Make fire prevention a business priority
Businesses in East Sussex and Brighton and Hove are being urged by East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service to make fire prevention a priority. The call comes at the start of The National Fire Chiefs Council’s Business Safety Week (7th-13th September).
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Mark Andrews said: “With all the challenges posed by COVID-19, it is somewhat understandable that businesses could have been distracted from the significance and importance of making fire safety a priority right now. Many companies are more focused on staying afloat and trying to operate in a safe, socially-distanced way than they are on carrying out fire-safety risk assessments or thinking about business continuity. My concern is that this is short sighted and the reality remains that a fire could permanently destroy your business, so please don’t neglect fire prevention measures and business continuity plans, especially at this critical time.”
With over 60% of businesses never fully recovering from a significant fire, Station Manager Jon Lee from the Business Safety Team at ESFRS said: “There has never been a better time to take business safety seriously and to think about the possible impact of a fire. If you have had to adapt your usual way of trading during the COVID-19 pandemic, make sure your fire risk assessment is reviewed to ensure the safety of your staff and the public. Don’t let your business become one of our statistics.”
Throughout the NFCC’s Business Safety Week 2020, we’ll be sending out useful fire prevention tips each day on Facebook @ESFRSbusinesssafety and Twitter @EastSussexFRS. There’s also plenty of advice on our website and on the National Fire Chief Council’s website here.
PROFESSIONAL ADVICE IS AT HAND
Businesses may wish to join our Primary Authority Partnership scheme which provides a one-stop shop for tailored advice on Trading Standards, licensing, environmental health and fire safety through a single point of contact. The scheme costs a minimum of £1,560 a year, which includes 20 hours of business advice (£78 an hour) as well as legal advice, fire safety advice and a review of policies and procedures or training.
Ambient Support, a charity which provides care and support to elderly people and those with mental health needs and learning disabilities, joined the partnership in April and has benefited enormously from the help it has received.
Tom Harrison, Director of Operations at Ambient Support commented: “The COVID-19 crisis has truly highlighted the benefits to us of having an effective and professional relationship with a fire and safety partner. The situation with guidance and protocols has been fast and evolving during the pandemic and ESFRS has supported us to stay alert to changes and ensure that we provide the very safest environments to those we support at all times.”