Commercial buildings, with their large quantities of electrical equipment, miles of paper and other flammable materials, and hidden spaces that are rarely checked, present an ever-present fire-risk that threatens the safety of every occupant and visitor – no matter how big or small your business or premises.
There are an estimated 22,000 workplace fires every year in the UK, so at Commercial Fire Protection we want to help you get on top of the risks as a priority.
And whilst the safety of your people must of course be our prime consideration, we also want to make sure you avoid a situation where your fire insurance is invalidated or refused because your premises are not legally fire safety-compliant.
Here are four major fire hazards we’d advise you to deal with right now.
Lack of a Fire Risk Assessment
This is a big one, because, a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) embraces so many elements of the overall fire risk in commercial buildings – and it’s also a legal requirement.
If you don’t have a current and up-to-date FRA, carried out by a person legally competent to do so, your fire risk is much increased, and at the same time you’re operating outside the law – specifically, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005).
The FRA isn’t just an audit of where there are fire risks in your building; it’s a statement of the actions that must be carried out to address them, and a record of their completion.
For this reason, an FRA isn’t a one-off – it’s a process that needs to be regularly revisited, to establish that the necessary work or changes have been carried out. This is particularly important if the building’s layout or use has changed over time, or additional service installations (heating, air conditioning, etc.) have altered its fabric.
For more information on what FRAs cover, how they reduce the risk of fire and its effects, and what an FRA carried out by our team of experts will cost, check out this brief guide.
Non-compliant fire doors
Did you know a fire door set that is not installed, maintained, or repaired by a competent person might not be considered compliant in the eyes of the law? And if any part of the fire door set – including hinges, handles, glazing, intumescent strips, self-closers, and other components – are non-compliant in any way, the entire assembly will be deemed non-compliant too?
In short, the wrong people, the wrong parts, and the wrong approach to procurement, installation, inspection, servicing, and maintenance can badly impact the critical role played by fire door sets in your building’s safety.
Damaged compartmentation
Another hazard we see on a regular basis is damage to fire-resistant partitions (walls, ceilings, and floors).
These components are crucial for effective compartmentation – slowing down and containing fire and hot gases – but penetrations to accommodate cabling, pipework, heating and ventilation services, and fixtures and fittings create holes for fire and smoke to get through.
These penetrations must be made fire-safe again using appropriate fire-stopping materials and breach-fixing techniques, expertly applied.
Lack of a Fire Emergency Evacuation Plan
But perhaps the greatest fire hazard of all – because it directly affects the safety of the building’s occupants – is the absence of a Fire Emergency Evacuation Plan FEEP).
Once again, this is a legal requirement and sets out the action to be taken by the occupants you’re responsible for in case of a fire.
It’s a necessarily in-depth procedure that requires significant fire protection expertise, as it covers a whole host of factors from exits and escape routes, to emergency signage and lighting, to fire training, and many others.
As the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail – and this is one plan we certainly want to help you with before a failure becomes a catastrophe, and your insurers look the other way.
Contact us today to find out more about how we can help you addresses the fire hazards in your commercial building – and request your copy of our FREE Guide to Fire Protection Compliance here.
