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
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