The East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (ESFR) has revealed that in a recent round of inspections, more than two in three businesses failed fire safety checks.
The Service inspected 109 premises in total, and just 33 met the necessary requirements to pass the inspections. A staggering 76 of the businesses, which included hotels, schools and even a nursery, were not meeting the right standards of fire safety and were subjected to enforcement action. Four of the failing businesses were handed formal Improvement Notices, which required them to take action urgently.
Many of the issues found in failing East Sussex businesses are covered as part of fire safety training courses, which all managers and supervisors, if not staff members as well, should have been on. They included failures to carry out fire risk assessments and failure to ensure a safe means of escape.
The ESFR business safety manager Mark Hobbs told local news publication The Argus that businesses and employees needed to take more responsibility for fire safety. He said:
“They shouldn’t wait and sit back for us to come round and tell them. It could be too late by then. The responsibility and onus is on them.”
