Dear Members
The matter of Fire Safety was discussed at a recent Committee meeting, and it was decided to put out a Notice to Members to bring the subject under the Spotlight. The aim of this would be for members to check their Fire Safety equipment carried in their units before the main rallying season begins.
Having checked the advice given by CAMC this tends to be recommendations and advice rather than rules, apart from the spacing between units. (See below)
Taking this on board, recommendations for our members would be for a Bucket of Water to be put beside the A Frame when on a rally and a Fire Extinguisher and Fire Blanket to be carried on board.
However, if a fire was to start then the advice would be to Get Out of the Unit immediately and shout Fire, Fire, Fire to sound the alarm.
The advice below is taken from the Guidance Book for CAMC.
Fire Safety
Pitch spacing on rallies must be adhered to at all times. Spacing guidelines can be found in Annex 12.
Open fires, barbeques, gas-operated lighting, gas heaters and fire pits are not typically permitted. However, the Rally Officer has the final decision after undertaking a risk assessment. The landowner may have their own restrictions, which Centres need to follow.
If permitted, fire pits and barbecues must be used away from where the outfits are sited and raised off the ground to avoid fire risk and damage to the grass.
The Club recommends that all members have a British Standard (BS) approved fire extinguisher in their outfit. Those who rally should be familiar with this equipment.
The Rally Officer must consider how they would raise the alarm if there was a fire to warn members. For small rallies, this may be as simple as shouting FIRE, FIRE, FIRE, but for larger rallies, this may need to be a temporary alarm. An emergency fire or air horn is ideal.
Alternatively, a Centre could invest in a rotary fire alarm to place on the fire point.
If a marquee is on the site and used as a community area, then there should be clearly signed fire exits. Awnings, canopies, tarpaulins and wind-breaks must not be used to join caravans together as this can increase the spread of fire and may invalidate insurance claim.