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.

In order to realize this goal you must have a fire safety program in place. This is not a costly venture as it should be incorporated into your daily procedures and entails a lot of common sense and good housekeeping which you are doing anyway. A brief written statement outlining the elements of the program should be drawn up. This can be done with the assistance of a nominated staff member who will also assume responsibility for overseeing and maintaining the fire safety 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.

In order that your staff know how to deal effectively and calmly with an emergency situation you should provide ongoing staff training. Fire prevention entails knowing what to do, where to go and how to do it so all staff should now the location of fire exits, fire fighting and protection equipment and fire detection and alarm facilities. All your training should cover the use of the above items plus exactly what to do during a fire drill. Staff induction is a good time to cover these elements but it is vital that annual training be undertaken also.

In order that staff can react effectively in an emergency you should implement regular fire drills at your day care. You should have monthly emergency evacuations which should 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. Following evacuation all persons should gather at a prearranged assembly point and designated staff members should account for everybody. The roll book will have been evacuated also to accommodate the roll call. Finally, your fire drill report will review the event and highlight any areas that are cause for concern or improvement.

Up to date fire safety records should be maintained at your day care detailing all aspects of your fire safety procedures. You will include in this record the name of the day care and person running it, address, designated fire safety person, person responsible for calling the fire brigade, how many children are 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.

The fire safety features of your individual premises are your responsibility e.g. the building itself, doors, windows, appliances, equipment, furnishings and fittings. Your fire officer can help you ensure that everything is up to standard. Essentially, you cannot afford to leave anything to chance. Seek professional help if you have any doubts thus ensuring that your premises is as fire safe as possible from the get go.

Owning and operating a day care for 10 years provides Fiona Lohrenz with lots of material for her child care articles. Not to mention her childcare website and DVD guide to Starting a ChildCare business: StartChildCare.com You can find her at her website: ChildCareOnly.com