ARE YOU TAKEN FIRE SAFETY SERIOUSLY

Your responsibilities under current legislation

In October 2008 Mr Mehmet Parlak was sentenced to four months imprisonment and his company was fined £21,000 for eight offences relating to a fatal fire on his premises. This custodial sentence highlights that the Fire Safety Order, in force from 1st October 2006, is now leading to harsher sentencing for fire safety breaches. Severe fines of thousands of pounds are not uncommon. Although the Fire & Rescue Services attend more than 30,000 workplace fires each year, many businesses are not complying with the new Order and some are not even aware of it!

The Regulatory Reform Order 2005 takes responsibility for fire safety away from Fire Services and firmly places it with the owner or occupier of the building. This means if you operate a shop or own a rental property of any size, you must carry out a Fire Risk Assessment.

Fire Risk Assessments
The Fire Services no longer issue Fire Certificates or provide advise on Fire Safety to businesses. Instead, they are now the enforcing authority that will prosecute you if you do not take your responsibilities under the Regulations seriously. Fundamental to compliance is the completion of a Fire Risk Assessment by a competent person. This is your responsibility! This document assesses the fire risks to the property and to employees and visitors on the premises. In looking at the steps needed to mitigate these risks, it follows a simple five steps approach:

• Step 1 - Identify the fire hazards
• Step 2 – Identify people at risk
• Step 3 – Evaluate, remove, reduce and protect from fire
• Step 4 – Record, plan, inform, instruct and train
• Step 5 – Keep assessment under review

Once the Fire Risk Assessment has been carried out, the Assessment becomes a “living document” that requires the holder to address any deficiencies. This document should be reviewed on an annual basis or when changes are made to the building structure or what is undertaken in it.

A series of control measures to reduce the risk from fire will be required, such as removing potential causes and putting in reasonable fire protection measures such as fire alarms, detection systems and emergency escape routes. It also involves training staff to know what to do in the event of a fire, including how to use Fire Safety equipment such as fire extinguishers.

Below are listed some common Risk Assessment findings. Do any of these apply to your shop?
• No, or inadequate, fire alarm system.
• Fire alarm system not being tested or serviced.
• No Emergency Escape Lighting or not being tested or serviced.
• No safety signage or below standard or out of date safety signage.
• No fire training for staff.
• Fire drills not carried out.
• No fire procedures in place.
• Mains electrical system not serviced.
• Portable electrical appliances not tested.
• Fire exits blocked or compromised through storing of stock, materials or waste materials, seized up exit doors, overgrown vegetation or enclosing fencing.
• Inappropriate or inadequate Fire Extinguishers
• Fire Extinguishers not tested/inspected by a qualified inspector on an annual basis

The simple message is now is the time to act before its too late, you get fined, imprisoned or more importantly somebody gets injured or killed due to a fire in your premises!!!

MORE INFORMATION
For more information on the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 or a confidential discussion about Fire Safety in your workplace please contact Gary Hepburn at the RSA head office on 01305 752044 or gary.hepburn@rural-shops-alliance.co.uk