Do I Have to Have a Fire Alarm?

The legislation and guidance says you have to have:

"sufficient means for raising the alarm".
So what does that mean for my business/premises?

It means that in a small building i.e. a small shop or office on one floor, (that was not part of a complex of other businesses) shouting "Fire" may well be sufficient.
As long as everyone could hear it, there would most likely only be a handfull of people at work there any way and none of whom have a hearing impairment.
You might also be able to apply this to a small workshop or factory as long as you do not have machinery or tools in use that would cause the voice not to be heard.

The next step up is to go for independent battery operated alarm points. These can look just like break glass points but operate a loud siren within the unit, some can be linked so they all sound upon the actuation of just one.
Again if every one within the building can hear it, through closed doors and over the sound of tools and machinery then they may be acceptible. You need one by every door to outside where it is reasonable to assume people would leave the building in the event of a fire.
You also need a process in place that tests them weekly and keeps records and a process that causes the batteries to be changed annually.
These are not suitable in premises where there are people with hearing impairment who cannot hear the alarm.

The final step is an electrical fire alarm system. This has to be to British Standard 5839 and installed and commisioned by a fire alarm company.
It has to be suitably specified to ensure you have the right number of break glass points in the right places and sufficient sounders so the alarm can be heard throughout the building where ever you are, including the toilets!

If you have people with hearing impairment then you have to make facilities for them, with modern alarm systems you can have sounders that incorporate flashing beacons, these are also useful in areas of high background noise.

For more information please contact me by email: enquiries@firesafetynet.co.uk or go to my website http://www.firesafetynet.co.uk/ for further contact information.

"When The Inspector Calls"

When the Fire Service Inspector comes to your business to complete an audit of your premises just what is s/he looking for?

Below is a definitive list used by the Fire Service:

• Your fire risk assessment document
• A copy of your emergency action plan for the premises
• Evidence of Staff training and Fire Drills
• The most recent service certificate for your fire alarm system
• The most recent certificate for your emergency lighting system
• The most recent certificate for your fire fighting equipment
• Records of weekly fire alarm tests
• Records of monthly emergency lighting tests
• Any other evidence to support your compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005

So now you know, this is not my list its theirs.

If you need assistance with any of the above let me know.

Please don't put your head in the sand, fire service proscecutions are up 40% on last year!

Fire Doors, Wedges and Blocks: Photo's and Solutions

Where ever there are fire resisting doors they should be shut!

That's why they are fitted with self closing devices!

How often have you seen something like this done to a fire door, perhaps you have even done something like this.


We all know that fire doors should be shut so why is it that we wedge them open? The answer usually is that operationally having them is a bit of a bind. Perhaps it gets in the way of our "open door management style" or they are a pain when we are moving stock around, or the noise of them closing to is annoying or irritating or, well there can be lots of reasons of course.

So why do fire doors have to be shut?

Fire doors initially are for smoke stopping purposes rather than fire stopping purposes, that comes a little later.

So what is smoke stopping and why is it needed?

Smoke from modern materials is usually, dense and toxic as well as very hot, smoke can travel at speed of up to 10 metres per second, which is as fast as most Olympic sprinters, consequently it can spread very quickly through out a building, quite possibly faster than some people can escape.

The majority of people who are killed or seriously injured in fires in buildings are injured or killed by the smoke.

Fire doors stop the smoke spreading, they act as a barrier to give people time to escape. Long corridors are sub divided with fire doors so that the whole corridor does not fill with smoke and people have the chance to escape.

Fire doors around staircases are particularly important, especially in buildings where there is only one staircase, they stop the staircase filling with smoke so that people can get down the stairs and escape. Modern fire doors even have "smoke seals" attached to them, this often looks a bit like a draft excluding brush along the edges of the door, it literally fills those small gaps around a fire door to improve its smoke stopping ability.

You should be able to evacuate from your building within 3 minutes, there are some exceptions for very tall buildings but they have additional fire safety factors built in to allow for this.

Fire doors have a secondary roll and that is to stop fire spreading through out the building, they divide the building up into compartments and if things go well, the fire should be limited to that compartment, most fire doors have a 30 minutes fire resisting ability.

So if you need to have your fire doors held open what can you do?

Well that depends upon the building and its layout but there are ways of doing it that maintains the safety of the occupants and stays within the fire safety legislation so that you don't get prosecuted by the fire service.

Its very hard to generalise as buildings and occupancy are so varied, If you contact me however with more information I may be able to help.

For further advice concerning fire doors and holding them open or any other fire safety matter related to your business please contact us by e-mail at: enquiries@firesafetynet.co.uk I hope you find this information useful, at Fire Safety Net we pride ourselves in providing reports and information in plain English that are easy to understand and implement.

Allan Rotchell

Fire Safety Net

Hot Tips to Help Avoid an Arson Attack on Your Business

Arson figures in the UK always rise during the main school holidays; the most likely person to deliberately start a fire in your premises is a disgruntled employee/former employee or a local teenager.

So if you have recently dismissed an employee or made staff redundant then you need to consider my hot tips to help avoid the possibility of an arson attack on your premises.

The following two facts are startling but sadly true:

50% of all fires in the UK are arson related. 70% of the business’s that have a fire go out of business within a year.

So how do you reduce the chances of an arson attack on your business?

Here are my hot tips for avoiding an arson attack on your business:

• Ensure that any dark recesses in your premises i.e. inset doorways; enclosed yards, alleyways etc are secured with a gate or door, why? They attract arsonists because they can set fires without being seen by passers by.

• If you have a yard or space around your building make it secure, check gates and fences for holes or damage that make them easy to climb or pass through.

• Rubbish bins need lids that can be locked or if they can’t be locked the bins should be kept in a secure compound or chained to an immovable object at least 6 metres from any building.

o Arsonists will often push rubbish bins up against buildings and then set them on fire.

o Piles of rubbish up against a building will attract arsonists; you’ve done half the job for them!

• Skips – overflowing skips attract arsonists, skips should be placed at least 6 metres away from any building.

o If as part of your business process you permanently have skips outside your buildings that contain combustible material then you need skips with lockable lids or site them in a secure compound away from the building.

• Propane and Butane Cylinders should be secured inside a cage, if not arsonists will put them in the bin or skip when they set it on fire and then you have a “bomb” as well as a fire.

How do I know about arson?
I am a Fire Safety Consultant; before starting my fire safety consultancy I spent 36 years in the fire service ending my career in West Midlands Fire Service as a Divisional Officer.

In 2001 I was seconded to the Home Office for 8 months and conducted a joint survey across England and Wales with the Police Inspectorate looking at how the fire service and the police dealt with arson; this resulted in the report “Arresting Arson” that was published in 2003, of which I am a co-author.

Arson prevention should form part of your fire risk assessment, a legal requirement to ensure your building is safe from fire, for you, your employees, customers and visitors.

If 5 or more people are at work in a building then the “responsible person” has to complete a fire risk assessment, record its significant findings and then act upon them.

For further advice concerning arson prevention, fire risk assessment or any other fire safety matter related to your business please contact us by e-mail at: enquiries@firesafetynet.co.uk

I hope you find this information useful, at Fire Safety Net we pride ourselves in providing reports and information in plain English that are easy to understand and implement.

Allan Rotchell
Director
Fire Safety Net Ltd