Reduce your risk - it's the law

Added: (Thu Aug 15 2002)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Firesmart offers low cost solution for compulsory Fire Risk Assessment


A new online risk assessment service solves a potentially disastrous problem for growing businesses. Firesmart Ltd have launched www.firesmart.co.uk to provide an online fire risk assessment enabling the users to achieve legal compliance for only £100 per site.

Three quarters of the UK’s businesses are breaking the law, according to Firesmart’s research. It shows that 78% of UK companies have still not completed a Fire Risk assessment, as required by an amendment to the Fire Precautions [Workplace] regulations published as long ago as December 1999.

Firesmart’s research also shows that 8 out of 10 businesses that experience a fire go bust within a year. Conducting a fire risk assessment can reduce the danger of fire so significantly that some leading insurance companies are offering premium discounts to companies that complete one.

“The major issue is one of awareness,” says Firesmart managing director Peter Wilson. “Most small and medium-sized businesses do not know that they have a legal obligation to conduct one of these assessments. Yet the consequences of not doing one can be dire, not least because the directors or partners can be held personally liable in the event of an injury or death arising from a fire at their premises.”

A fire risk assessment is not the same as fire certification. It is a process that requires a responsible individual to examine all the sites where people work and identify potential fire hazards. These may include anything from a waste-paper basket placed near a heater to potential sources of fire that are not correctly marked as dangerous.

The law is enforced by the Fire Services in each region, but they are no longer responsible for conducting the risk assessments themselves. The amendment makes business owners responsible, but as a consequence of the lack of awareness, industrial fires have shown a substantial increase since the regulations were changed.

Says Peter Wilson: “Previously, the only solution was to buy a book, or perhaps a CD, written in language aimed primarily at health and safety specialists. Or you could call in any one of countless consultants with widely varying levels of expertise and knowledge.

“The intention with our service is to provide a comprehensive and properly compliant fire risk assessment quickly and at low cost. Our online assessment can be completed in around an hour and produces a hard copy that can be kept and produced when it is required by law or an insurance company.”

As part of the Firesmart online assessment, potential hazards are highlighted and remedial actions are recommended. “Because we are impartial, our users can be sure that we have no interest in selling them fire extinguishers or signage that they do not need,” adds Peter Wilson.

The Website is driven by a powerful database engine which can also provide a valuable health and safety resource. Once an assessment has been completed, the data can be stored and interrogated repeatedly, making updates and changes easier to manage.

This feature is of particular value to organisations with multiple sites, such as branch offices or regional warehouses. Health and safety managers can keep central records of all the information captured by each assessment and build a corporate risk assessment strategy from a single, automatically updated source.

“You do not need to be a health and safety specialist to use this site,” says Peter Wilson. “With Firesmart, non-specialists can conduct the onsite assessments and if required they can contact our online consultant for help and advice.”

Users can visit www.firesmart.co.uk and complete their assessment immediately by registering. The fee of £100 covers a year’s usage, including unlimited access to a consultant. The assessment does not need to be completed in a single session. Once registered, users can re-visit and make changes and updates as often as required each year.

Firesmart is recognised by fire services and insurance companies. Full details of the service, the regulations and their implications for business are shown on the site.

ENDS

Issued: 15 August 2002
Further information: www.firesmart.co.uk
Press contact: Stuart Constable, The Path, 01628 898777. e-mail stu@pathad.co.uk.