In a recent blog of ours, we spoke about how often fire extinguishers need to be serviced. It can be surprising just how regularly they need to be checked and serviced. However, they’re a vital piece of equipment in the protection of people and businesses, so neglecting a fire extinguisher’s maintenance could result in a disaster.

Ensuring your business premises are compliant with Fire Safety legislation is essential.

Under past legislation, the Fire Authority would issue a Fire Safety Certificate to demonstrate that the workplace met the required standards of fire safety. 

Your workplace should be a safe environment for everyone: yourself, your employees, your colleagues and any customers you have entering the premises. If you are the business owner or employer you will find that responsibility for fire safety in the workplace, by default, falls on your shoulders.

Of course it’s vital to comply with Fire Safety Legislation. However having the correct equipment installed will also give you peace of mind from knowing that you have minimised the risk of harm to staff and property caused by incorrect extinguisher selection.

As an employer you have a seemingly endless list of responsibilities. None of these responsibilities are more important or have more costly ramifications than the safety of your employees. Your responsibilities therefore branch into training employees in the use of equipment, including fire extinguishers

Fire Risk AssessmentIn an ideal world every member of a company would be responsible for fire safety. Every employee and employer would ensure they were following process and procedure and demonstrating an awareness of the risks that can lead to fires.

In reality, it is probably more likely that the majority of employees are not completely familiar with fire procedures and certainly will not be up to speed on the responsibilities of the ‘responsible’ person as detailed in the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005.

You have to routinely inspect and maintain the equipment to ensure that it will function correctly in an emergency. These requirements are set out in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The hard truth is that most fire alarm and detection systems do not actually cause the false alarms – it is much more likely that it is due to mismanagement, lack of training and an absence of responsibility and procedures.

So, what do you need to know and consider in relation to false fire alarms?

Fire risk assessments and awareness training are an important part of any business. They ensure that employees are educated as to the hazards and fire risks within a workplace. They educate staff in ways to reduce these risks, how to act in the event of a fire, and how to identify people that are most at risk in a fire situation.

Throughout your everyday life, you will walk through a number of fire doors - at work, in public buildings, shops etc. If you look closely, you’ll notice that a vast majority of these doors are labelled ‘Keep shut”.

But why are fire doors meant to be kept closed? It might make sense to assume that in the event of a fire, having doors open allows a more effective evacuation route for people inside the building.