What are the steps your business must take to mitigate fire risk, ensuring regulatory and insurance compliance?
We all know that fire is one of the most devastating forces of nature, causing considerable and often irreparable damage. It costs the insurance industry millions each year in claim pay-outs, but the cost to landlords and businesses is unimaginable, going far beyond financial implications. To reduce potential fire risks in your workplace, comply with health and safety regulations and to ensure your insurance is valid, there are several steps you should take. Here’s our checklist:
How to prevent fires in the workplace
1. Carry out regular fire safety risk assessments
The starting point for any fire reduction strategy is to carry out a risk assessment. This identifies issues and highlights where / what measures should be put into place, taking into account your employees and whether third parties (patients, customers, etc) frequent your premises. An invaluable source of information is the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website. Assessments should be carried out regularly.
2. Foster a culture of shared responsibility
Whether or not you have a dedicated Fire Officer at the workplace, it’s key to impress upon all staff that safety is a joint responsibility. Training provision ought to make clear the reporting process and emphasise any forbidden activities (i.e. bringing own electrical devices, smoking near certain areas).
3. Arrange routine cleaning
Dirt can be a fire hazard, whether it’s the grease from a kitchen extraction system or dusty cobwebs veiling electrical systems. Routine, expert cleaning is the easy way to remove these hazards, while scheduled deep cleans offer greater assurance of safety and hygiene.
4. Regularly inspect electrical equipment
One of the biggest causes of workplace fires is faulty electrics, so every plug, machine, device needs to be regularly tested. For smaller appliances / equipment, this could be a simple, visual Portable Appliance Test (PAT), detecting loose wiring or overloaded sockets. Larger machinery would require more detailed inspections and testing. Again, HSE has more specific advice.
5. Ensure effective cigarette disposal
Thoughtlessly discarded cigarette butts or lit matches are a huge risk to your business. While workplace smoking is now only permissible in a defined, ventilated area, not all of these have effective disposal options. To prevent risk and littering, metal cigarette bins and adequate signage should be used to encourage responsible and safe stubbing-out.
6. Store combustibles properly
If your business works with dangerous substances or combustibles, these must be stored safely away from heat sources or electrical outlets to prevent the unthinkable from happening. Adequate storage, shelving and ventilation is important.
Fire risk management in the workplace is a complicated, wide-ranging task, but these steps should serve as a basis for your plans. Should an incident occur, it’s good to know that REACT offers a specialist fire and smoke restoration service to insurers, FM teams and businesses alike. Our experts employ insurance-approved fire restoration techniques to minimise further damage and expedite a safe return to the workplace.
Let us help you keep your building safe from fire. Call us on 01283 550503 or send us a message online.
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