Business destroyed in fire shows the importance of Business Safety Week
Posted on 12 September 2023
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service's Fire Protection Business Support Team are supporting the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC’s) Business Safety Week campaign, which runs from 11 to 17 September 2023.
They are working hard to offer advice and guidance to a range of businesses throughout the county, to help them understand and comply with their legal responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. But ultimately, to ensure their properties, staff and customers are safe from fire.
The Fire Protection department's work was proved essential in a recent case study, where one of our inspectors visited a premises in Mansfield in February this year.
On this visit the officer identified and instructed the responsible person of the need for fire detection within their premises. The responsible person subsequently had the premises outfitted with appropriate detection following the inspector’s guidance.
Unfortunately, within the next few months, the premises suffered an accidental fire that destroyed the building. However, the responsible person, who was present within the building at the time of the fire, was alerted to the fire by their newly installed detection system and was able to make a safe exit from the building.
In this circumstance, the intervention of the Fire Safety Inspector was paramount in helping to ensure the protection of life at this premises, and also serves as a reminder of the importance of appropriate detection.
Group Manager Jonathan Holford, said:
“In this instance, the business owner of the premises was alerted by their fire detection and warning system, and used the designated means of escape to exit the premises to safety - without either of these measures this incident could have been much worse.
"I'd like to urge all business owners to ensure that they have an appropriate Fire Risk Assessment in place, and that they act on the findings of these assessments to ensure the ongoing safety of the public and their employees.
"Fire Risk Assessments play a key part in ensuring that business owners comply with their duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and are essential for keeping people safe.”
The CEO of Mansfield BID, Jay Rowlinson, also adds:
“With there being a number of fires within business premises around and in Mansfield town centre over the past six months, Mansfield Business Improvement District (BID) understands the requirement and absolute need to ensure the correct fire safety and detection precautions are taken by all businesses operating in the town centre.
"Mansfield BID fully supports the excellent work and support to businesses carried out by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and recommends all businesses in the town centre take part in the excellent initiative that is Business Safety Week.”
If you are a business owner looking to learn more about fire safety within your premises, the Business Support team are working alongside our neighbours, Derbyshire and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, and running multiple FREE online fire safety workshops on Thursday 14 September.
For more information and to sign up, visit the Eventbrite page.
Alternatively, for more Business Safety Advice, visit our Business Safety pages.
