Studies of Fire Safety Experiences and Accounts

Flynn 1989 (Guide to Fire Precautions in Existing Hostels, Guesthouses and Similar Premises), listed standardized procedures for development and implementation of fire safety programmes for each individual premise to include: (1) prevention of outbreak of fire through establishment of day to day fire prevention procedures; (2) instruction, training and exercising of management and staff on all matters relating to fire safety; (3) emergency procedure and fire evacuation drills; (4) provision of fire safety instructions to the public/guests; (5) maintenance of fire protection equipment; (6) maintenance of buildings and its fittings and services; (7) maintenance of escape routes; (8) liaising with fire authority and assisting the fire brigade; (9) keeping of fire safety records.

Local Related Literature

Revised Fire Code of the Philippines. Specified the policy that the government shall implement public safety on a public and private establishment, validate economic growth and development through the prevention and suppression of serious fire incidences and recommend the professionalism of the fire provision as an occupation. Concerning the government, it must impose all existing laws, rules, and regulations to ensure observance of standard prevention and safety measures, endorse responsibility for fire safety in the fire security and avoidance service.

The provisions of the Fire Code shall apply to all private and public establishment or buildings, facilities or structures erected or constructed before and after its implementations. New building construction above 1,115 square meters or above 15 rooms will require the services of a Professional Mechanical Engineer, competent in Fire Safety Designs, for the design of the new fire safety system.

Fire safety system and equipment can be a lifesaver and property saver. Fire Safety Services client will be according to the occupancy of the building, occupancy doesn't really mean how many people are in the building, or even what the building is constructed of, occupancy means the usage of a particular building and may be classified as Light Hazard (Schools, Hospitals, Offices). Ordinary Hazard (Bakeries, Electronic Plants, Mercantile, Textile Manufacturing) and Extra Hazard (Upholstering with plastic foams, Saw Mills, Asphalt saturating, flammable liquids spraying).

Republic Act No. 8495. This act is known as the “Philippine Mechanical Engineering Act of 1998”. This is an act regulating the practice of Mechanical Engineering in the Philippines. Regulating the Practice of Mechanical Engineering in the Philippines specified the policy that the government acknowledges the significance of Mechanical Engineers in national development and progress. Their abilities through maintainable human growth shall be promoted. Therefore, the government shall progress and develop competent, honorable, successful and experienced Mechanical Engineers whose standard of professional exercise and provision shall be outstanding, qualitative, world-class and globally competitive through governing measures, programs and activities.

Foreign Related Studies

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3% of workplace fatalities were caused by fire and explosion in 2011. Fires not only impact the health and safety of employees. Their effects can be catastrophic to property and business interests.

They recommend to employers should address three key areas related to fire safety: 1) fire precautions 2) emergency procedures and 3) protecting employees with firefighting responsibilities. Fire prevention involves routine inspection of the workplace to assess potential fire hazards. Employers should ensure that flammable liquids are stored safely and that electrical systems are not overloaded. General safe work practices help prevent inadvertent fire risk. Ensuring that work areas are clear of combustible dust or volatile liquids is a commonsense safety practice. Communication of fire prevention measures to all employees is also essential.

Clear evacuation procedures should be in place to prevent injuries and fatalities. All evacuation routes should be unobstructed and fire exits unlocked at all times. Employers must comply with standards associated with design, construction, maintenance, safeguards, and operational features of fire exit routes. Most workplaces must have an alarm or signal system to warn workers in the event of fire. An emergency action plan is required by higher-risk businesses, including those that deal with flammable materials, explosive substances or hazardous wastes.

Employers have discretion in developing fire response plans. They can opt for a total evacuation or assign firefighting responsibilities to particular employees. Obviously, this decision is a critical one and should not be taken lightly.

Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG). The United States has the highest fire losses in terms of both frequency and total losses of any modern technological society. New facilities and renovation projects need to be designed to incorporate efficient, cost-effective passive and automatic fire protection systems. These systems are effective in detecting, containing, and controlling and/or extinguishing a fire event in the early stages. Fire protection engineers must be involved in all aspects of the design in order to ensure a reasonable degree of protection of human life from fire and the products of combustion as well as to reduce the potential loss from fire (i.e., real and personal property, information, organizational operations). Planning for fire protection in/around a building involves knowing the four sources of fire: natural, manmade, wildfire and incidental and taking an integrated systems approach that enables the designer to analyze all of the building's components as a total building fire safety system package. The analysis requires more than code compliance or meeting the minimum legal responsibilities for protecting a building; that is, building and fire codes are intended to protect against loss of life and limit fire impact on the community and do not necessarily protect the mission or assets, or solve problems brought upon by new projects with unique circumstances. Therefore, it is necessary to creatively and efficiently integrate code requirements with other fire safety measures as well as other design strategies to achieve a balanced design that will provide the desired levels of safety (evacuation, recovery, egress/smoke. Identify critical systems: diesel generators, etc.).

Local Related Studies

Fire safety measures in business establishments are inadequately provided and, in cases where they are provided, are not well maintained. Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) records and reports revealed that fire safety measures in investigated business establishments are inadequately provided and that the cases of fire serious damages are likely to occur. It was found that most of buildings have a limited number of facilities and means against fire hazards and some of them are either not easily accessible or not functioning at all. Also found that majority of studied high-rise buildings did not have escape signs, fire hydrant, fire safety system, fire extinguishers or fire alarms. Conformity in the effective and safe use of the exit facilities available in the case of an emergency. Proper drills that ensure orderly exit under control and prevent the panic that has been responsible for much of the loss of life in the major fire disasters. Speed in emptying the building, while desirable, is not in itself an object and should be made secondary to the maintenance of proper order and discipline. All these important things are taken for granted.

The current economic market condition in Cadiz City is moderate. The local government and communities believe that the city is on the right track. Businesses are quite visible since it is surrounded by agricultural and fisheries products. Business Establishments arise moderately; however, Fire Safety designers and installers operate with great economic stability as businesses will continue to require these services as a regulatory requirement by law and to convince people that a certain building is of a fire hazard free area.

Cadiz City is one of the cities in the northern part of Negros Occidental and approximately at 65 kilometers away from Bacolod City. It has a total land area of 52,457 hectares. The urban land (7,355 hectares) includes residential, commercial, industrial and institutional. The remaining of 45,102 hectares is classified as rural land. The total annual income of the city for the year under review is P429,389,619. It is derived from the actual collections of local revenues and Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA). The city has a total number of 4,965 business establishments, in which 4,750 of which are classified as commercial and 215 as industrial. It has 11 pawnshops, 16 lending corporations, and five banking institutions which provide financial capital to businessmen.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in the city has 2 serviceable fire trucks and 24 firemen and personnel. Out of 24 firemen, 11 firemen are funded by national, including the fire inspector and the remaining 13 firemen are locally funded. If the Cadiz City population is 154,723 (2015 census), then the ration per firemen is 1:6,447. This ratio is higher than the standard of 1 fireman per 2,000 populations. Therefore the city needs more than 50 additional firemen and personnel. The entire city has 23 serviceable fire hydrants, located at different strategic locations and supported by the Busac-Busac Spring.

Synthesis

The preceding concepts were included in this study being related to the assessment in the implementation of fire safety protection policy in commercial business establishments. The reports of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Fire Industry Association (FIA) that fire safety measures include fire extinguishing installations, fire detection and alarm systems, as well as integrated design features. Shopping malls are accessed by people from all walks of life and, therefore, provision of adequate fire safety measures is equally important.

The reports of Makushita Y. D. regarding the fire safety measures in High-Rise Buildings that training through short course, seminars and workshops will equip visitors, users and occupants of building with knowledge to take action in case of fire out breaks. All shopkeepers and security guards should be involved in regular fire drills at least once a year and they should be trained in the use of fire fighting appliances. Also revealed that involvement in related fire safety programs was the most effective method of educating building occupants on fire safety. The reports of Hayward, J. O. related to Fire Safety in Shopping Malls and Premises Liability disclosed that, in one study, respondents were presented with six different signs and everyone understood the “NO SMOKING” sign and “EMERGENCY EXIT” with a man running sign.

The reports of Flynn in Guide to Fire Precautions in Existing Hostels, Guesthouses and Similar Premises, listed standardized procedures for development and implementation of fire safety programmes for each individual premise. The reports of Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) revealed that fire safety measures in investigated business establishments are inadequately provided and that the cases of fire serious damages are likely to occur. It was found that most of buildings have a limited number of facilities and means against fire hazards and some of them are either not easily accessible or not functioning at all.

The study of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics related to workplace fatalities were caused by fire and explosion. Fires not only impact the health and safety of employees. Their effects can be catastrophic to property and business interests. The study of the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) on the United States has the highest fire losses in terms of both frequency and total losses of any modern technological society. New facilities and renovation projects need to be designed to incorporate efficient, cost-effective passive and automatic fire protection systems.

The policy of Revised Fire Code of the Philippines specified that the government shall implement public safety on a public and private establishment, validate economic growth and development through the prevention and suppression of serious fire incidences and recommend the professionalism of the fire provision as an occupation. The regulation of Republic Act No. 8495 in the practice of Mechanical Engineering in the Philippines specified the policy that the government acknowledges the significance of Mechanical Engineers in national development and progress.

In summary, the related articles and studies that the researcher reviewed and presented in this chapter provided him not only the direction to pursue in the course of the study but also a sound framework upon which to anchor his study. Furthermore, these readings afforded him sufficient bases in the formulation of his research instrument and enhanced his insights in the discussion of the findings.