Day Care Fire Safety Program

Fire safety is a major consideration when planning to open a day care facility. You are ultimately responsible for the safety of every individual who enters your premises, staff, children, parents and visitors. It is vital therefore that you have an effective fire safety management policy as fire safety is achieved via this policy combined with adequate fire safety features in your premises. Your job, quite simply, is to take whatever steps necessary to minimize fire risk and should a fire occur you will have procedures in place to evacuate staff and children quickly.

You will need to put a fire safety program in place in order to realize this goal. Much of this is common sense and good housekeeping practice so should not cost much in terms of time or money. One member of staff should be assigned responsibility for the fire safety program and they should be involved in drawing up a brief written statement outlining the elements that constitute your program.

The fire safety program should detail what fire prevention measures are in place at your day care i.e. what steps are you taking to reduce or eliminate the risks of a fire occurring. These can include not storing flammable gases or liquids in the building, regular checks ensuring that all gas and electrical appliances are in safe working order, ensuring safe cooking practices in the kitchen, utilizing non combustible materials where possible.

Ongoing staff training is a vital element of fire prevention so that staff know what to do in the event of an emergency and can do so calmly and quickly. All staff should be aware of the location of fire exits, fire fighting equipment, fire protection equipment and fire detection facilities. Training should also involve the use of this equipment where necessary and the procedure involved in emergency procedures and evacuation drills. This training can be undertaken during staff induction however regular refreshers should occur annually.

In order that staff can react effectively in an emergency you should implement regular fire drills at your day care. Monthly emergency evacuations should be planned and occur without warning.These drills should take into consideration the following factors, how many people are on the premises, if any of them are disabled or sleeping as these individuals should be given high priority. All persons should be evacuated to a pre arranged assembly point where designated staff members should ensure everyone is present and accounted for. The roll book will have been evacuated also to accommodate the roll call. Every fire drill should be reviewed in the Fire Drill Report to identify any problems or cause for review.

Up to date fire safety records should be maintained at your day care detailing all aspects of your fire safety procedures. This record should contain name of the preschool service, name of the person running the day care, address of the premises, name of person responsible for all aspects of fire safety, name of person responsible for calling the fire brigade, number of children catered for, a plan of each floor, details of staff training and fire drills and a list of fire fighting equipment with details of inspections.

You will need to ensure the adequacy of the fire safety features of your individual premises i.e. actual structure, windows, doors, equipment, appliances, fittings and furnishings. If in doubt about any area of your premises seek the advice of your fire officer. Ultimately, leave nothing to chance. If in doubt seek professional help and have your day care premises up to speed in all matters relating to fire safety from the outset.

In between minding her own child and running her daycare business Fiona Lohrenz manages to maintain her childcare website. She has also produced a 'Start a ChildCare Business' DVD guide: StartChildCare.com You can find her at her website: ChildCareOnly.com

- Rene Sandan