Fire safety & the credit crunch

[centurion fire]

Just wondered how many ukbf forum members were holding off getting a fire risk assessment/fire training etc whilst battling with the present economic conditions?

I have been out today to a struggling company whom unfortunatley fell foul of the fire regulations and may have enured fines and costs from the fire service, which would have had the factory close!

Are people hoping to stay under the radar of the fire services/law or do you take fire safety seriously enough to carryout works irrelevant of the present climate?

Im thinking business continuity, life safety, environmental?

Your thoughts

:|

 

[glosfire08]

Very good question in deed, and maybe a few answers will come in soon , i to carry out fire risk assesments etc and in the last few weeks i think ive had more enquiries than over the last 10 months.

 

[asonda]

Quite frankly safety is paramount and regulations should be adhered to no matter what. You can file for bankruptcy but you can't file for a new life.

 

[centurion fire]

It's the old "do we insure the house and hope the burglars go next door" argument.

There's a legal obligation to ensure fire safety in the workplace with penalties greater than some small to medium businesses make in a year.

When times are lean, we cut back on the very things that could ruin us.

My company is happy to offer free advice to any ukbf member on achieving legal compliance.

You never know maybe you have a service which may benefit mine.

 

[SenditOver]

does this count if you trade from home?

 

[centurion fire]

does this count if you trade from home?

If your asking does the law need you to consider fire safety whilst in your own home (private single dwelling house) with no employees outside of your immediate familly, i.e. sole trader, then the law (regulatory reform (fire safety) order 2005) allows you to trade without the need to provide a written fire risk assessment/fire safety measures.....however good practice prevails and "fire safety in the home prevails" ....


If your asking will we give advice for you in your home...of course!

 

[SenditOver]

great.. cause those fines look scary! thanks

 

[Bri]

I will be promoting our business here too soon, Fire Protection is our game too and all too often have I been too incidents where not only livlihoods are lost but potentially lives could have been lost. We provide Fire Alarms, Sprinkler Systems both residential & Commercial. New legislation comes into force hopefully when the bill gets passed by parliament in Wales 2010 for all new build residential.

Please go to bed safely with this thought '95% of businesses do not recover from a major fire'.

The Regulatory Reform Order put the onus on you now, the business owner to risk assess your business. We to can provide you with assistance to do that.

 

[AdamJ]

We do fire safety, noise assessments, hearing tests, H&S training, etc. and businesses are definitely backing off a bit. Several clients have said they are going to be doing the various bits of work but have been asked to hold off a while on their spending.

While yes, nobody would seriously argue that burning to death is less important than balancing the budgets, in the real world that's not the decision being made. Its often a case at the moment of paying salaries - without good sales staff to get the orders and without good production equipment and staff to make the stuff the business will fail, so I can understand, and agree with, the decision to back off on fire, H&S, etc. for a while.

Its the 'dead baby' argument really, where when talking about speeding the issue of increased speed killing more children is raised and there is no argument against it - nobody will say getting somewhere faster is more important than a child's life, but that's a misleading argument. The question isn't 'I put off my fire risk assessment and have a fire', but 'I put off my fire risk assessment for a few months, or even a year or so, and what difference does it make to our risk of a fire here and now'. It may increase your risk from say 0.1% to 0.2% (random figures) so the judgement is actually, do I spend money now to be 0.1% safer or do I concentrate on getting my business through the current harder times.

 

[Eagle]

The inherent problem with putting things like risk assesments off is complacency - the longer you put them off, the more you think 'oh well, it'll never happen'.

 

[JADEMEDIA]

My father's company is about to launch a business continuity package for small business and I have been typing up some of his promo material from his notes. It seems from his research that a major consideration amongst biz managers both big and small companies is the Corporate Manslaughter Act. That could be a really good call to action for your company too. Hope my 1p worth helps. Jade.

 

[CKG]

I'm in a similar industry. Commercial gas and electrical safety testing.

Some of our testing has to be done by law. And not doing it can lend you with a massive fine and a prison sentence.

On the whole I've found bigger businesses understand this and get it done without much fuss and usually their equipment and installations are up to scratch from the get go because they understand long term planning.

Though smaller businesses often just fit random and often un suitable equipment themselves to save cash in the begining and ask me to turn a blind eye to some stuff they can't afford to put right. Which I can't do.

They then continue to use not safe equipment - which I guess leaves them wide open to the corporate manslaughter act?

I should really file a RIDDOR and bubble them to the HSE - which would probably put them out of business.

So I guess all we can do is work closely with small businesses and help them get through the red tape as quickly and cost effectively as possible without putting the frightners on them.