Category

Fire Industry News

BAFE Accreditation

BAFE Accreditation Awarded

By | Company Blog, Fire Industry News | No Comments

Fire Safety Managers gains an Accreditation Hat Trick with the BAFE Accreditation awarded!

Fire Safety Managers has completed its 2019 plans to gain various accreditations by being awarded the BAFE Accreditation for approved Fire Extinguisher Service Providers.  This is the final accreditation for 2019 with more being planned for next year.

This BAFE accreditation is the first of many planned from the BAFE Schemes with many other industry accreditations planned for the future.

CEO Paul Hughes said, “It is extremely important for the team at Fire Safety Managers to ensure we are keeping up with the regulations and industry requirements to enable us to give our clients the full experience of dealing with our company.”

Safecontractor Logoiso9001 accreditation

“The operations team have worked hard over the last 6 months ensuring we meet our BAFE, ISO9001 and SafeContractor requirements and it is extremely satisfying to know we have now gained our BAFE accreditation.”

 

“When I set Fire Safety Managers up 5 years ago it was always with the intention of providing businesses with a first class quality service.  As we operate an average of 98% retention rate every month when our clients only sign up for a 12 month rolling service agreement and we have received 100% positive feedback from them I believe we are achieving these high standards.  I am proud that our accreditations emphasise and confirm this.” Paul continued.

The BAFE accreditation is a rigourous programme with continual audits and reviews and ensures Fire Extinguisher Service Companies are meeting their commitment to provide its clients a first class service on their annual Fire Extinguisher Service in line with the BAFE requirements and BS5306-3&8 recommendations.

“We look forward to continuing our commitment to the Quality Service we provide all of our clients whether it be for Fire Extinguishers or Fire Alarms or for a large contract or small client.  We give the same level of quality service to every single client no matter their contract size.” Operations Manager John McCann said.

Reliable Service Contracts (Every 12 Months)

Our engineers arrive on site at the time and day previously arranged with you.  We do not send them and expect you to give them access without pre-arranging this with you a week or so beforehand.  If they are going to be late they will call or email you to let you know.

If you have more than 20 fire extinguishers we will provide you with an Asset List in Excel, free of charge, and this is updated after each visit.  This ensures we are transparent and you are aware of the work required ahead of time enabling you to budget accordingly.  There are NEVER HIDDEN Charges or Surprises at the invoice stage.

You can find out more about the scheme by clicking here

Find out what Fire Safety Services we can provide you by clicking here

Landlord fined £13,000

By | Fire Industry News | No Comments

Landlord fined £13,000 after breaching Fire Regulations

A landlord has been fined and ordered to pay a £13,000 fine by Highbury Magistrates Court, he has been ordered to pay a £12,000 fine and nearly £1000 in costs. This was folowing on after his buy-to-let property in North London was found to be breaching fire safety regulations.

An inspection was carried out by an environmental health officers after neighbours complained about the living conditions in the property.

The flat was found to be housing four unrelated inhabitants sharing a kitchen and bathroom, which made it a house in multiple occupation (HMO).

The Landlord was fined after the property was found to have a non-main wired Smoke Alarm system. Further inspection found the property without the correct fire doors and the kitchen in a poor state of repair.

These are all are required specifications of HMO licensing.

The landlord, David Simmons, was served with an improvement notice, but sufficient improvements were not made in the required time frame.

He was found guilty of failing to comply with an improvement notice in Court.

For all your Fire Safety news and Services contact Fire Safety Managers Ltd today by clicking here

Original Source

Landlord Today

Childrens Fire Safety

Children’s Fire Safety Studies Conclude that…

By | Fire Industry News | No Comments

Children’s Fire Safety Studies conclude….

A study into Children’s Fire Safety has concluded that some young Children do not wake to the sound of a smoke alarm, studies support the theory that a certain percentage do not respond universally to the sound of a standard smoke alarm operating.

Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service Watch Manager Dave Coss commenced his research into children not waking to the sound of smoke alarms in conjunction with Dundee University.

Over 600 children were involved in the study which tested responses to both a standard alarm and a low frequency sound using a human voice.

The children involved in the study were categorised into four groups:

  • Male and Female and 0-9 years and 10-16 years old.
  • From the 644 tests conducted, 28% of the children woke to the sound of the standard alarm and
  • 77% woke to the new sound.

Speaking following these findings, Watch Manager Dave Coss said: “As a fire investigator, tragically I have come across incidents where children have lost their lives.  One of the first things we look for in any fire investigation is whether smoke alarms were present, and if they were activated.

“I became interested in researching those instances where smoke alarms were present, but children weren’t alerted to the fire.  The research that I have been conducting, in conjunction with Dundee University indicates that the sound frequency is key, therefore parents and guardians need to ensure they wake their children in the event of a fire.”

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Gavin Tomlinson said: “Planning a safe escape and having working smoke alarms are essential fire safety messages that we continue to promote to our communities.  The findings of this research do not change this advice, they simply support the importance of parents and or guardians ensuring they plan to wake their children as part of their escape plan.”

Shaun Bennett, Derby Homes, Director of Investment & Maintenance said: “Having experienced the tragic loss of children to fire within the city we supported this research jointly with Efficiency East Midlands in the hope that lives would be saved in the future.

“As a result of our longstanding partnership with DFRS we fit fire safety sprinklers in all of our new homes.”

For all your Fire Safety needs and requirements, click here for more information

Original Source

Derbyshire Fire & Rescue

pub landlord

Pub Landlord Sentenced to 17 Weeks in Prison

By | Fire Industry News, Prosecutions | No Comments

Pub Landlord receives prison sentence for fire safety breaches

Pub landlord, Tony Stearman of The Poachers Inn, Ide, has been sentenced to 17 weeks in prison (suspended for 18 months) after failing to ensure his pub met fire safety standards.

He pleaded guilty to five offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Exeter Magistrates on Tuesday 2 April 2019.

Mr Stearman was also ordered to pay £5,000 in costs to Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service (DSFRS) and a victim surcharge of £115.

Officers from DSFRS carried out an inspection and discovered that Tony Stearman failed to implement the recommendations of a fire risk assessment.

The offences related to a number of failures in the fire safety standards identified by officers of DSFRS in 2017 including:

  • The fire detection and warning system fell far short of the standard expected in a premises providing guest accommodation
  • The escape route from the guest accommodation was not adequately protected by fire resisting construction and discharged directly into the bar area
  • A linen cupboard which also housed an electrically powered immersion heater was located in the escape route.

When asked why he had not acted upon the recommendations from the risk assessor he stated he had treated it as things that he “ought to do” as opposed to things “he had to do.”

Business Safety Manager Rod Schneider said: “Mr Stearman understood the need for a Fire Risk Assessment, yet failed to comply with the requirements of the Fire Safety Order by ignoring advice from those he had appointed to assist.  He was well aware of his fire safety responsibilities and the need to ensure people visiting and staying at the premises were safe yet put lives at risk by prioritising profit over safety.”

Mr Schneider added: “The majority of businesses in Devon and Somerset take their responsibilities seriously.  However, those that decide to place people at unnecessary risk will be subject to appropriate enforcement action by DSFRS.”

DSFRS Business Safety Officers will always work with and support those businesses that take their fire safety responsibilities seriously but will not tolerate those that fail to carry out their duties.

Our Fire Risk Assessors are NEBOSH trained and available for any advice or guidance.  Click here for more information.

Original Source:

Devon & Somerset Fire

Birmingham landlord fined

Birmingham Landlord Fined

By | Birmingham News, Fire Industry News, Prosecutions | No Comments

Birmingham Landlord Fined

Fire doors didn’t fit and escape routes blocked!!!

Birmingham landlord fined totalling nearly £40,000 for breaching housing regulations, including fire safety rules.

David Greene pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court and was fined £35,000, with costs awarded at £1,941 and a victim surcharge of £170.

He had been letting a three-storey property which included ten self-contained flats. Inspectors commented that it was the worst property they had seen in the last 10 years.

Mr Greene is an established landlord, having owned the property since 1986 and was aware of HMO regulations. Birmingham City Council has frequently contacted Mr Greene to resolve the poor conditions which included those designed to protect tenants in the event of a fire.

However, he neglected his responsibilities as a landlord putting the lives in danger of vulnerable tenants who relied on him to provide safe accommodation.

While he maintained that he had issues gaining access to the flats, Birmingham City Council Officers found that smoke detectors were hanging off the ceiling, fire doors were ill fitting and fire escape exits were blocked.

Councillor Sharon Thompson, Cabinet Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods at Birmingham City Council, said: “Mr Greene has shown a callous disregard for his responsibilities as a landlord.

“This fine sends out a message to all landlords who ignore the law that Birmingham City Council will pursue anyone who lets out sub-standard accommodation.”

Original source

Birmingham City Council

pub fined for breaching fire safety rules

Pub Fined for Breaching Fire Safety Rules

By | Fire Industry News, Prosecutions | No Comments

Pub Fined for Breaching Fire Safety Rules

Pub fined for breaching fire safety rules as the company responsible for operating a Cheshire pub have been landed a huge fine of £38,000 for breaching a number of fire safety rules.

The case against the Bispham Green Brewery Company Ltd, which owns the Wizard pub, was brought following a fire in 2016.

Fire crews quickly attended the scene and on arrival they discovered a fire in the kitchen area.

The member of staff who reported the incident managed to exit the building, but had to return to the first floor on two occasions to retrieve the keys to locked fire exits.

Fire crews noted a number of fire safety issues at the pub and a prohibition notice was issued by enforcement officers to prevent anyone from living or sleeping at the premises.

A post fire inspection carried out by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) found locked fire escapes, inadequate fire separation between floors and the absence of a fire alarm system within the staff living quarters.

Summarising, District Judge Sanders said: “The lack of appropriate fire safety measures created a serious risk of harm and a dangerous cocktail in the event of a fire.”

Lee Shears, Head of Protection and Organisational Performance at CFRS, said: “We welcome the sentence handed out by the court as this was a serious breach of fire safety.”

Original source

Alderley Edge