Security Officers and Fire Prevention/Fire Watch

One of the most important duties of security guards is fire prevention. This unsung service has saved many lives but is invisible to those outside the security and safety departments. Here are some ways officers can contribute. (The NFPA has guidance. See Life Safety 101)

The first day on a new guard assignment,

• I locate and inspect the fire extinguishers to learn if they appear in good shape, ready for use. I routinely find they are missing or haven't been inspected for years and they are empty or damaged beyond useability. I report such to management and document it. This reduces the contract guard company liability and lets client management take action...if they are so inclined.
• I locate the first aid kits and note if they are maintained...rarely.
• I learn where flammable materials are stored.
• I learn about fire and alarm incidents in the past few years at the site.
• I check the exit paths
• I check the OS&Y/PIVs. See below. 
• I learn how much time it takes for the fire department to arrive. 

Note: One manager/boss said after 2 years on that site: "I hate to see you go. I'll always remember that the first day on the job you checked the first aid kits and fire extinguishers."

Keeping fire exit paths clear. [Trash , boxes and other items stored at the exit doors, bikes, carts and material overflow in exiting corridors, stairwells and exits...as well as outside the exits.]
The easiest way to figure if the exit path is sufficiently clear is to allow 3 ft. width of unrestricted exiting pathway from any hallway to the open exterior with no narrowing. This can be difficult to enforce because of our general powerlessness. Management, janitorial, materials management and others simply do not believe a fire will happen or have unrealistic views of human actions in panic situation. "Oh, get real, guard person, people will move those boxes or walk around that bike as they exit. The Shirtwaist Plant fire?, the Cocoanut Grove? fires,never heard of them!" The Safety Department, if any, can help in these cases.

Simply envision the panicked rush to the exits, the bike or boxes tripping one person after another and the resulting cascading pile of dead bodies.

Inspect fire extinguishers: learn how to do it.
Fire Extinguishers are for different types of fires. 
How to use an extinguisher and "PASS."

Keep fire extinguishers and their cabinets clear. No piling of stuff that blocks access.

Many people think fire extinguishers can be used like aerosol home products...like hair spray or room deodorizer. They can't imagine picking the extinguisher up and finding it doesn't work and the terror they will then feel.
If the extinguisher is ever used, for even one blast, it must be refilled and inspected, by a licensed fire extinguisher expert...its your life and the life of that cutey on the 4th floor...not to mention the company's building.

Watch for carelessness. I have found 55 gallon drums of flammable liquids of all types as well as those with low flashpoints stored next to boilers and furnaces! I have found smoldering rags in buckets.

Fire Sprinkler heads must be unobstructed. I have seen warehouse and store rooms where the materials are stored touching the sprinkler head. There is no fire protection in such cases! (18" clearance is the law.) Fire sprinklers, BTW, do not all go off at once. Each triggers separately due to heat (135-175 deg. or via rapid rise in temperature. Only on TV do they all go off at once. Exception: Explosives and flammable liquid manufacturing plants.

Smoke detectors, alarm strobe lights/sounders and sprinkler heads MUST NEVER be painted. They will no longer function correctly. This happens quite often. Check them.

Chaining exit doors shut is a routine but idiotic "security" move by guards and administrators. Find another solution! Doors can be electronically or magnetically locked and be automatically unlocked when the fire alarm system activates. Delayed panic exit bars can be installed that open, after 15-30 seconds of an alarm sounding. [When the exit door is pushed, the delay countdown starts and a siren sounds locally...the reason for the delay is to prevent the door being used for improper purposes (theft, drugs, etc.) but still open for fire alarms.]

Outside the building are the water valves for the sprinkler system (PIV and/or OS&Y):  These are sometimes left in the off position through carelessness. These being off means no water will actually flow through the sprinkler heads! Learn how to make sure they are left in the ON position and are locked per law.

New fire alarms are supposed to loud and painful...they want everyone out of the building ASAP! [During sweeps I carried a set of ear plugs.]

If you run out of a burning building ENSURE you both Pull the fire alarm pull station and CALL the fire department when you get out.

If your job requires you "sweep" the building when an alarm sounds, then do so quickly and efficiently.Go with a partner or stay in radio contact with the dispatcher with a status report every 5 minutes. Check the fire annunciation and alarm control panel first to determine the location of the problem...unless you smell smoke or feel heat from a fire. Do not assume it is just another false alarm.

You may find folks who refuse to evacuate the building...you can not force them to leave, but if you find an actual fire, let them know. Report folks refusing to leave to dispatch, get their names if possible.

Prevent false alarms! Smoke detectors in the "kitchen" or break room, where popcorn is cooked, is a #1 cause of false alarms. Ensure the facilities and maintenance departments instruct ALL contractors to never cut the red wires without contacting them and security.



On routine patrols, close upper floor windows. This is not to prevent ninjas from entering, it is to reduce air flow. If there is a fire during the night, its spread speed will be greatly reduced if it has less air.

Fire drills are mandated each year. Take them seriously and report any evacuees' complaints (like "I couldn't hear the evacuation alarm in the 7th floor restrooms, Sally had to tell me.") to the appropriate in-house crews.

Remember in a real emergency you do what you practiced.

Remember that all these duties may be seen as "making trouble" for site management. Be informative but not demanding that management take action on Life Safety issues. Someone else will take the credit for your observations, its to be expected...that 'don't mean nothing' so long as the issues are eventually addressed.