British Standards Institution Technology & Engineering, 2003. A guide to safety engineering. London: British library Harmathy T. Z, (1985). ASTM Committee E-5 on Fire Standards, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 1985. Fire safety, science and engineering: a symposium. Baltimore: ASTM International. National Statistics, 2009. Fire Statistics, United Kingdom 2007. http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/firestatisticsuk2007 Purkiss J. A. (2007). Fire safety engineering: design of structures. USA. Butterworth- Heinemann. Rasbash D., Ramachandran G. and Kandola B. (2004). Evaluation of fire safety. Read More