Safety First

Prevention is better than cure. The time taken to respond to a fire when it starts is very less. In a matter of minutes, a small fire can become life-threatening. Hence the first step to fire safety is its prevention. It is important for each and every member of an organisation to know how to respond to a fire when it starts. Fires destroy possessions, cause damages and even take lives.

The most important factor in having a safe workplace and prevent fires is fire training. If the employees of an organisation are given proper fire training on how to respond quickly in case of emergencies, we can completely eliminate the possibilities of fire and the risk it poses. Fire training is designed to create awareness of hazards due to fire in the workplace and how to take safe actions in case of a fire. It also includes training an individual on the fire safety procedures and the correct selection and use of the fire extinguisher. Fire training can teach employees how to identify fire hazards, carry out a fire safety risk assessment, avoid a workplace fire and how to take prompt action if a fire occurs.

A great starting point in fire training is to look into the basic properties of fire. All fires need three aspects in order for it to spread - oxygen, fuel and heat. To prevent a fire the goal is to simply remove either one or all those aspects. In other words, to prevent a fire keep the sources of ignition i.e heat far apart from anything that burns ie fuel. Fire training needs to be conducted once every twelve months.

A fire risk assessment takes into account all the small details that may affect the safety of your workplace in case of fire, that also includes risks related to it. The aim of a fire risk assessment is to evaluate and document hazards so that swift actions are used to minimise the occurrence of fire. This assessment also looks into evacuation plans. It checks if the fire exits are working fine, the exit routes must not have any obstacles and are easily accessible.

At Acufire UK, we carry out fire risk assessments such as fire training, evacuation plans and procedures and fire safety plans for construction. As per the law, every structure in an organisation needs to go through a fire risk assessment and must be analysed on a regular basis. Every organisation must designate a Responsible Person to make sure relevant fire safety duties are taken care of to prevent fires and resulting injuries or deaths. It is the duty of the Responsible Person to ensure that the organisation has carried out an accurate fire risk assessment. But if for any reason the Responsible Person is not capable of completing this assessment, they can arrange for a qualified assessor to do the task on their behalf.

 At Acufire, we carry out thousands of fire-related services annually for our clients, to help keep them safe. Contact us today to book yours.