NEBOSH Fire Safety flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Responsible person

The individual or organisation legally responsible under fire safety law for the premises, including carrying out or arranging the fire risk assessment and implementing preventive and protective measures.

Suitable and sufficient assessment

A fire risk assessment that identifies all significant hazards, evaluates risk to relevant persons, and records control measures proportionate to the risk, without necessarily being perfect or exhaustive.

Prohibition notice

A notice issued by an enforcing authority where fire risk is so serious that use of premises involves risk of serious personal injury, restricting or prohibiting that use until remedied.

Enforcement notice

A formal notice requiring the responsible person to remedy a failure to comply with fire safety duties within a specified period, with appeal rights to a tribunal or court.

Competent person

A person with sufficient training, experience, knowledge and other qualities, supported by adequate resources, to undertake the fire safety task assigned to them.

Plan-Do-Check-Act

A four-stage management cycle: establish policy and planning, implement controls, monitor and measure performance, then review and correct, forming the basis of fire safety management systems.

Fire safety policy

A written statement of intent and commitment by senior management setting out how fire safety will be managed, who is accountable, and the standards expected across the organisation.

Review trigger

An event requiring the fire risk assessment to be revisited: change of use, new process or plant, building works, change in occupants, a fire incident, or passage of time.

Risk rating formula

A qualitative risk score obtained by multiplying a likelihood rating by a severity rating, then banded to prioritise which hazards need action first.

Fire triangle

The three elements needed for combustion: fuel, oxygen and heat. Removing any one of them extinguishes or prevents fire.

Fire tetrahedron

An extension of the fire triangle adding the chemical chain reaction, explaining why agents such as halon replacements and dry powder interrupt combustion chemically as well as by cooling.

Residual risk

The level of risk remaining after existing and additional control measures have been applied; it must be judged against a tolerance threshold and recorded.

Dynamic risk assessment

A short, task-specific assessment made at the point of work, used for non-routine activities such as hot work, where conditions or tasks change frequently.

Fuel load

The total quantity of combustible material in a space, expressed as calorific value per unit floor area, which governs fire growth rate, duration and severity.

Hot work permit

A formal authorisation for welding, cutting, grinding or other spark-producing work, specifying preparation, fire watch, extinguisher provision and post-work monitoring.

People at risk

Persons who may be affected by fire, including employees, visitors, contractors, lone workers, sleeping occupants and those with impaired mobility, hearing or sight.

Hierarchy of control

Order of preference for controlling fire risk: eliminate the hazard, substitute or reduce it, then apply engineering and administrative controls and finally PPE.

Water extinguisher

A cooling agent suitable for Class A solid combustibles such as wood, paper and textiles; unsafe on live electrical equipment and on flammable liquid or cooking oil fires.

CO2 extinguisher

A clean, non-conductive agent for electrical and flammable liquid fires; it starves the fire of oxygen but has limited cooling, so re-ignition is a risk.

Wet chemical extinguisher

An agent that saponifies hot cooking oils, forming a soapy blanket, and is the correct choice for Class F kitchen fat and oil fires.

Sprinkler activation

Each sprinkler head operates individually when its heat-sensitive element fuses, typically around 68 degrees C, so only heads near the fire discharge water.

Pre-action sprinkler system

A dry-pipe system where water is admitted only after a detector confirms fire, protecting water-sensitive areas such as computer rooms and archives from accidental discharge.

Alarm category L1

A BS 5839 life protection category requiring detection throughout the building, including all rooms and escape routes, giving the earliest possible warning.

Alarm category L4

A BS 5839 life protection category covering only escape routes and circulation areas, suitable where occupants are familiar and fire risk in rooms is low.

Emergency lighting level

Minimum illumination on escape route centre lines of 1 lux, and 0.5 lux in open areas, maintained for the rated duration when normal lighting fails.

Fire door function

A fire-resisting door assembly that limits smoke and fire spread between compartments; it must self-close fully and never be wedged or propped open.

Travel distance

The maximum distance a person must travel from any point to a place of relative safety, limited by occupancy, use and whether the escape route is single-direction.

Place of relative safety

A location such as a protected escape route or compartment where occupants are temporarily safe from fire and smoke while continuing to evacuate.

Protected escape route

An escape route enclosed by fire-resisting construction, with self-closing fire doors, kept clear of combustibles and not passing through high fire-risk areas.

Personal emergency evacuation plan

An individual plan for a person needing assistance to evacuate, specifying who assists, the method, and where they go, agreed in advance and practised.

Phased evacuation

An evacuation strategy where occupants nearest the fire leave first, then other areas are evacuated in stages, used in large or high-rise buildings to manage stair capacity.

Roll call and sweep

A method of accounting for occupants at the assembly point, combined with a physical sweep of the building to confirm no one remains.