Fire Warden and Emergency Control

Organisation Training

Group WHS May 2016

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Understand the role and responsibilities

of the Emergency Control Organisation

• Understand the role and responsibilities

of the warden

• Identify the types of emergency systems

in the workplace and their functions

• Recognise different types of

emergencies and emergency responses

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• To gain an understanding of:

– the general role of the warden

– role of the warden in an emergency

– human behaviour during emergencies and

how to respond

INTRODUCTION

Emergency situations can happen

in any workplace

Fire and emergency procedures

and training can help reduce the

risk of people getting injured

Training and practise of drills will

give you the knowledge in how to

respond quickly

In the event of an emergency,

personal safety takes precedence

over asset protection

EMERGENCY CONTROL ORGANISATION

The Emergency ControlOrganisation (ECO) is agroup of workers trainedto react in an emergencysituation

The primary role of theECO is not to combatemergencies, but toensure, as far aspracticable, the safety ofthe occupants and theirorderly evacuation fromthe danger area

EMERGENCY CONTROL ORGANISATION

The number of individuals in an workplace ECO will depend upon: Size

Hazards at the workplace

Complexity of the building

Hours of workplace operation and number of employees

The ECO may consist of:

– Chief Warden

– Deputy Chief Warden

– Communications Officer

– Area Wardens

– Wardens

– First Aid Officer

An up-to-date listing of ECO members must be available at each workplaceto enable any worker to know who is responsible in the event of anemergency

EMERGENCY CONTROL ORGANISATION

During emergencies, instructions given by ECO

personnel shall overrule normal management

structure. Wardens shall have authority to marshal

all staff, contractors and visitors to the assembly

point

As an ECO Member, you are often the person first

called to the scene or advised by other workers that

there is an issue

EMERGENCY CONTROL ORGANISATION

You will need to commence the emergency

procedures by raising the alarm, assessing the

situation and if required removing people from the

site of danger if safe to do so.

During an emergency, it is important the members of

the ECO remain calm and co-operate with each

other, including ensuring clear and direct

communications.

EMERGENCY CONTROL ORGANISATION

• To ensure clear and direct communications are

effective;

– Remain calm, people will react to your behaviour

– Make eye contact when giving directions

– Provide simple, and direct instructions

– Give one direction at a time

– Use clear action words

– If people don’t appear to follow instructions within a

responsible timeframe, calmly repeat the instructions

ECO MEMBERSHIP

All ECO members need to participate in training and

practise of the role during exercise drills

You need to ensure you are familiar with the

emergency equipment on your site and participate in

reviews of the procedures

CHIEF WARDEN

The Chief Warden takes the lead role in the

emergency situation

The Chief Warden decides what action to take such

as whether to evacuate an area or the whole site

The Chief Warden will be the key liaison with the

Emergency Services. They will need to collect

information from Wardens and pass this information

on

CHIEF WARDEN

Chief Wardens responsibilities include: Maintain a current register of ECO Members

Ensure the workplace has a suitable number of trainedECO members – this includes replacing ECO memberswhen people leave the organisation.

Conduct regular reviews on site specific emergencyprocedures

Conduct regular training exercise

The Chief Warden is identified by a white helmet,white cap or high visibility tabbard (vest)

The Chief Warden is often the most senior or mostexperienced Warden on site

CHIEF WARDEN

• During an emergency, the Chief Warden shall; On becoming aware of an emergency, respond and take control

of the situation

Determine what actions need to be taken

Ensure Emergency Services have been notified

Ensure that floor and/or area wardens have been notified of the

situation, as appropriate

Monitor the situation

Brief Emergency Service personnel upon arrival

Post emergency, organise a debrief with other members of the

ECO.

CHIEF WARDEN

In an emergency the Chief Warden will go to a pre

determined point to meet the Emergency Services

Where on your site will the Chief Warden meet the

Emergency Services?

DEPUTY WARDEN

During the emergency situation the Chief Warden

will be very busy

The Deputy supports the role of the Chief Warden

The Chief Warden can delegate actions to the

Deputy Warden if required

They will assist in directing workers and visitors

They will assist to communicate with Emergency

Services and Primary Health Care Management

Wardens are identified by a red helmet, a red cap or ahigh visibility tabbard (vest)

At your workplace where is the ECO identificationequipment located?

Depending on the workplace event, the Warden mayimplement the emergency procedures for your floor orarea

If required: Ask someone to notify the appropriate emergency service

Get help to advise other workers of the situation

Decide whether to commence evacuation if the circumstanceson your floor or area warrant this

WARDENS

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

If your site is large enough you may have a

Communications Officer

Their role is assist the Chief Warden by:

ascertain the nature and location of the emergency

confirm that the Emergency Services have been notified

notifying other ECO personnel of the situation

maintain a log of the incident

assist the ECO with communication equipment and any

communication needed to occur

EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROCEDURES

Your site will have an emergency response

procedure that outlines the response to a number of

emergency scenarios. This document should be

reviewed annually or after an exercise when

changes are required.

Emergency procedures need to be communicated to

all Workers so react during an incident

Review your Workplace Emergency Procedures,

and ensure that you have a good understanding.

EMERGENCY CONTROL

In any situation the basic principles can be

remembered by the acronym RACE:

– Remove all persons in immediate danger

– Alert - activate manual call point and call ‘000’

– Contain - close doors, contain spill

– Evacuate, if required

(ONLY IF SAFE TO DO SO)

STEPS TO AN EMERGENCY (CONTINUED)

Remove– Remove anyone in danger from the immediate area only if

safe to do so

– Prevent other people from entering

STEPS TO AN EMERGENCY (CONTINUED)

Alert– Alert all the Workers in the immediate vicinity

– Activate the Manual Call Point - Break Glass Alarm (where

available – check your workplace)

– Contact all Wardens and the Chief Warden, this will

depend on what communication system you have in place

– Ensure the Emergency Services are notified by ‘000’

– Assess the situation to determine the next steps

STEPS TO AN EMERGENCY (CONTINUED)

Contain– In the case of a fire, closing doors and windows will slow

down the spread

– Check that any smoke doors have closed as this provides

some internal areas for staged evacuation

– If a chemical spill occurs, contain the spill if safe to do so

STEPS TO AN EMERGENCY (CONTINUED)

Evacuate– The Warden in the area will decide if further evacuation is

required

– The Chief Warden will decide how the evacuation will

progress and allocate assistance for clients

– The visitor log and patient list needs to be collected to

ensure all people on site can be accounted for

EVACUATION – ECO RESPONSIBILITY

In the event of an evacuation, if required, get assistance

to search the floor or area to ensure all persons have

met at the internal assembly point. Never have people

searching an area on their own. You may need to

delegate other workers to assist if the area of search is

large

When leaving the work area, ensure an orderly flow of

persons, led by a worker. Plan to leave the area using

protected areas e.g. stairwells or walkways beyond

smoke doors.

EVACUATION – ECO RESPONSIBILITY

Allocate workers to assist mobility impaired persons

Please be aware individuals will react differently whenexposed to emergency situations. When directing otherpersons, ensure you use a calm and controlled manner.

If a person refuses to leave, do not argue but repeat therequest and then report that a person is still in thebuilding to the Chief Warden or Emergency Services.

Do not use the lifts if there is a fire

AFTER EVACUATION

As an ECO Member you will need to ensure the area

you are leaving is vacated of people

Report to the Chief Warden or Emergency Services the

status of the area

The Chief Warden may then ask you to:

– Control vehicular movement

– Give assistance to Emergency Services

– Control entry points

EMERGENCY RESPONSE EXERCISES

An Emergency Response Exercise must be conducted

at least yearly or if there has been significant changes to

either the workplace design or employee make up.

The exercise is part of a workers training and assists

with the understanding of the procedures.

Emergency exercises also test if the procedures will be

effective in an actual event

Ensure worker who are unable to participate in the

response exercise are provided with suitable training and

these records are retained.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE EXERCISES

After an exercise, a debriefing must occur and include:

– Review of the observers checklist

– Managers/supervisors and HSRs consultation

– Confirmation procedures are satisfactory or deficient

– Documentation of the debrief

– Results communicated to workers

There are a number of scenarios that could occur onyour workplace:– Fire /or smoke

– Bomb threat either in person or by phone

– Medical emergency

– Personal threat either from a person who is armed orunarmed

– Internal emergency such as a chemical spill, power failureor water damage

– External emergency is outside of our property but affectsour operations

TYPES OF EMERGENCIES

FIRE

A fire and/or explosion in the workplace can

cause substantial structural damage and

injure personnel

Evacuate the surrounding area

Activate Break Glass Alarm (where

applicable)

Call ‘000’ for assistance

Contact the Chief Warden to ensure they are

aware of incident

Provide first aid when required

Delegate tasks where appropriate

There are 3 elements in the ignition of a fire. Removal ofone of these elements can assist in combatting the fire.

HEAT

OXYGEN

FUEL

GENERAL FIRE SAFETY

REMOVING THE OXYGEN

By removing oxygen, the fire will no longer exist. There

are a number of ways which you can do this:

– Smother the fire with a fire blanket

– Use fire fighting foam to form a blanket over a liquid fire

– Use sand and soil to smother the fire to remove oxygen

– Use CO2 extinguishers to replace the available oxygen

with an inert gas

Most workplaces contain powder extinguishers and fire hoses

Powder extinguishers can be used on every type of fire except

fat/oil

Water (H2O) extinguishers cannot be used on an electrical fire.

RESTRICTING THE FUEL

The next option is to prevent or restrict the source of

fuel:

– A gas or petroleum fire can be controlled by turning off the

source at the control valve

This will prevent fuel from reaching the fire and stop the fire from

spreading

– Fuel can also be isolated by emergency valves or shutoffs

This can be applied in oil and fuel emergencies

REDUCING THE HEAT

The final element is heat:

The substance needs to be cooled to a temperature below

it’s ignition point. This is usually achieved by cooling with

water

Powder and Carbon dioxide extinguishers are also

effective in cooling as well as reducing oxygen

Water is the most efficient substance for the dissipation of

heat

Water should never be used on electrical fires

FIRE INDICATOR PANEL

Your building may have detectors linked to a Fire

Indicator Panel

If the Fire Indicator panel is linked to an external

emergency response system, emergency services

will be notified automatically.

However the activation of a fire indicator panel does

not replace the need for a the ECO to contact

emergency services during an emergency event.

OPERATING A FIRE EXTINGUISHER

The acronym “PASS” is sometimes used to describe

the use of extinguishers. It stands for:

– Pull the pin

– Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire

– Squeeze the operating handle

– Sweep the discharging contents across the base of the fire

Watch the fire area and have back up measures

incase the fire flares up again!

If you are not confident to use an extinguisher your

priority is to leave immediately and ensure safety of

people

“Ordinary” combustibles

Paper, wood, rubber, plastics and textiles

“Flammable liquids”

Oil, petrol, alcohol, solvents

“Energized circuits”

Electrical equipment and computers

FIRE EXTINGUISHER CLASSES

If you are confident to use an extinguisher you need to

decide which one is appropriate, the extinguishers have

icons on to help you

Contains Water + CO2 propellant

It is best used on ordinary combustible fires

‒ Paper, wood and solids

Extinguishes by cooling

Beware it will spread burning liquids!

WATER FIRE EXTINGUISHER

DANGER of electric shock if used on live electrical circuits

It is best used on burning liquids/electrical fires

It has a SHORT range - 1-2.5 metres

It has a short life 5 kg unit empties in 5 -10 seconds

Remember to use in short spurts for best effect

DISPERSES QUICKLY! - Need to continue applying after the fire is out!

UNIT GETS VERY COLD - Hold hose above the horn to avoid freeze burns

CARBON DIOXIDE EXTINGUISHER

It is best for general use

There is a reduced risk of re-ignition

A 5kg unit empties in 8-10 seconds

The effective range of 2 to 5 metres

Note: Use with caution – can create considerable mess

DRY CHEMICAL EXTINGUISHER

EXTINGUISHER REPLACEMENT

Never re-mount a used extinguisher on its bracket but

arrange to have it replaced immediately

Once the extinguisher has been discharged,

regardless of duration, it must be refilled

You will need to advise your manager/supervisor of

the number of extinguishers discharged after the

emergency

BOMB THREAT

All Workers should be aware of the following steps

If you receive a bomb threat by phone:

– Follow the bomb threat checklist and try to find out as

much information as possible

– Do not hang up the phone (if possible)

– Call ‘000’ for assistance and request the Police

– Alert the local Wardens

BOMB THREAT – WARDEN ROLE

Wardens will need to gather all employees

together and brief them on the actions to take,

and that they must avoid using mobile phones

If safe to do so, carry out a brief search of the

area and see if there are any unexplained

parcels or packages. Remember clients may

have bags – so get them to identify their own

items

Do not touch any suspicious package but ensure

no one enters area.

MEDICAL EMERGENCY

A medical emergency can take on many forms, including

a single incident such as a slip or trip through to heart

attack

As the Warden:

– Notify the site First Aider or Clinician

– Call ‘000’ for assistance if requested by the First Aider

Ensure someone is allocated to meet the Ambulance

Officers

– Keep other people clear of the area

PERSONAL THREAT – WARDEN ROLE

Do not rush into a situation but assess what is

happening

Keep calm and avoid eye contact or sudden moves

that may increase the tension

Keep other people away from the location of the

issue

If safe to do so raise the alarm by using duress

buttons or ringing ‘000’

CHEMICAL SPILL – WARDEN ROLE

If a chemical spill is reported then the immediate response

should be to isolate the area and remove people, if safe to

do so. Remember: Remove, Alert, Contain, Evacuate

You will need to establish what the chemical is and how

hazardous it is. You can do this by looking at the Safety

Data Sheet or asking colleagues who may be familiar with

the substance

If safe to do so use the spill kit to contain and soak up the

spill. Remember to protect yourself with gloves and other

protective equipment provided in the kit

If it is not safe to manage the spill then contact the

Emergency Services on ‘000’

INTERNAL EMERGENCY– WARDEN

ROLE

Other emergency situations may occur such as a

power failure, water damage, lift breakdown,

earthquake

It is not possible to give a list of actions required as

every situation will be different. However you should

remember that if you follow the RACE principles then

you will be reacting quickly in a positive manner

Remove, Alert, Contain, Evacuate

EXTERNAL EMERGENCY – WARDEN

ROLE

An external emergency is any incident that occurs

outside that may affect the safety and the running of

the business. This can include a motor vehicle

accident outside, or a fire in a neighboring property

The Warden role during this time is to ensure the

safety of people in our site

Remember RACE: Remove, Alert, Contain, Evacuate

A state of danger requires immediate response

Be aware of emergency types at your workplace:

– Fire/electrical/chemical/medical

Know where your emergency equipment is located

Ensure you are familiar with building exit locations:

– Exits locations shall be displayed on site maps andilluminated exit signs

– Exits shall be kept clear at all times

Evacuation exercises shall be completed annually

Emergency procedures shall be communicated

All emergency situations must be reported immediately

Incident reporting procedure is to be followed

EMERGENCY RESPONSE SUMMARY

THANKYOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

This is the end of the presentation, Please

complete the assessment quiz.

A pass of 80% is required to successfully complete

this module. You will have two attempts, if

adequate pass mark is not achieved further

training will be provided by your State WHS Team

If you are uncertain of any of the presented

material or would like further information please

contact your State WHS Manager