A fire watch guard is essential in any commercial building, occupied or unoccupied, for a variety of reasons. From a safety and legal standpoint, managing the fire risk is a top priority in building management. You might also be interested to try this service: Fire Watch Guards
A fire watch guard, also known as a waking watch guard, acts as a crucial safety measure in managing situations where the in-built system is bypassed in one of many potential situations, thereby increasing the risk of fire. Any professional and reputable organization will have comprehensive fire procedures for managing fire risk and emergency situations.
Fire watch guards are primarily in place to support the procedures you have implemented and can be employed on a permanent or temporary basis depending on your needs. Common fire risks in an organization However, they are also able to provide essential services in situations where there is a particularly high risk of fire or when an internal system, such as a fire alarm system or water sprinkler system, is temporarily unavailable. As a result, the fire watch guard is required to protect people and property from fire, which could be caused by:
The responsibilities of a fire watch guard The primary responsibilities of a fire watch guard are therefore based on prevention and can be summarized as follows:
Inappropriate storage—materials and liquids
People smoking
Lack of safety equipment
Arson/mischief
Poor workmanship
Poor safety procedures
Surveillance: Constant patrols both inside and outside the building, with a focus on high-risk areas like warehouse storage and hot work areas, such as cutting or welding, as well as electrical work
Monitor safety controls: The fire watch guard is in charge of keeping an eye on and fixing fire safety procedures and equipment. As a result, they ought to check frequently to make sure that fire extinguishers are in place and working, that fire exits are not blocked or locked, and that the water sprinkler system and fire alarm system are working. Because these systems aren’t working, which is already known, it’s possible that the fire watch guard has been deployed.
Trigger emergency plan: The fire watch guard is obligated to implement the emergency plan whenever a hazard has been identified and a fire situation has developed. The first step is to sound the alarm, get in touch with the fire department, and get in touch with the organization’s and building’s appropriate management.
Support for the evacuation: The building must be evacuated as soon as the alarm goes off. In order to calmly follow emergency procedures, the fire watch guard will be instructed to evacuate the building, account for all personnel, assemble them in the appropriate location, and ensure that the building is empty.
Documentation: The fire watch guard is obligated to keep records and keep logs following the safe evacuation of the building, keeping in mind that the incident could have occurred outside of normal business hours. Management must be informed of this, and it can help improve health and safety training.
These are the fundamental duties that are expected of a fire watch guard and can be applied to any kind of building. Of course, every organization and building is unique, and a fire watch guard will face unique challenges in each one. You can contact our company for expert fire watch services with personnel who have been trained and certified. We can talk about your needs and how we can protect your business from the risk of fire in any situation.
