The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Care Inspectorate, together with input from SCMA, have produced new fire safety guidance for childminders.
The guidance has recently been revised and updated in line with the new legislation regarding fire and smoke alarms which comes into force for
all homes and domestic premises in Scotland from February 2022.
The guidance states that as the minimum standard, all childminding settings (
as with all homes in Scotland) should have interconnected alarms from February 2022, which can be mains-wired
OR sealed tamper-proof units with long-life lithium batteries.
For ease, we have noted the following sections as areas of particular interest, as these have been updated since the previous version of the guidance:
- References to the new Fire and Smoke Alarm Legislation (pages 14-15 and 19)*
- Fire Safety Risk Assessment (pages 5 and 6)
- Sources of Ignition, Fuel and Oxygen (pages 7-8)
- Securing doors and external door locks (page 13)
- Use of fire outdoors (page 17)
- Responses in the event of a fire (pages 17 -19)
- Guidance for when care is provided overnight (pages 11, 14, 16, 19-20)
*You may find the Appendices sections (pages 20-33) at the end of the guidance useful, as it details various floor plans and guides for the placement of smoke and heat alarms.
Read the revised ‘Guidance for Childminders on Fire Precautions in Domestic Childminding Premises’ in full
HERE.
Read our previous news item regarding the ‘New Scottish Legislation for Fire and Smoke Alarms from February 2022’
HERE (published 13 October 2021).