If your business is not meeting its fire safety responsibilities, you as the owner could be facing very serious consequences. Getting a thorough risk assessment carried out, sending staff on fire safety training courses, carrying out regular fire drills and fitting and checking fire alarm systems are all things you should be doing to protect workers, buildings and property. Here are three very good reasons why:
1. Fire can kill. The fire and rescue service has to attend tens of thousands of fires in non-domestic properties every year, and many of these incidents result in injury and death to staff and visitors. It is your duty as an employer to do as much as you can to protect your employees from harm.
2. Fire costs businesses money. Not only can it cost your business a small fortune to rebuild and reopen after a fire, if you can afford to reopen at all, but you may also have to pay fines and compensation if you could have taken steps to prevent the fire.
3. Implementing fire safety measures is the law. The steps outlined by fire safety regulations are not merely recommendations – they represent your legal obligation as the owner of a business.
