A Fire Safety Emergency Plan Can Save Life during Fire Accidents

Nine-Storey Office Block Fire in Fleet Street London! Knowing your Fire Safety Emergency Plan is crucial it saves time and could save lives!

London Fire Brigade reports that a fire broke out in a nine-storey office block on Fleet Street, London. A small part of a kitchen on the second floor was damaged by fire.

London Fire Risk Assessments advice to customers: All London Office Blocks should have a Fire Safety Risk Assessment for the actual Building. Each premise occupier within that Block should have a Fire Safety Risk Assessment on their area to show how they use the premise and their Fire Safety provisions and procedures.

The premise occupier should be made aware of the Buildings Fire Risk Assessment and the Emergency Plan for the Building. Normally the Building Management would carry out Fire Drills on a regular basis so that they can test that the Alarm System is functioning correctly and people are familiar with evacuating the Building if and when necessary.

The premise occupier should have a Fire Risk Assessment for their Office environment and if you don’t have one you should appoint a ‘Qualified, Registered’ Fire Risk Assessor to carry our a Fire Safety Inspection on your London premise. As you can see from above a small Kitchen environment can have big consequences!

London Fire Risk Assessments is a Fire Safety Consultancy based in London. They are independent of any Fire Protection and Equipment supplier and are members and registered with the Institution of Fire Engineers. All their Fire Risk Assessors are retired London Fire Brigade Fire Safety Officers and have many years experience in Fire prevention. If you would like to talk through any Fire Safety concerns or book a Fire Safety inspection for your London premise ring 01689 890879.

People Should Remove Flammable and Ignition Sources from Risers and Stores to Avoid Fire Accidents

Can a Fire really start in a Cupboard in the Communal areas of a Block of Flats? Do Residents really have to remove ignition sources and flammable substances from Risers and Store Cupboards in the Communal areas? Or as one Resident said ‘this is Fire Safety gone mad!’

Just recently London Fire Brigade reported, on their incident page, that Five fire engines were called to a Fire in a block of Flats in Bromley-by-Bow, London.

A Cupboard on the tenth floor of a twelve-floored tower block was destroyed by Fire and half of a Cupboard on the floor directly above it was damaged in the blaze. Fortunately, Fire doors contained the Fire to the Cupboards. Click here to read more.

So in answer to the questions above – Yes Fires can happen!  That is why there shouldn’t be any storage in ‘Riser’ cupboards and if you have a personal Storage Cupboard in the Communal area of your block of flats it’s your responsibility to ensure there are no ignition sources or flammable substances stored within. Do not overload your Store Cupboard either because if there is a light in there it could be damaged or the risk of a Fire will increase.

London Fire Risk Assessments advice to customers; When a Fire Safety Inspection is carried out by one of our ‘qualified’ Fire Safety Risk Assessors it is their job to identify any deficiencies within communal ‘Riser’ Cupboards and if Residents are happy for them to look in their Storage Cupboards they will assess them too. All the deficiencies will be listed in the Fire Safety Risk Assessment report and it will be the ‘Responsible Persons’ responsibility to action on the findings. Some Residents don’t always receive this positively but nevertheless our job is to help reduce the risk of Fire.

The Fire Safety Risk Assessment includes a Fire Safety Management Plan – Significant Findings this document becomes your job list - it will identify all the deficiencies in your premise and it will tell you what actions you must do to put them right. It is a ‘live’ document and it should be kept updated by the ‘Responsible Person’ as this will help you work towards preventing a Fire in the first place.

Another part of the Fire Risk Assessment is the Fire Safety Emergency Plan this tells you what to do if a Fire breaks out – you should make sure that you and your family are fully aware of the ‘Plan’. It is a good idea to ‘walk’ the Means of Escape too.

If you are based in London and need a Fire Protection Service then contact London Fire Risk Assessments they have a friendly team that will listen to your Fire Safety concerns and help you find a solution – call now on 01689 890879.

Finding Cheap Fire Safety Risk Assessment Company May Cost Lives

London Fire Risk Assessments are an independent Fire Safety Risk Assessment Company that has been servicing clients across all sectors for over 10 years. They are members of the Institution of Fire Engineers and all their Fire Safety Assessors are qualified to carry out Fire Safety Inspections and Audits. Over the years they have witnessed client response to Fire Risk Assessments go from ‘unnecessary red tape’ to recently (post the Grenfell Tower tragedy) hysteria demanding a ‘Qualified’ Assessor to come to site urgently to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment for their Building.

Over the last couple of monthly their support team has taken a number of enquires for Dental surgeries, some Private some NHS – but on all occasions the employee tasked with ‘getting quotes’ focus on the same thing – PRICE! They are not interested on the Company’s’ credentials, if they are insured or even if the Fire Safety Risk Assessor carrying out the Fire Safety Inspection is qualified to do the job! Have we not learnt anything from such a tragic Fire?

London Fire Risk Assessments would like to suggest that all premises in all sectors ensure that the Employee tasked with finding a Fire Safety Company ask the following fundamental questions BEFORE mentioning price;

• Is the Company Registered with the Institution of Fire Engineers?
• Is the Fire Safety Risk Assessor ‘Qualified’ and ‘Registered to carry out the Fire Safety Inspection?
• What insurance cover do they have and if appointed a copy of such insurances would be required
• What is included In the Fire Safety Risk Assessment report?

What should be included in a Fire Risk Assessment are the following parts – make sure you get them all included in the price!

1. Fire Safety Inspection/Audit
2. Fire Risk Assessment Report
3. Fire Safety Policy
4. Fire Safety Management Plan – Significant Findings
5. Fire Safety Emergency Plan

If you are satisfied with the answers to the above – then its time to talk price!

Let us all learn lessons and ensure that if you are appointed as the ‘Responsible Person’ for your premise you do your job properly – the consequences of taking shortcuts and finding cheap solutions may cost lives.

If you would like to talk to one of London Fire Risk Assessments Consultants about any aspect of Fire Safety please call 01689 890879 or click here they will be happy to help and our advice is free.

Landlords Should Avail Fire Safety Management Service to Ensure Safety of the Residents

A Landlord was given a 24-week prison sentence (suspended for 18 months) and ordered to pay £12,000 fine for failing to comply with Fire regulation and placing a person at risk of death or serious injury. 

The Landlords building included a children’s nursery, a women’s centre and three residential flats. His premise caught fire in April 2017, resulting from an electricity meter placed at the bottom of a communal stairway. This blocked residents’ only exit and entry to their accommodation. 

The Court revealed that the building had no Fire Safety Risk Assessment to ‘address’ the multiple uses of the property, ‘despite assurances by the Landlord to planning chiefs that there would be sufficient Fire Doors and adequate detectors’. Firefighters also later found, after tackling the Fire, that Fire alarms were not working, as ‘no power was supplied to the system’. 

The Landlord admitted failing to comply with Fire regulations in relation to Fire doors, locks on emergency doors, provision of emergency exit routes and ‘failing to ensure that the premises and facilities were subject to suitable systems of maintenance’. 

London Fire Risk Assessments advice to Landlords: Fire Safety Management is the responsibility of the appointed ‘Responsible Person’ of the premise. And as outlined above if you do not fulfil your responsibility it can easily result in serious, life threatening consequences. 

Having a building with multi use occupancy is complicated and that is why you should consider using a Fire Protection Consultant – someone who is ‘qualified’ to carryout a thorough Fire Safety Risk Assessment.

Once a thorough Fire Safety Inspection of the building is carried out a Fire Safety Risk Assessment will be compiled. These are the ‘parts’ of a Fire Safety Risk Assessment:

• Fire Safety Inspection
• Fire Risk Assessment
• Fire Safety Management Plan – Significant Findings
• Fire Safety Policy
• Fire Safety Emergency Plan

If you wish to discuss any Fire Safety issues with a Fire Protection Consultant please contact London Fire Risk Assessments friendly team – 01689 89087.