Fire can be devastating for any business. And it’s one of those risks that is far more preventable than something like a flood or damage from vandalism. The fire safety regulations contained within the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order (RRFSO) provide a useful framework for any business looking to ensure that premises are as protected as they can be when it comes to fire.

Steps you can take to protect against the risk of fire

Carrying out fire risk assessments

It’s difficult to protect your business against the risk of fire if you don’t know what that risk entails. Every premises will be different when it comes to the risks that threaten it, which is why an individual assessment is so important. A fire risk assessment should be carried out on a regular basis and identify the threats that are specific to your premises. It should also identify the steps that are involved in removing or reducing the risks that have been identified.

Making someone responsible for managing the risk of fire

 The RRFSO recommends the appointment of a “responsible person” when it comes to identifying fire risks and also taking steps to alleviate those risks. That person is ideally someone who has control over the business or the premises and who will have the time and resources to put into both risk management and proactive solving of problems.

Give the occupants of your premises plenty of information

Fire safety training is essential for anyone who is occupying your premises and it will also be important to provide information about the fire safety measures that have been established. You can also turn everyone in the building into a fire safety advocate by letting them know what the specific risks are to the business and what to do to act quickly in a critical situation.

Carry out regular checks on fire safety measures and equipment

 Anything you have invested in will be useless if it is out of date or no longer works, and you can update different things where required, before it becomes a fire risk or compromises safety.

Create a self-inspection programme

 A self-inspection programme will combine all the fire safety measures that are in place for the premises and make it easy for everyone to understand and access them. It should set out fire safety policies and best practice for employees to follow to minimise the risk of fire on the premises and a schedule of regular checks of services and equipment to ensure that they work and are being maintained in line with manufacturer guidelines. It’s very important to ensure that self-inspection checks take place at regular intervals, such as every month. If the business is operating in a high risk environment then it may be necessary to increase the frequency to weekly.

There is a lot you can do to protect your premises against the risk of fire. Insurance is also a crucial, providing a way to respond to damage done if the worst does happen and a fire breaks out.

Our team of business insurance specialists deals in commercial business insurance, working hard to arrange the best cover to protect our clients’ businesses. Get in touch with Morgan Richardson to discuss your business insurance requirements today.