Under state and national law no business is allowed to trade unless it has received a fire safety certificate. This certificate is only granted once a full fire safety report has been carried out by a licensed provider. Prior to any business opening its door for trade, it must have gone through this assessment and ensured that it has met all of the requirements which are listed in that report. Providers will work with the business to ensure that all requirements are met, and here is exactly what they will be looking for in a business in order to issue the certificate.
Fire Safety Equipment
Fire safety equipment refers to extinguishers, fire blankets, signage regarding evacuation and location of fire equipment, as well as sprinkler systems. The level of fire safety equipment required inside a business will change depending on what the business is, and how large the premises are. Once you have contacted a service to assess your fire safety plans, they will be able to let you know exact what fire safety equipment your business should have in place.
Evacuation Plan
No matter whether your business will be housing customers or just employees, it is mandatory that there is a fire evacuation plan in place. Once again you will be supported with this, in order to present the most logical and safest evacuation plan possible. It is not enough that there is an evacuation plan in place, this must also be made public on the walls of the business, and each employee must be aware of what the plan is.
Staff Training
Staff training is a critical aspect of any fire safety plan, and fire safety reports will always feature this. Not only should staff be trained on the use of fire safety equipment, they will also have to be taught the evacuation plan and good housekeeping practices which can prevent fires from starting in the first place. This should be clearly documented and each member of the team will have to be scheduled in for refreshers on an annual basis. If this is not the case then the business will not be granted its certificate for fire safety. Additionally there should be plans in place for all new staff to be trained on this, and there should be a point person assigned to take care of all training.
Materials
A final consideration will be made regarding the types of materials which are used inside the workplace. For example if a manufacturing plant is dealing with highly flammable materials there will be additional requirements which they will have to meet, in order to gain its fire safety report. The same goes for businesses which use live flames, such as mechanics, restaurants and fabrication companies.
Always work closely with the providers to ensure that your business has complied with all of the legal demands which are required to attain a fire safety certificate. This will allow the business to trade and it will also be critical in making sure that all customers and staff remain safe.
