News
New Appointment
Due to the ever increasing demands from our growing customer base, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Lee Fowler as our new Service Manager.
Lee brings a wealth of experience to the post with his extensive experience and knowledge, particularly within the security industry. He has worked a number of years for a leading national company and for the last three years has been running the service team for a Wirral based company.
Lee will be assisted by Kathy Bishop. Lee said “Our Operations Team has consistently provided a high level of service for our clients and together; we hope to achieve a level of service that is second to none within our industry”.
If we can be of any service to you, whether it’s organising an engineer to service your fire safety equipment or to carry out an audit to ascertain the correct level of security required to protect your premises, please give us a call on the number above or e-mail kathy.bishop@jacksonfire.co.uk
Legislation Update: BS 5839 Part 9 Disabled Refuge/Emergency Voice Communication Systems.
The Disability Discrimination Act, current Building Regulations and Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, all insist adequate provision is made for the evacuation of a premises in the event of an emergency.
Specifically, all new non-domestic buildings with more than one storey and/or an evacuation lift must now provide protected temporary waiting areas (also known as 'refuge areas') for people who cannot easily evacuate a building and that all refuges are fitted with BS 5839 Part 9 compliant emergency voice communication system to allow them to call for assistance.
There is also a very strong possibility that many existing non-domestic buildings with more than one storey will also require such facilities as a result of fire risk assessments, which are now required by law under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.
We not only supply, design, install and commission a wide range of cost-effective emergency voice communication/disabled refuge systems but can also offer an advisory service and site surveys to ensure your premises comply with all relevant legislation and standards.
For more information about our services, please feel to contact robert.jones@jacksonfire.co.uk.
New Fire Safety Legislation
The goverment has just issued new regulations that deal with staff competence regarding who manages fire safety issues.
New regulations have been brought out to plug a gap in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). The authorities realised that when the FSO was written they missed out a bit which was required by Europe.
The resulting Fire Safety (England) (Employees' Capabilities) Regulations 2010 have been issued.
The Regulations contain only one requirement: that employers delegating fire safety tasks take into account the fire safety capabilities of employees. The goverment's contention was that you had to do this anyway, i.e. if you gave important fire safety tasks to staff who were not competent, you would probably have been caught out, even without explicit duty.
It now means that if you fail to train staff in their role properly, enforcement action, in the form of notices and even fines, is a real possibility.
If you delegate a member of staff to do your weekly fire alarm, or monthly emergency lighting test, you should make sure they have the knowledge needed to do it properly. If you ask an employee to carry out routine escape route checks, they need to know what they're checking and what to do if they discover something isn't right. And if you instruct an employee to carry out your fire risk assessment, they need enough knowledge to do a thorough job (the level required will depend on the complexity and fire risk).
If you need any help in this matter, please contact kevin.davies@jacksonfire.co.uk
Landlord, tenant and restaurant manager convicted of fire safety offences
06 April 2010
The landlord, tenant and manager of a Chinese restaurant have together had to pay more than £26,000 at Guildford Crown Court for breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Landlord Colin Perry, his tenant Pei Yu Liang, and manager Wen Chu Yeoh, were convicted of between seven and nine breaches of the legislation, having all pleaded not guilty. Mr Perry was ordered to pay a £5,000 fine and another £5,000 in costs, while Ms Yeoh was fined £4,000 plus £5,000 in costs. Lessee Pei Yu laing was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 in cost.
The Royal Phoenix Chinese Restaurant, in Tadworth, was found to have no safe escape route from the first floor, an "inadequate" fire alarm system and "inadequate" emergency lighting. The building was in a poor state of repair with areas of high fire loading, while one room was found to contain a stack of bamboo chairs, a petrol strimmer and signs of discarded smoking materials.
Fire Safety Law
The new Fire Safety Law was introduced on 1st October 2006 making it mandatory for most premises to have an adequate Fire Risk Assessment. Failure to do so could result in legal proceedings and also possibly jeopardise your insurance cover.
In the midst of running your business there is little time to become fully aware of all changes in legislation that can impact on your organisation. The new Fire Safety Order, like most legislation, is shrouded in legal terms, definitions and requirements which need unpacking to allow you to take the most appropriate decisions to protect your workforce and your business.
Mandatory Fire Safety
The goverment introduced the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 on the 1st October 2006 this applies to England & Wales and replaces previous fire safety legislation. It covers 'general fire precautions' and other fire safety duties which are needed to protect 'relevant persons' in case of fire in and around most 'premises'
Why is it important
It is important, because over 75% of all business suffering a major fire never recover and it is now an offence not to have an adeqaute fire risk assessment for your premise. If you are unfortunate and have a fire this could not only result in the loss of your business but may also incur legal action from employees, the enforcing authority or members of the public who have access to your premises.
Your Responsibility
Responsibility for complying with the Fire Safety Order rests with the 'responsible person'. In a workplace, this is the employer and any other person who may have control of any part of the premises, e.g. the occupier or owner. In all other premises the person or people in control of the premises will be responsible. If there is more than one 'responsibil person' in any type of premises, they must take all reasonable steps to work with each other.
Fire Risk Assessments
A Fire Risk Assessment should not be seen as a tick box exercise and the management of fire safety measures should become part of your organisation's core daily business activity with the aim of making all people within the building aware of their role to ensure the optimum protection for the occupants and the property.
A Fire Risk Assessment must be undertaken by a 'competent person' with appropriate training, experience or knowledge on how to identify and reduce the potential fire risks within their premises and develop a fire strategy and action plan to address the relevant issues.
If five or more people are employed; if the premises are licensed; or if an 'alterations notice' is in force, the significant findings of the assessment must be recorded.
Summary
The need to undertake a fire risk assessment is compulsory for most premises within England and \Wales, and if five or more persons are employed that assessment must be in writing.
The fire risk assessment should not be seen as a one off tick box excercise with the report being pulled from a filling cabinet once a year. The fire safety prevention measures and fire strategy should become part of the core daily business activity and everyone in the premises should fully understand their role in the fire safety strategy.
You can produce your own fire risk assessment and guidance is available from the goverment www.firesafetyguides.communities.gov.uk
If you decide to seek specialist support please contact kevin.davies@jacksonfire.co.uk for details.
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