Back to basics: fire safety essentials

The current challenging economic times mean budget cuts will be on the agenda for many businesses this year. When cutting back on costs, it’s important that businesses ensure they continue to meet basic fire safety requirements and have the appropriate equipment in place to comply with the law.

Here, we outline the essential fire safety measures businesses need to take, including basic fire safety legal requirements that should be in place at all times.

What are the legal requirements for fire safety?

All employers and/or building occupiers or owners (otherwise known as a ‘responsible person’) have a legal requirement to carry out regular fire safety risk assessments and ensure this practice is kept up-to-date.

Just like in a health and safety assessment, the aim is to identify areas of risk such as: 

1. Anything that might ignite a fire (for example, heat sources, or sparks).
2. Substances that might burn.
3. People who may be at risk.

Once identified, these risks need to be minimised or avoided completely if possible. This can be done by:

1. Ensuring staff have appropriate, up-to-date training on essential fire safety.
2. Keeping sources of ignition and flammable substances apart.
3. Preventing potential accidental fires (e.g. making sure lamps and heaters cannot be easily knocked over).
4. Installing detection/warning systems such as smoke detectors and fire alarms, and keeping them in good working order.
5. Keeping buildings and workspaces tidy so rubbish doesn’t build up and cause a fire hazard.
6. Having the correct fire-fighting equipment installed, protected, in good working order, and easily accessible.
7. Using clear signage to mark escape routes, fire doors, and fire exits.
8. Keeping exits unobstructed at all times.
9. Ensuring the fire safety assessment is kept up to date with regular reviews.

Basic fire safety control measures required for businesses

Substances found regularly in many workplaces have the potential to cause fires. As well as obviously flammable substances such as petrol, aerosols and some paint thinners, there are many other flammable substances to be on the lookout for, including cooking oil, grease, flour, sugar, wood dust, packaging materials, and engine oil.

It’s important to identify these potential hazards, ensuring basic fire safety control measures are taken to keep them safely away from sources of ignition.

Unfortunately, however safely these materials are stored and used, it is difficult to completely eliminate the risk of fire in the workplace. For this reason, fire safety legal requirements also require businesses to keep a number of fire safety essentials on-site to help deal with any fires that may break out.

These include keeping well-maintained fire extinguishers within easy reach so they can be used in the event of an incident. These fire extinguishers must be suitable for the type of fire most likely to break out on the site, as identified in the fire risk assessment.

We would always advise investing in high-performance quality fire extinguishers – the lifespan of the product is likely to be much longer and could well save the business money over time, as well as giving greater peace of mind when it comes to fire safety. Our Commander, CommanderEDGE, and Contempo brands are leaders in the fire safety market, with five year warranties on each product.

A fire in the workplace can have disastrous consequences for a business. In the worst case scenario, it can also cost lives. It’s good common sense to ensure any budget cuts allow for basic fire safety to remain in place, with quality fire safety equipment that meets British standards.

Learn more about the legal requirements for fire safety and how to stay compliant in our in-depth article on fire safety law and regulations.