Fire Safety isn’t just important in the home – people have the right to be safe from fire in the places they work, shop, visit or stay. These rights are enshrined in law (Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2006) where the business owner or responsible persons has the clear responsibility for making sure staff or visitors are as protected as they can be from fire and that they could safely evacuate if they needed to.
We work with responsible commercial or public building owners to provide fire safety advice. We also carry out a risk-based inspection programme which means we inspect premises as part of safety consultation arrangements, or where they fall into a high or medium risk category.
We are responsible for fire safety enforcement in virtually all premises other than single private dwellings. This ranges from issuing an action plan – where the inspecting officer agrees on site with the responsible person – through to legally enforceable notices which may restrict or prohibit the use of premises where fire risk is higher. Where serious risk is found, we may also pursue criminal prosecution through the courts for breaches of fire safety law.
You will find much more information about fire safety in commercial buildings in our ‘Fire Safety for Businesses’ section and can read our Fire Safety Policy in our “Publicatons” section.
Why Sprinklers?
We advocate the installation of sprinkler systems as an effective risk reduction measure in commercial and public buildings.
• Contrary to popular belief, sprinklers are reliable and don’t operate by accident.
• Manufacturing error is only 1 in 16 million.
• Sprinkler heads are heat sensitive and work individually, suppressing fire in their immediate area.
• They use only five per cent of the water needed for a single fire hose, so reduce water-damage.
• It is estimated that losses from fires in buildings with sprinklers are just one tenth of those in unprotected buildings.
• There hasn’t been a death in a UK in buildings fitted with sprinklers.