Legislation requires that all employers provide appropriate health & safety training to all staff. This includes providing fire safety training instruction as part of the induction program for all new members of staff. Ideally, all health & safety and fire safety induction training should take place on the first day of employment. Good practice is to include fire safety procedures within the Company Staff Handbook (if provided).
As a minimum, the fire safety training, provided as part of general induction, should include a tour of the premises to identify the following:
1. The location of all fire alarm call points and instruction on how to activate them
2. The location of all fire exits and instruction on how to open them
3. The location of the Assembly Point in the event of an emergency evacuation
4.Instruction in the company’s documented procedures to be followed in the event of either discovering a fire, or hearing the fire alarm.
In addition to the above, it is generally considered to be beneficial to provide all staff with training/instruction in general fire safety awareness. If staff are aware of the fire hazards and risks in their areas of work, they can help prevent a fire from occurring in the first place. Probably a good idea!!!
It may also be appropriate to appoint specific individuals as Fire Marshals or Wardens; to have particular responsibilities in the event of a fire (more information on this will be in my next blog).
DB Fire Safety Limited offers training courses in all aspects of fire safety including: Fire Safety Awareness and Fire Warden Training. We also provide specialist training to staff working in Residential Care Homes (more information on this will be in a future blog).
Come and see DB Fire Safety Ltd at The Peterborough Biscuit.
This major Peterborough business exhibition will have over 120 businesses promoting their products and services. Amongst them will be DB Fire Safety Limited promoting their fire safety training packages.
Click on the link below for your FREE visitor tickets.
It’s 2017 and Happy New Year to you all. With many businesses looking ahead to the new year, the importance of fire prevention becomes ever more important. Fire safety is not an exact science or precise set of rules. Fires occur in the most unusual of circumstances that often only a specialist could anticipate. This blog concentrates on the fire risks in pubs.
DB Fire Safety has recently been highlighting the dangers of tea towels after a spate of pub fires. This bizarre phenomenon was highlighted after a recent fire at pub in Nottinghamshire. The resulting damage was so extensive that the business was forced to close for 12 months. It was later reported that the cause of the fire was tea towels, soaked in stain remover before washing. What had happened here was that the staff had not realised that the fat combined with the detergent would cause the towels to self-combust.
Still not convinced? Last May, a pub in Rutland suffered damage after the tenant left a number of warm tea towels at the bottom of the dryer drum. An hour later and the first floor of the building was ablaze.
Thanks to – Men Behaving Badly star – Neil Morrissey, people are starting to learn a little more about these dangers. His pub fire, at the Plume of Feathers, lead to the actor issuing a warning about the dangers of exploding tea towels.
A similar event could occur if placing cleaning cloths in tumble dryers. Even if ‘washed thoroughly’ in a washing machine, they are still likely to contain flammable residue from polishes and other cleaning materials.
But unfortunately, all too many pubs still run the risk of fire by not ensuring their staff are fully trained in fire safety or risk prevention. Although this blog has concentrated on tea towels, there are many other fire risks in pubs. DB Fire Safety provide training to staff in general fire safety awareness.
Training courses are usually held on client’s own premises, although, from time-to-time, open courses are held at our training centres in Grantham and Peterborough. We also offer E-Learning courses that might prove a better option.
For more information, please contact David at DB Fire Safety Limited.
As we approach Christmas, it is important to bear in mind that the number of fires in the home increase. There are a number of reasons why this happens. Therefore it is important to take even greater care of your fire safety at Christmas than would normally be the case. This blog highlights the hazards around Christmas trees and decorations as well as the importance of your smoke detectors.
CHRISTMAS TREES & DECORATIONS
Christmas tree lights, however small, emit a level of heat and have been known to cause both natural and artificial Christmas trees to catch fire. So; remember to turn the lights off before retiring to bed at night. If you are going out to a party or event, it is probably a good idea to turn them off before going out.
Don’t hang paper decorations too close to lights or any other potential sources of heat. These could easily catch fire; and it doesn’t take long for a small fire in a living room to develop into a major incident.
SMOKE DETECTORS
Another piece of advice is to check your smoke detectors. These will give you early warning of any fire; so this is a good time of the year to ensure they are operating and, if necessary, install fresh batteries. Best practice is to have a heat detector in the kitchen; a smoke detector in the living room (or the room in which the Christmas tree is located); with an additional smoke detector at the top of the stairs.
WATCH THE VIDEO
The video attached lasts about ten minutes; however, it is well worth watching. Simply click on the link and feel free to copy or send it to your friends or anyone else you think might benefit from watching the video.
It won’t be too long now before its time to tackle the dreaded Christmas lights. Like the writer of this blog, you may well have ignored all reasoning last year and decided, yet again, to take the bundling together storage approach. It would have been so much easier in the long run to have stored them away carefully, in their original box, taking care not to bang the bulbs together. The bundling and stuffing approach is a sure fire way of you developing Christmas tree light problems again this year.
If, as with years gone by, you decided to take the bundling and stuffing approach rather than storing them carefully, then the chances are, just like many thousands of people in similar circumstances, your lights will have developed a fault. It doesn’t take much. A loose bulb, a broken socket or a frayed wire is sometimes all it takes for the lights to come to grief and malfunction.
David Black of DB Fire Safety Ltd recommends that it’s so much easier to check your Christmas tree lights before they are decorating the tree. First of all, take some time to untangle the lights but remember not to pull the wire. A tried and tested method of detangling is to take hold of the plug and work it through the wires without letting go.
Now, we have the ‘hold your breath’ time and plug the lights in. Eureka!! Not a Eureka moment, eh? There are a couple of simple steps to take. First of all check the fuse. It’s easy to do. Just locate the fuse by opening up the plug with a small screwdriver. Replace the fuse with a replacement fuse which will have been supplied with the Christmas tree lights. Ensure the fuse is of the correct amp for the lights you are using.
Plug in the lights – still not working?? Don’t despair, there is something else you can do. More often than not, the problem is a burnt out bulb. Christmas tree lights have a specific wiring system. Sometimes, when just one bulb is not working then this will affect the whole set. Locate and replace the bulb and, hopefully, your Christmas tree lights will be working perfectly.
David Black of DB Fire Safety – www.dbfiresafety.co.uk – recommends you test your Christmas tree lights now in good time before you decorate the star of the show – the Christmas tree.
Bonfire Night, will soon be upon us and celebrated in the customary style of firework displays and lighting bonfires together with the burning of Guy Fawkes ‘effigies. An age-old tradition is for children to display their guys made from old clothes and sacking and to ask “A penny for the guy”.
Guy Fawkes’ planned to kill King James I and to restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. On the 5th November 1605, he was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament along with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. He and his co-conspirators were tried as traitors for plotting against the Government. Guy Fawkes was tried by Judge Popham and was sentenced to death by being hung, drawn and quartered. This form of execution is unimaginable in this day and age but reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason.
Remember, remember the fifth of November Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder, treason Should ever be forgot…
Interesting fact to note is that until 1959, it was illegal not to celebrate Bonfire Night in the UK!!
If you are planning Bonfire Night celebrations with the lighting of a bonfire and setting off fireworks, David of DB Fire Safety would like to offer some advice to help keep you and your family safe.
Care must be taken when letting off fireworks. It’s probably best to assign just a couple of people who will take on this responsibility. It goes without saying that it’s not a good idea to smoke near where the fireworks are being stored or handled. All fireworks should be contained in a secure box (well away from the bonfire) until they are ready to be used. Another good idea is to have a bucket of water or sand, or even a Fire Blanket, close at hand.
Prior to the event, it’s advisable to read the instructions written on each of the fireworks and re-read them once again just before setting them off – probably a good idea is to have a torch handy. Make sure that the wind and the angle of the fireworks is away from spectators.
If your celebration is an organised event, then a device called a Portfire is advised to be used to light each display. These are ideal for lighting fireworks quickly and safely, they burn with a small flame and light a firework fuse without fuss whatever the weather. Never use matches or lighters for lighting fireworks at a display. If the weather turns windy, it’s advised that the event is cancelled.
Whether a family event or an organised event, if a firework fails to go off do not be tempted to go back because it could be still live and explode in your face. Leave at least half an hour before you return to the firework. At no time should you consider lighting the bonfire with flammable liquids such as paraffin or petrol.
Before lighting the bonfire, check to make sure that there are no animals such as hedgehogs inside; and don’t burn dangerous items such as aerosols, paint tins or foam-filled furniture.
At the end of the event, ensure the bonfire is extinguished before leaving the venue – or retiring to bed.
FINALLY….please don’t forget your pets – make sure that they are tucked up safe and sound indoors throughout the entirety of the event.
DB Fire Safety would like to take this opportunity of wishing you and your family a safe and enjoyable Bonfire Night.
It’s that time of the year again, when on 31st October we will be celebrating Halloween. This is the night when ghosts, witches and fairies are out there making their presence felt and spooking us. Halloween is a time of celebration and also superstition and it’s thought to have originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain. During the festival of Samhain, people would light bonfires and wear animal costumes to ward off ghosts and ghouls. Banquet tables would be laden with food to placate the spirit world.
Sadly, Halloween is also the time of year when many adults and children are injured.
DB Fire Safety would like to offer you some advice to help you reduce any fire risk this Halloween.
First of all be very careful when choosing your Halloween costume, more especially the material and design. Check the label carefully and only choose a fire resistant material.
Avoid witches’ costumes which have a train. Not only can a train cause you to trip, it can also come into contact with a candle or open fire and catch light.
A DIY costume made from black bin liners will capture the mood of Halloween but, they are not fire resistant and could easily go up in flames.
When out trick or treating, it’s much better to take a torch rather than a lighted candle. Glowsticks are another safe option.
Now what do we do about lighting the star of the show – The Pumpkin. DB Fire Safety would advise not to use a candle but instead spooky effects can easily be created by using a torch or even a battery candle.
Are you thinking of throwing a Halloween Party. Stay safe from fires by
Keeping paper decorations well away from lit candles
Don’t overload your sockets
Take care not to block any exits just in case there is a fire and have an evacuation plan.
If clothes do catch fire, then the tried and tested method of “Stop, Drop & Roll” continues to be effective.
Best to safe then sorry. Do have a happy, but safe, Halloween
To mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London in 1666, comparethemarket.com carried out a survey of 2,000 people living in Britain to find out if they would know what to do in the event of a fire. The research has revealed some surprising statistics:
54% of people living in Britain wouldn’t know what to do in the event of a fire
Almost 20% of people living in Britain don’t have building or contents insurance policies
44% of younger millennials (18-24 year olds) also don’t have building or contents insurance policies
38% of Britons also admit that they wouldn’t know what to do in the event of fire, flood or storm
The research also suggested that Britons in this day and age would save the same things from their home as Britons saved in 1666
The Great Fire of London changed the London landscape forever. It caused huge destruction but led to the creation of the city we are familiar with today. Although over three centuries have passed, comparethemarket.com has found that the people in 1666 facing the fire were more similar to us than you might think.
Samuel Pepys, the renowned diarist who wrote vividly about the fire, recorded people making sure their families were safe, and carrying their goods and documents out of the city. Pepys himself made sure to save his precious diary as well as burying his parmesan cheese and wine.
Even though there have been huge changes to our way of life since 1666, it seems that we continue to find the same things important. comparethemarket.com’s research found that after our family members and pets, the next things we save are our important documents. One in ten people said that important documents would be the first things they would grab!
The Great Fire also led to the birth of the modern day insurance industry. As Londoners rebuilt their city, they realised that sharing the losses from future fires would be a good idea. Dr. Nicholas Barbon and his associates pioneered an early version of insurance against fires that’s developed into the insurance industry in which comparethemarket.com operates today.
Have we learned the lessons our forebears learnt in the 17th century?
Worryingly, no we have not. comparethemarket.com found that only 38% of Britons admit that they wouldn’t know what to do in the event of fire, flood or storm.
With this in mind, comparethemarket.com has commissioned a Safety Hub which has been designed to give guidance to people on what to do should they experience a fire, flood or storm. Visitors to the site can find information in respect of how to minimise their impact There are also helpful things comparethemarket.com can do to make sure your life gets back to normal as soon as possible.
This content complements a special animated video that shows how, after being all but destroyed in the Great Fire, London was nevertheless able to rebuild itself. This takes the story from 1666 all the way to the present day, marking key moments in the city’s development into the business powerhouse it is today.
comparethemarket.comwas launched in 2006 and has grown rapidly over the past nine years to become one of the UK’s leading price comparison websites.
comparethemarket.com provides customers with an easy way to make the right choice on a wide range of products including motor, home, life, travel and pet insurance as well as utilities and money products such as credit cards and loans.
comparethemarket.comactively works with its brand partners to help provide great services to their customers.
comparethemarket.com is a trading name of BISL Limited. BISL Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Address: Pegasus House, Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate, Peterborough, PE2 6YS. Registered in England number 3231094.
Just like comparethemarket.com, DB Fire Safety Ltd operates from Peterborough. DB Fire Safety Ltd offers fire risk assessments, fire awareness training, fire marshall training, fire strategies and fire safety consultancy.
David Black, of DB Fire Safety Limited, is urging people with open fires to arrange for a clean sweep now that Autumn is upon us.
Chimney fires accounted for more than 5,000 chimney fires across England during 2014/15, Wood burners or an open fire are a very nice way to keep warm in the winter months but without proper maintenance they can become a fire hazard.
These fires could have been prevented and this is the reason why DB Fire Safety is anxious to urge people to get their chimneys swept by a registered sweep to prevent chimney damage or fire.
All chimneys and flues should be cleaned and checked to ensure that they are free from debris and are in good working order before the winter months set in. A blocked or defective chimney can cause chimney fires and, in some cases, carbon monoxide poisoning. DB Fire Safety Limited strongly advise that it is essential to employ a professional and a qualified chimney sweep to carry out this work.
The general recommendation is that chimneys should be swept as follows:
Wood – up to four times a year
Oil – once a year
Gas – once a year
Coal – at least once a year
If you want to be safe from fire, then it’s time for a clean sweep.
