Find The Needle Add My Company
Fire Safety in the Workplace
Every year fires in the workplace cause huge amounts of damage to equipment and premises, with some even claiming lives and destroying businesses altogether. So how do you reduce the risk of fire in the workplace and keep yourself, your business and assets and most importantly your staff safe in the event of a fire? The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 details your responsibility and the steps you should take to manage your business safely and legally… What are your responsibilities? As an employer, landlord, owner or occupier of a premises you are the legal ‘responsible person’ and, as such, it is your duty to ensure proper fire safety measures are taken. These duties include carrying out a thorough fire risk assessment to identify all possible risks and plan a strategy for managing them safely. You must review this assessment regularly, and every time anything changes, to ensure you have every eventuality covered. You have a duty of care to your staff and any regular visitors to your premises, so it is essential you give everyone the information they need to stay safe whilst on your premises, making sure they know about all the risks and what to do in an emergency. As a result of your fire risk assessment you will be able to implement and maintain a set of fire safety precautions. The measures must be appropriate for your staff and property and adequate to reduce the risks of fire. You will also have to make a plan for what will happen in emergencies, who will take charge and an evacuation procedure, ensuring everyone knows what to do and where to assemble when the fire alarm sounds. One of your biggest responsibilities as an employer is ensuring you have someone on your staff who is properly trained to provide staff information and fire safety instruction at all times. Does this apply to every business? These fire safety responsibilities apply to every non-domestic property, including guest houses and B&Bs where people pay to spend the night, as well as all workplaces and commercial premises, all premises that the public have access to and all the communal parts of multi-occupied residential buildings, such as stair wells and corridors. If your premise is shared you will probably have to coordinate your fire safety procedures with other ‘responsible people’. So if, for example, you own an office above a shop you will need to combine evacuation procedures and fire safety measures to ensure nothing conflicts. Failing to meet your responsibilities… If you fail to take adequate steps to comply with your legal responsibilities to protect your staff, customers and premises, you could be facing much more than a slap on the wrist. Not only are you putting lives at risk but such disregard for fire safety is judged very harshly. One landlord in London has recently been charged more than £17,000 for, amongst other reasons, failing to provide adequate fire safety measures for his tenants. Insufficient fire safety precautions and training is a growing cause for concern, especially in North Yorkshire where the latest figures show that between April 2011 and March 2012, 1,416 businesses inspected by officers from North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service failed their audits, with 38 of these so severe that they were the subject to enforcement orders. Health and Safety Training Ltd Health and Safety Training Ltd are one of the leading providers of health and safety, risk assessment and fire safety training to businesses and individuals throughout the North East. So if you require advice on how to fulfil your responsibilities under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and how to ensure your employees, visitors and customers are properly protected in the event of a fire – contact our team to discuss your training needs today.

For more information on Fire Safety in the Workplace talk to Health & Safety Training Ltd

Enquire Now

  Please wait...

Location for : Listing Title