​ARNSIDE WOMEN’S INSTITUTE & VILLAGE HALL FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT

Description of premises

Arnside WI & Village Hall is a brick-built community building dating from 1928. It meets all current building regulations regarding fire hazards and disabled access.

The building comprises an entrance hall, two separate cloakrooms, male and female toilets and a disabled toilet, the main hall with a stage and a storage room off for storing tables and chairs. Behind the stage is a committee room and to one side a separate kitchen, with an electric cooker.

Below the committee room is the boiler room housing the gas-fired central heating boiler. This is accessible only from the outside.

All rooms are available for hire. The main hall accommodates 99 people. The committee room, with upholstered seats, accommodates 16 people.

​The forecourt to the building has space for a maximum of 6 cars, including one designated disabled parking space. Other parking is on Orchard Road.

Double emergency doors lead directly out of the main hall. They are clearly lit with emergency lighting. There are emergency doors out of the kitchen and the committee room.

The Hall is a NO SMOKING area.

NO FIREWORKS, GAS APPLIANCES, FLAMMABLE SUBSTANCES or LIGHTED CANDLES are permitted inside the building.

Fire extinguishers are situated in the kitchen, committee room, main hall and in the boiler room in the cellar. They are routinely inspected. The inspection certificate is held at the Hall.

The fire hazard is low, and therefore risk is low.

Principal uses of the Village Hall

The Hall is hired by a range of organisations and private individuals for a wide range of activities. A written agreement between the Hall and the Hirer forms the basis of the hiring arrangement. The Booking Form and Conditions of Hire draw the Hirer’s attention to the health & safety and licensing obligations that the booking places on them.

The Committee encourages all users of the Hall to carry out their own Fire Risk Assessment, highlighting the areas that pertain to their own group of users and their activities.

This Fire Risk Assessment has been done by the Committee to cover all aspects of the Hall, but in particular for those Hirers who are not familiar with the layout and equipment.

THE HIRER IS DEEMED ‘THE RESPONSIBLE PERSON’ AND IS DESIGNATED AS THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THE HALL DURING THE HIRE PERIOD.

It is advisable to take a note of the name of everyone attending your event.

The Committee encourages Hirers to make themselves aware of the location of the escape routes and firefighting equipment, which are shown on the plan of the Hall. The plan is available to Hall users and is also displayed on the noticeboard in the main hall, and in the kitchen and the committee room. Hirers should also identify THE ASSEMBLY POINT – THE LAWN BELOW THE BUILDING.

It is the responsibility of Hirers to ensure the Hall is securely locked after use, as the building should never be left open and unoccupied.

People at risk

Those at risk in the event of a fire are:

Staff – The Committee employs a part-time cleaner who has a key to the building and is generally on her own when working.

Trades people – The Committee employs local trades people on both an ad-hoc and a scheduled basis for the purposes of cleaning, safety checks and building maintenance. Local trades people who are familiar with the building may gain access to the Hall by borrowing a key from the Booking Clerk.

Hall users (up to 99 inside at any time) – These will generally be familiar with the Hall. Those that aren’t will find the simple layout easy to navigate and assimilate. Emergency lighting is installed over fire doors and around the Hall, and this is tested regularly. There is a set of double fire-doors in the main hall that exit directly to the outside and are fitted with a push-bar release. The committee room has a single fire-door to the outside with a push-bar release.

Disabled persons – At a typical function there may be some disabled persons. It is the responsibility of all hall Hirers to ensure disabled persons are given adequate assistance in the event of an evacuation of the building. All emergency exit doors are on a level with the areas or ramps outside, which are either tarred or paved, so there are no barriers to wheelchairs.

Children – It is the responsibility of Hirers to ensure all children within the Hall are supervised and that they are given adequate assistance in the event of an evacuation.

Members of the public who may be walking past the building.

Possible causes of fire

➢ Main power supply fault

➢ Gas central heating boiler fault

➢ Portable electrical appliances fault

➢ Kitchen equipment faults

➢ Cooking accidents

➢ Waste (accidental ignition)

➢ Stage lighting system fault (including dimmer & distribution system)

➢ Soft furnishings – accidental ignition
​
➢ Deliberate ignition

Control measures

The primary and general control measures taken by the Committee are to ensure that:

Sufficient and correct fire-fighting equipment is available and a qualified practitioner inspects it at least once per year.

A Certificate of Maintenance is obtained for each inspection.

The equipment currently consists of the following 6 fire extinguishers:

2 foam extinguishers (6kg) in the main hall;

1 foam extinguisher (6kg) in the committee room;

1 CO2 extinguisher (2 kg) in the kitchen), plus 1 slim red fire blanket;

1 foam extinguisher (6kg) & 1 dry powder extinguisher in the boiler room.

Usage instruction labels are displayed next to each fire extinguisher.

The advice of the inspection practitioner to increase, change or move the location of the fire-fighting equipment is followed.

The locations of the fire-fighting equipment and escape routes are clearly marked on a plan that is displayed on the main noticeboard and in the kitchen & committee room and is available to users and staff.

Checks on Fire Exit doors for illumination and ease of opening, and that emergency routes are clear, are done weekly. A test of continued illumination in the event of a power failure is done quarterly.

The Committee tests the ease of access to and through the escape routes and to the assembly point at least once a year. A test of the Fire Alarms is done monthly.

The gas central heating boiler is serviced every year.

A record of key holders is kept, and also a record by date and session of those Hirers who have been given temporary access to a key.

All Hall users are made aware of their responsibilities under the Premises Licence via the Booking Form.

All regular user groups are advised that they should carry out their own Fire Risk Assessment. Whilst the Committee will advise and encourage, they cannot be held responsible for a group not carrying out its own Fire Risk Assessment.

Dated: 6 November 2023

Next review date: September 2024