Fire Safety Risk Assessment - News

Firex will be live in Manchester this October After a success of Firex South, the roadshow it is now looking forward to Firex North, the roadshow from 27th – 28th October 2010. After a successful Firex South, the roadshow is once again travelling up north from the 27-28 October 2010. This year sees us move to the new venue of Manchester Central and also co-locate alongside the SME event, Business Northwest. Firex North is the ultimate event for fire safety professional...

UK Fire Training has developed a more professional approach for fire risk assessment We all know insurance companies don't like paying up. A fire risk assessment is the only sure way a business can protect its premiums in case of a real fire. Fire risk assessments are proving more than just a legal requirement, as insurance companies tighten their belts against the inevitable fall out from the world wide financial slump. Unless a company can prove that it has carried out a fu...

New Kong Nam Food Production Company violated the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005   Fire inspectors visited the premises on Brettingham Road, Edmonton on 3 December 2008. A number of fire safety breaches were found and an enforcement notice was issued requiring Mrs Liu to remedy the faults by 9 March 2009. The manager of a food production factory has been ordered to pay over £20,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of fire saf...

Fire prevention in casinos is important to protect employees and visitors Chubb Fire is part of UTC Fire & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. Chubb Fire has secured an extensive fire protection and security contract for Genting Casinos in the UK on the strength of excellent industry knowledge and a trustworthy reputation. Chubb Fire is part of UTC Fire & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX). Originally, Chubb was approached to bid for t...

Tesco has been fined for breaches of fire legislation including not carrying out fire risk assessment The retailer Tesco has been fined £95,000 and ordered to pay £24,321 in costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the "RRO").   London Fire Brigade prosecuted Tesco following a fire and subsequent inspection of a supermarket at Colney Hatch in Barnet. Firefighters were called to a fire at t...

The FIA seminar was attended by people from across the fire service industry The seminar was given by Martin Duggan, General Manager of the FIA, and was well attended by representatives from many different sectors of the fire protection industry. Despite risk assessment being the fundamental platform on which fire safety measures are based under the Fire Safety Order, to date there has been no definition as to what constitutes a ‘suitable and sufficient' fire risk...

Fire Safety Regulatory Reform has created major positive changes in fire safety The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order came into force in October 2006 and replaced over 70 separate pieces of fire safety legislation. London Fire Brigade is warning London's business and premises owners that by not paying attention to fire safety laws, they are not only putting lives at risk but could also face heavy fines. The Brigade has revealed that last year in London the co...

A level of safety can be achieved by installing LD1 detection and combining it with a sprinkler system The NHBC study recognises that by installing detection to the LD1 fire alarm system category (BS 5839-6) and combining this with a sprinkler system, a level of safety can be achieved that is at least as good as a similar Approved Document B design. Some 80% of all fire deaths in the UK occur in dwellings - some 450 to 500 deaths a year.  In dwellings where there is no...

The premise safety failings included no fire extinguishers, no emergency signage and no fire risk assessment A former pub landlord has been ordered to pay £16,015 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of fire safety legislation following a prosecution brought by the London Fire Brigade. Mr Bhupinder Singh Mann admitted guilt on 16 contraventions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Sentencing occurred on Friday, 26 February 2...

The seminar will provide advice and guidance on topics such as compliance and fire risk assessment Firex South has developed a targeted seminar programme, which will provide you with valuable advice and guidance on many areas across the fire industry. As building managers become more cost conscious than ever, how can the fire industry find the balance between value for money and peace of mind? Find out the answers by attending the seminar on ensuring com...

The programme, focused on the absence of fire risk assessments in tower blocks in the Lakanal house fire The programme, part of an investigative consumer series by presenter John Waite, focused on the absence of fire risk assessments in tower blocks in the wake of the Lakanal House fire in London in which six people died in July 2009. The FIA consider that, as a piece of investigative journalism, the BBC programme was reasonably well balanced.  More specifica...

The FIA's annual conference will bring together both members and non-members from the fire industry The FIA's annual conference brings together both members and non-members from the fire industry, providing them with a forum to discuss all the latest key issues and topics affecting the fire safety community. As we enter a new decade, the 2010 conference offers all delegates the opportunity to hear about the FIA's plans for the coming year as well as gain a valuabl...

The FIA encourages formal involvement from Government (CLG), CFRAU and CFOA The FIA set up a Fire Risk Assessment Council in November 2008 and invited any company/organization who 'trades' by providing Fire Risk Assessments, on a commercial basis, to join the association as a member. This step was taken as its current members were reporting that there was a diverse range of 'Fire Risk Assessors' in the market. These organizations were offering very differen...

"Sugar House Earthquake Mitigation Return-On-Investment" shows how HAZUS assessment can be used The book will be released in July at the 2010 ESRI International User Conference in San Diego, California.Two of the FEMA Mitigation Directorate's maps, entitled "Sugar House Earthquake Mitigation Return-On-Investment" and "ShakeMap-Based HAZUS-MH Loss Estimation Maps," have been selected for publication in the 2010 ESRI Map Book, Volume 25. The poster "Sugar House...

The law places the responsibility for fire safety on employers and other people who have control of premises Three years after changes to fire safety law, London Fire Brigade is warning that many businesses still don't have enough understanding of how the law affects their business or premises, and could be risking financial ruin or even prosecution. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order came into affect in October 2006 and replaced over 70 separate pieces of fire safet...

  London Fire Brigade has welcomed new government guidance on sprinkler systems for new buildings   The London Fire Brigade has welcomed new government guidance for new buildings with sprinkler systems. The guidance would ensure that new and refurbished school buildings, including those built under the Building Schools for the Future programme, are likely to have sprinkler systems. They will be working to make sure that decision makers and the general public...

NFPA and DRI have joined forces to offer an interactive 4.5 day certification program The program deals with both existing and emerging requirements in the industry. NFPA and the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI), the leading certification and education body in business continuity planning, have joined forces to offer an interactive 4.5 day certification program that provides training, tools, and hands-on experience. Course materials delve into existing...

New Look was fined £400,000 after pleading guilty to breaches of fire safety Sentencing of New Look took place at Southwark Crown Court on 25 November, 2009 after they pleaded guilty to two breaches of the RRO. The high street retailer New Look has been fined £400,000 and ordered to pay £136,052 in costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the "RRO"). It is the largest fine under the RRO. Lon...

City of Westminster Magistrates' Court fined the landlord for seven breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) A landlord has been ordered to pay over £20,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to breaches of fire safety legislation. City of Westminster Magistrates' Court fined Mohammed Khan, £10,150 for seven breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Mr Khan has managed the property since 1997. The prosecution followed a numbe...

EPA workers locating hazardous material moved by Ike in Texas The funds will go toward developing an all-hazard multi-jurisdictional mitigation plan The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released $437,325 in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds to Cook County, Ill., for the development of an all-hazard multi-jurisdictional mitigation plan. This plan will identify and propose ways to reduce the risks of na...

The BBC estimates nearly half of England's new schools are without fire sprinklers BBC says almost half of England's new school buildings are without fire sprinklers Following up stories on Radio 4's Today programme and on Radio 5 Live, the BBC has criticised local authorities which are still building new schools without sprinklers. Almost half of new school buildings in England do not have fire safety sprinkler systems, the BBC has learned. The government...

A new ISO report will aid in the design of more fire-safe buildings Report gives advice on emergency people management A new ISO technical report on how people behave when fire breaks out will help in designing safer buildings that make escape easier and reduce exposure to flames and heat. ISO/TR 16738:2009, Fire-safety engineering - Technical information on methods for evaluating behaviour and movement of people provides information on engineering methods used for the eva...

NFPA and DRI have created a new certification program available to those leading preparedness programs Certification available for professionals responsible for preparedness programs The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI) have joined forces to create an education and certification program that will qualify participants to audit disaster/emergency management and business continuity programs against existing sta...

Two London landlords have been punished for breaching fire safety regulations Case highlights need for responsible fire safety in UK premises Two Haringey landlords have been sentenced to six months imprisonment and ordered to pay £5000 costs each for breaching fire safety regulations, after a successful prosecution by London Fire Brigade. The prosecution followed a fire at a house converted into bedsits, on Hampden Road, N8, on 31 March 2007. Sentencing of the buil...

Shell's serious breaches of fire safety regulations included blocked fire exits Shell International Ltd. was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £45,000 in costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the "RRO"). The fine is the largest imposed under the RRO. The London Fire Brigade prosecuted Shell following two small fires in the space of three weeks at the Shell Centre on York Road, SE1 7NA. The first fire w...

Fire & Rescue 2009 has announced a seminar programme on industry topics Leading UK event to hold series of seminars on critical industry issues Fire & Rescue 2009 has announced a high-level three-day educational seminar programme covering the most prominent issues faced by the fire and rescue industry today. With numerous industry specialists speaking, the free-of-charge seminars promise to deliver invaluable expertise. The seminar programme will run alongside the...

Colin Todd to the members as the new Chairman of the Fire Risk Assessment Council, conducting an interview with Colin to identify some of the issues behind the formation of the Council and looking ahead to the areas that it would be addressing going forward. In setting the scene, Colin focused on the market being unsure about fire risk assessment and indeed on what responsibilities are now faced under the Fire Safety Order, the legislation which has placed such an emphasis on risk assessment -...

The 2008 AGM and annual lunch of the Fire Industry Association (FIA) proved to be a 'must attend' event for anybody involved in the fire protection industry, with some 300 members and their guests at a brand new venue for the association, the Brewery in London. In his lunch address at the event on 11 November, FIA Chairman Martin Harvey pointed out a number of highlights for the Association since the last AGM. He spoke of the introduction of the new Chief Fire Officer's Association (CFOA) Polic...

Since water and pool safety is such a huge issue for camps that provide aquatic recreation for their campers it’s important to understand that the primary responsibilities of management and lifeguards are: To Prevent incidents To Recognize incidents or their potential To Manage incidents or their potential. Prevention - In order to prevent incidents, management and staff should develop a series of prevention strategies to include the development and appropriate posting of rules and...