Royal Mail Group Fire Safety Week 8 – 14 August 2022
This week has been designated by Royal Mail Group as 2022 Fire Safety Week, beginning today on Monday 8 August.
Fire safety is of the highest importance in any building, to ensure safety of the workforce and the protection of the building and contents. Fire protection systems and procedures are a legal requirement and need to be put in place in buildings to make employees aware in the event of a fire. Employers are responsible for taking the appropriate steps to prevent fires and guarantee the workplace meets all required health and safety standards. Premises are required to provide a minimum fire safety standard, with employers having the responsibility to carry out fire risk assessments to identify, manage and reduce the risk of fire.
SHE Huddle FY22 045 – ‘Fire Safety Week’ (Copy Attached)
SHE Huddle FY22 045 entitled Fire Safety Week has been issued today informing managers that they all have a part to play to ensure that the workforce and buildings are safe from the risk of fire, stressing that it’s important that fire safety plans are reviewed and updated and that issues with fire safety are documented and recorded. Having an awareness of the common fire safety risks in RMG building is key to knowing how to prevent fires and reducing the chance of fires and the harm they cause.
Message and Managers Actions Required
The risk of fire is present in any business and Royal Mail is no different, whether it be directly at a Royal Mail Group site, at a neighbouring property or at an address being delivered too.
Fires present a serious risk to health and safety but can dramatically impact on RMG operation and ability to process and deliver mail.
The risk of fire and being injured in a fire can be dramatically reduced by having good housekeeping practices, trained staff, effective fire safety plans and testing those plans through fire drills.
Detailed below are some basic measures that managers can deploy to help to keep the workforce and buildings safe:
- Ensure that all staff are aware of the location of fire exits from the building.
- Remind all staff of the fire evacuation plan from the building, what to do if they discover a fire, what to do if they hear the alarm and where the assembly point is.
- Remind all staff of the PEEP (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) process and to speak with their manager if they have any questions.
- Remind front line staff to immediately leave any building they may be delivering to if they hear an alarm activate or see smoke or flames and to alert the emergency services on 999 if needed.
- Remind staff never to block fire exits with York Containers, trolleys or waste material or any other items, not even for a short period of time.
- Ensure that waste is disposed of promptly, only stored in designated areas and not allowed to accumulate in fire exits, plant rooms, under stairs, in boiler rooms or other areas that pose a risk.
- Remind staff that they should report any fire safety concerns to their manager.
Work Time Listening and Learning Brief (WTLL) SFTY 22/23 001 ‘Fire Safety Week’ (Copy Attached)
WTLL Brief SFTY 22/23 001 entitled Fire Safety Week has been issued today re-emphasising the message to managers of the importance of fire safety and focusing on SHE Calendar requirement to complete Fire Safety training by the end of August 2022 for all staff, ensuring everyone is aware of fire safety within the workplace and familiar with the actions to take in the event of discovering a fire or on hearing an alarm and that everyone is aware of the emergency evacuation plan.
WTLL Summary
- It is a SHE Calendar requirement to complete Fire Safety training by the end of August 2022.
- After training, everyone should be aware of fire safety within the workplace.
- By using the fire evacuation plan all staff should be familiar with the premises, actions in the event of an alarm, actions in the event of discovering a fire and of any specific requirements on them to act as a buddy or a fire warden.
- This year the requirement is for the training to be delivered to all staff.
- If there are any fire wardens or PiCs who have not undertaken the required online training, then they should ensure that it is completed via success factors.
- The training can also be delivered during a WTLL session.
- Fire training for all staff is available via Content on Demand – in the Health and Safety section – and takes only around 10 minutes to complete.
Message and Managers and Important Actions Required
- The safety of the workforce and customers is of critical importance to the business.
- Ensure all employees are aware of all the fire exits from the building, where the assembly points are, who the fire wardens are and what is expected of them in the event of an emergency evacuation.
- Fire safety training can save lives.
- PiCs/Managers to deliver and take part in the WTLL discussion making it as interactive as possible with the staff taking part to answer questions.
- The Fire Safety ‘Content on Demand’ Video is to be shown to all staff.
Supporting Information
- Fire safety information can be found in RMG SHE Management Standard 2 ‘Fire Risk Management’.
- Local documentation is held on the ‘Compliance Records Database’.
- Fire Safety Training is available on ‘Success Factors’ and ‘Content on Demand’.
- Any queries about fire safety should be raised with the RMG SHE Safety Advisor or you can email safety@royalmail.com
RMTV and Unit Plasma Screens (Copies Attached)
The attached three Fire Safety ‘Screenshots’ messages will be circulating on our Unit plasma screens to raise awareness and remind staff of key fire safety messages – ‘If you discover a fire’ – ‘If you hear the fire alarm’ – Actions for all Colleagues.
Fire Safety SHE Calendar Tasks for July and August
All Unit Managers/PiCs were set RMG SHE (Safety Health and Environment) calendar task to complete as follows:
Q: Have you reviewed your Premises Fire Evacuation Plan (including PEEPs), checked people’s understanding of the evacuation procedures by carrying out a fire drill and briefed staff using the brief provided?
Help text: You must test the effectiveness of your Premises Fire Evacuation Plan (PFEP) on each shift and where required Personal Emergency Evacuation – Plan (PEEP) and review the contents in line with the annual review. Each annual evacuation test should be recorded in Section 3 of the Site Log Book. Template forms can be found on the Compliance Records Database at:
Q: Have you completed and submitted the Operational Fire Risk Assessment ensuring that any subsequent actions are being progressed? See guidance text for additional requirement relating to shared sites with residential accommodation in the building.
Help text:
If you are in a shared building and there is residential accommodation elsewhere in the property please send an email to fire.safety@royalmail.com with just a brief description of the accommodation.
Q: Have you carried out your bi-monthly inspection of the workplace?(also available on Power App)
As part of fire safety week, remember to check fire doors aren’t wedged open and fire exits are clear and unobstructed.
Help text: Remember to focus on fire safety as part of your inspection: carry out visual check of building to ensure that fire doors are not wedged open, check that all the fire exit routes are clear, are openable and are unobstructed outside.
You can complete your inspection across the month rather than in one complete tour of the unit if you find this easier. Now available as a form on Power App.
When you carry out your workplace inspection:
- Carry out an inspection for the site as a whole to identify any unsafe conditions and record their findings.
- Carry out the inspection in conjunction with the CWU Safety Representative.
- Identify Unsafe Conditions against the defined list as detailed in the Unit & Work Area Inspection Guidance document, however do not ignore unsafe conditions that do not appear on the list.
- Produce an action plan of countermeasures to remove or reduce the identified risks.
- Ensure suitable controls are implemented where possible within the month.
Link: –
ASR Actions during Fire Safety Week:
Would all ASRs carry out spot check Safety Inspections of Units to ensure;
- The SHE Calendar tasks have been completed.
- The WTLL and Huddle have been delivered.
- The Staff Training has been completed.
- The Premises Fire Evacuation Plan (PFEP) has been tested and staff are fully aware of it.
- The Unit Fire Risk Assessment is up to date.
Any shortcomings and non-compliance should be formally recorded and submitted asap on a Safety Inspection Form and escalated to the SHE Advisor, SHE BP, COM and OPL and placed on the agenda of the appropriate Joint Health and Safety Committee.
Yours sincerely,
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety and Environment Officer
SHE Huddle FY22 045 Fire Safety Week
080822 WTLL SFTY 22 23 001 Fire Safety
716219_03_RM_Fire_Safety_Week_TVscreen 1
716219_03_RM_Fire_Safety_Week_TVscreen 2
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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