Vigilance against fire is extremely necessary for a business or industrial compound and group residency compounds like apartments and dorm complexes. Even though most places have automatic fire detection and suppression systems, it can be a great idea to recruit fire watch guards. Such additional protection is especially necessary for industries where the work involves easily flammable materials or places where there are a huge number of workers.
A fire watch is a service where trained people are posted across the area and keep watch of fires so that they can prevent or stop them in the initial stage. Understanding how a fire watch is conducted can be a convincing factor for employing them.
Fire watch is mostly employed when the residential or business area is huge and paying attention to each corner of the place is impossible. Depending on the required area, the number of fire watch personnel to be posted is decided. It is made sure that one person does not have the responsibility of a huge area to ensure they are paying the required attention and make no mistake. While recruiting fire watch, make sure one person’s area can be covered within a few minutes for maximum protection.
A fire watch is not employed so that the people just sit at one place and look once in a while, that is not the correct way. Every fire watch personnel should walk around their designated area every 30 minutes to make sure there are no signs of fire anywhere. They are instructed to look and smell for smoke constantly and should be listening intently to hear the sound of smoke alarms, even if it rings far away. If one’s designated area includes stairwells, they should go up and down every round. Obscure and emptier places like basements, dining areas, laundry rooms, etc. should be thoroughly checked. They are also advised to check if every fire suppression system like sprinklers and extinguishers are working properly when they come. They also make sure the equipment is available in sufficient amounts to suppress the fire. They are also trained to provide basic medical aid if one is injured in a fire.
If the fire watch guard observes the smallest signs of fire like a small flame or rising smoke, they are to call the nearest fire station. They also have to inform their colleagues stationed in the compound about where and when they detected the fire. They are then to let everybody inside the premises know of the fire and help them evacuate completely. After ensuring the building is completely evacuated, they are to try and suppress the fire while also making sure of personal safety. If the fire becomes too large, they are not to risk themselves and have to wait for the firefighters.
These guidelines are to be definitely maintained by a fire watch while protecting an area. If they conduct the fire watch according to their extensive training, you will be completely safe.