Do you take Health & Safety procedure such as Fire Risk Assessments as seriously as you should? How many business owner’s out there have the attitude that they are immune from prosecution? Perhaps they think that because they are only small, any corners they cut with fire safety measures will go un-noticed? Or simply that fire safety failures just aren’t a big deal, so it would never result in such an ending?
Only October last year, retail giant JD Sports was fined £60,000; proving that no business is immune from prosecution!
The retailer’s Merry Hill premises in Dudley conducted its own FRA all the way back in mid-2014. It flagged up concerns about blocked fire escape routes and fire exits. They were inspected 18 months later, and it was discovered that no one had seriously addressed those issues! It was also reported that there was ample evidence that JD Sports was already aware of these issues.
JD Sports were advised on the measures they needed to take, but, while staff followed these measures in the immediate aftermath, they did not maintain them. An unannounced spot check only two weeks later revealed that the same breaches had re-occurred.
The inspection at this particular store found that corridors were being used to house clothes rails and crates. in one example, there was only a 30cm gap in which to manoeuvre! There were many other issues found; some corridors had packaging waste obstructing their fire exits, for example.
The staff and managers at the retail store completely under-valued the importance of these corridors as life-saving escape routes. It is easy to become complacent about premises in which you spend hours every day but the potential of becoming trapped in a smoke-filled building from which you would struggle to escape (all because someone did not take the time to move the clothes rails and boxes out the way), is something that really shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Fire Risk Assessments and your business
We stress to all our customers that their Fire Risk Assessments are not simply business documents that can be neatly filed and forgotten about. You should view them as a crucial element of your business continuity.
The fine handed out to JD Sports is not uncommon. We’re seeing more and more prosecutions in the news as the courts crack down on poor behaviour. So, if you’re concerned about your fire safety records, please get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to help.
