Fire Safety Management System

Delightfully, my Wing has been chosen to trial something new, unfortunately it’s a Fire Safety Management System, just when I thought we had all our H&S paperwork ticked off and just needed to maintain we’ve added a new dimension.

RAFAC Fire Safety Portal

How To Implement Guide

In fairness, the initial documentation looks to be of a good standard, I just need to get my head round it now and implement, while also opening the Sqn twice a week, dealing with our massive waiting list and all the other stuff I do as an OC.

Who comes up with this absolute garbage?

How can I, an untrained volunteer, possibly be held responsible for the serviceable condition of a fire alarm system that I have been trying for 3 years to get the code to disarm so I can test the alarm.

Surely we pay actual wages to people for this sort of estates management rubbish? I’m fed up of sounding like a broken record about the creep to this being a full time role, but this really takes the biscuit.

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Refuse to sign it off.

Worst case scenario they’ll replace you with one of the thousands of eager uniformed staff desperate to take on the OC role at the soonest opportunity.

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And sitting through a 5 minute powerpoint slideshow does not make me “trained”, by the way.

I agree that I have some responsibility to report defects, that seems logical. But being a “Squadron Fire Focal Point” [sidenote - stupid name] seems to imply a greater authority and awareness than I am provided with.

I can’t get keys to test call points, I can’t get codes for the alarm system, I can’t get external lighting to cover the emergency exits, I can’t get trip hazards on the floor repaired. All reported, all ignored. Yet somehow, I’m the responsible one?

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I’m reading it. I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to do.

Much less why I’m supposed to do it.

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I am going to assume that the daily checks don’t concern me as we do not have a fire control panel just a couple of hand wound fire bells!.

I was fairly on board with the process - we’ve always used the DFRS log book to record our checks. Then I read it…

The DFRS logbook is fairly simply, can be printed, and the information we are required to record them has been simplified as much as possible.

This seems to be the opposite. Massively over engineered, onerous, and time consuming. After spending over two hours inputting the required information, creating digital signatures, and inserting hyperlinks I wrote some “constructive” comments in an email, which I have yet to send because it sounds incredibly critical, even to me!

The fire extinguisher check, for example, is a basic service (minus recording the weight). Why do we need to carry out a basic service monthly, when the HSE expect it yearly??

And if I’m storing the log book electronically, how do I get my cadets to individually sign that they’ve received the fire safety training?

Bonkers, I tell thee!

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Is this going Corps wide?

Yet more work RFCA should be doing.

This is a VOLUNTEER HOBBY.

Cmdt needs to spend some serious time volunteering on a Sqn. not in Cranwell area.

Actually understand.

What a bunch of IDIOTS the lot of them.

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It’s the way of the modern world … there has to be someone to blame / hold to account and the lower down the food chain the better.

Crazy idea, but they could solve a lot of this by employing full timers at sector level. Ignoring the fact that they would then unfortunately be called a SExO, each person could be paid to look after the paperwork, H&S and all related gubbins for N squadrons, and leave the volunteer stuff we all joined to do to the CFAVs - i.e. actually inspiring, teaching and mentoring young people.

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Can someone confirm that this is a hobby and we do it in our spare time to provide teenagers with something to do and parents a baby-sitting service. I don’t ever recall it being a job with us doing things that people are paid to do.

@TheSleeplessOne No need to employ someone in the Air Cadets, they could extend the CAA’s role to cover Air Cadet units as I believe they do all this sort of thing for ACF units. If it means HQAC getting rid of some of our overpaid management and putting this money into the pot for CAAs, so be it.

Christ…
There is no ‘in fairness’.

I haven’t got God knows how many hours as a volunteer to do all this.

If HQAC want this. They can either…

A. Jog on.

B. Get RFCA to do it as the statutory body responsible.

C. Provide proper training where VA is paid.
AND
D. Pay me one days VA per month to undertake all this.

In other walks of life the owner of the building carries a number of legal responsibilities laid out in H&S legislation (including Fire).
In the CCF part of our organisation the schools (either independent, state sector trust or local authority controlled) ensure electrical systems, heating systems and fire alarms and appliances meet the regulations and carry the responsibility when something goes wrong. This latest initiative seems to me to be the equivalent of asking the teachers, who as cadet force officers deliver the programme, to take responsibility for elements of the Fire Safety system in the rooms where the CCF programme is delivered - in my experience to date that doesn’t happen.
Given the re-brigading of the ATC to match the delivery and support boundaries of the RFCAs surely, as Paracetamol has said this is their responsibility as paid employees.

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Perfect analogy from what I see.

The buildings are not owned by us. Nor are we qualified. All the security and fire related stuff should be managed by someone who is paid and knows what they are doing. Are we even fulfilling our legal obligations if the fire checks are done by someone unqualified ticking a few boxes?

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Schools will get visited by the FB and have an H&S bod on site to do this.

AFAIC RFCA are our landlords and this is their responsibility.

Could you imagine IF something happened which was a result of someone untrained/unqualified doing it in a hut, the poo would roll downhill rapidly. It would not trust the powers that be to not drop us in it.

I remember the days of an annual visit from the RAF fire bods. Lasted 30 minutes tops and things replaced, like extinguishers, if needed.

All I have seen since cmdt was in post is more and more admin…

Where is this blessed bonfire of admin and red tape.

What does he think he is doing?
Helping us?

He wont have any Sqns to cmd if he keeps this up!

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@Anton
You seem to have insight into policy.
What’s your thoughts on this administration addition.

So much this.
We shouldn’t be doing anything regarding fire inspections/testing/whatever. That is should be the landlord’s responsibility.

I’d argue the same for things like the building/surrounds risk assessment. There’s very little that we can do to implement controls, that all needs doing by RFCA. They should have “ownership” for the safety of the building.

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I seriously worry about this. As a potential future OC I really feel current OC’s should push back on this creep of responsibility, and hard.

So many will just complete it all for an easy life, but what additional responsibility are you accepting.

In a court, if your signature is against documents of you taking ownership of alarms etc that are not your responsibility in reality, or fire extinguishers etc, with 30 dead cadets ‘cause none of it worked… and you’ve signed to take responsibility with no control over what RFCA do, when testing happened etc…

RFCA and the WExO are sure to throw you under the bus and ruin your life. No exaggeration.

I see things like this and feel a. Concerned that it’ll just become the norm. And b. Sickened that perm staff feel this acceptable.

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Sadly it’s another yet reason that fewer people will want to be, or stay as, OCs. As the admin increases, the fun part of the role reduces and the OC role becomes more like a full-time job in a bad company with awful managers.

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