Mining Product: Focus on Prevention: Conducting a Fire Risk Assessment

The first step to emergency preparedness is defining and analyzing hazards. Although all hazards should be addressed, resource limitations usually do not allow this to happen all at once. Risk assessments are used to establish priorities so that the most dangerous situations are addressed first and those least likely to occur and least likely to cause major problems can be considered later. While the examples provided in this training package are specific to mine fires, the concepts and tools can be applied to any mine hazard.

This training package outlines a group activity. During this session trainees will: 1) learn about risk assessment concepts and tools and 2) conduct a risk assessment of their work environment. The guide outlines six steps to completion of a fire risk assessment and provides two forms that can be used to document the process. References for additional information are included. Conducting this activity with groups of workers on-site would result in the identification and prioritization of fire safety hazards. This would lead increased effectiveness in fire prevention and response planning.

Skills reviewed: fire hazard identification, risk analysis, fire prevention

Duration: 20⁺ minutes

Materials included in file download:

• Instructor Copy