Construction sites have plenty to consider regarding safety, often to an extreme degree. Most important are rules and codes for fire safety to ensure that no serious injury or death occurs while the work is going on.
Which safety rules and regulations must construction site workers follow? Certain procedures are normal and basic. Some are practices that are sometimes ignored when construction workers are in charge.
Have a look at this list of regulations and codes you need to consider before you start thinking essential for construction security. The most important thing is contemplating the use of temporary fire alarms. They can help save lives while saving money.
What Are Your Fire Emergency Plans?
From a long list of tasks, establishing the safety strategy for handling an incident of fire on a construction site must be your top priority. Plan means figuring out the steps your workers will take in the event of a sudden fire.
Some things to think about as you begin writing your plan:
- Emergency Exits
- How to get together safely in the event of a fire.
- Make fire drills ahead of time to ensure that the plan works.
Emergency exits may be complicated depending on the construction situation. If you’re working on a building, the need to find suitable emergency exits is often a challenge.
If construction equipment is blocked, an emergency exit plan could require modification based on the particular construction.
Always ensure that you have exits that are easily accessible with an easy way to access. This could mean quick escape routes when construction workers work at high altitudes while building skyscrapers.
The location you choose to meet must be kept up-to-date in addition. The accounting of your employees is vital to gather and review what transpired.
The place you decide to meet after you have left should be an area that is safe and close to the site. This may mean using the services from another nearby building to be able to meet up to avoid any risk.
Conducting fire drills in advance might seem obvious; however, the more preparation you make ahead of time, the fewer mistakes will be made when an incident occurs.
It is recommended to schedule at minimum one fire drill per week and update the procedures for where to meet and leave if the location shifts.
What Are The Standard Fire Safety Codes?
Spend some time reading the Construction Fire Safety Coalition website. You’ll find extensive information on appropriate fire codes to adhere to. Be aware that many rules and codes for fire fall to the individual U.S. states to adopt or amend.
A variety of fire codes are accessible that are based on standards set by the national government. Six of them are employed by a variety of construction firms:
- NFPA1
- NFPA 5000
- International Building Code
- International Fire Code
- NFPA 41
- NFPA 1620
NFPA 1 comes directly from the National Fire Protection Agency, another important website to study. The code is pretty common and includes a special section. In Section 16.1, The code provides all the information needed to protect construction activities.
NFPA 5500 is a building code specifically. You’ll need to go through 55 chapters, but it’s worth the effort to discover everything you may have missed.
You can use the International Building Code to use an international standard established through the International Code Council.
Yes, international codes must be read, especially if the project is being carried overseas. Today, after 23 years, you’ll find the information regarding building codes within Chapter 33.
In conjunction with the IBC Also, you should study the International Fire Code. In Chapter 14, you’ll find all the information you need about safety for construction workers in the event of a fire.
One of the most enduring fire codes available can be found in NFPA 41, which is currently over 90 years old. It was originally designed to ensure “responsible safety to life and property from fire.” But, it’s been subject to modifications several times throughout the years.
For information on planning fires, make sure you study NFPA 1620. The importance of planning for an incident before the event is mentioned above. However, the NFPA website provides additional information.
Use Temporary Fire Alarms?
Planning for fire safety and construction site security also selects the required equipment. The purchase of fire alarms must be a top priority. However, the thought of purchasing numerous new fire alarms causes problems with capital expenditure.
For your peace of mind, look into renting fire alarms. Since construction sites are temporary anyway, why would you invest in alarms that cost a lot of money that you won’t use for the next time at specific sites?
If you are using the temporary alarms for fire, you can lease them to the number you require to build your building site and then return them after you’ve finished. The majority of them are modern and include wireless capabilities.
Very well-known brands for portable fire alarms are Ramtech WES3 devices. These go beyond just being wireless devices. They offer a variety of features that every construction site must have to meet fire security requirements.
Certain options Ramtech offers in their alarms, including:
- A medical alert system to notify people via phone in the event of an injury to someone.
- System polling to determine that you have moved the alarm.
- A validation process to ensure that it’s not an error.
- Pre-alarm systems that allow for higher levels of alerts with more customizable.
- Test the different alarm modes.
They also meet all the safety standards for fire protection across America.
Some Other Fire Regulations to Consider
The investment in the proper equipment must go beyond fire alarms. Consider purchasing and leasing fire extinguishers well. Another thing that construction managers aren’t likely to think about regarding fire safety is investing in surveillance equipment.
The use of security cameras can aid in identifying the flames faster in a large area. Security cameras can be used to spot a small fire brewing that’s not noticed until the fire alarm goes off. Security guards https://alistsecurity.com/ are also good for this sort of task.
Eliminating all combustible materials must be a different priority during the pre-planning phase. If they must be placed on the site, it is recommended that they be kept in secure areas and kept away from any object that could ignite.
Anything that may open flame must also be out of bounds. Even if this and other items mentioned are common in the fire safety guidelines, They can be easily slipped into the manager’s head amid many other issues.
