Businesses have a responsibility to protect customers and employees from the dangers of fire. Any kind of workplace, from warehouses to the corner shop, has to ensure that they have an effective fire safety plan, and have also nominated someone to make sure that the premises are properly protected from fire. This person must develop strategies designed to ensure that everyone can escape from the building in the event of a fire. This will usually require a written fire escape plan, and a fire risk assessment.

The fire escape plan should cover all areas of a fire in the business premises, from detection and alarm-raising to the safe evacuation of staff and members of the public. These will need to be implemented before a fire risk assessment is performed, in order to ensure that the escape plan is sound. For example, the responsible person should have the right kind of fire-detection and alarm systems in order to ensure that everyone is notified when a fire breaks out. The person responsible for fire safety will need to place fire detectors in places of high-risk, and also make sure that fire alarm sounders or fire alarm bells are placed in sufficient quantity to ensure that everyone can hear them.

The fire escape plan should be written clearly, and all members of staff instructed in how to escape in the event of a fire. Some members of staff may be given the responsibility to help customers towards the exits. Any nominated escape route must be cleared of obstructions, and be at least one metre wide. If hallways or corridors are more than 35 metres long (45 metres in factories and office buildings), then these routes will need to have fire doors placed at regular intervals throughout. These escape plans should be tested at regular intervals in order to ensure that they are adequate.

For any advise please contact Fire & Electrical safety Ltd