FASS News

Fire and Safety Solutions are proud to be associated with the prestigious 61st London Film Festival event by supplying portable fire extinguishers on site. Last years event and the Victoria Embankment Gardens saw 22,000 attendances, so with an even larger number expected for the 2017 event, ensuring the safety of all those attending is paramount to all involved.

FASS have many years of experience in assessing the and supplying the right fire safety equipment for all kind of events, big and small, giving the organsiers peace of mind that not only do they comply with the current fire safety legislation, but also the equipment supplied is of the highest quality.

If you would like further information on how FASS can help you with your event, or for any other fire and safety related query, please contact us on 0800 298 0258 or through our Get In Touch page.

Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd are pleased to announce our new look company brochure which is available to download on all of our product pages throughout our website or can be sent to you direct in printed form from our head office. The new brochure not only incorporates our company branding, it also showcases our core products with clear information on their specification and intended application, supported by high quality photographs.

Speaking on the launch of the new brochure, Paul Wilkinson, Managing Director of Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd said; “I’m really proud of our new look brochure, not only will it enable clients to see at a glance our core products and services, it also brings to attention some of our newer products such as the Prestige polished chrome and metal finished fire extinguisher range. Whilst it’s not an exhaustive list of everything we can offer clients, I hope it gives a feel for FASS as a company and our commitment to quality in everything we do”.

To obtain your free copy you can either download a web quality copy of the brochure by clicking here or if you would like a printed copy sending out to you, please call us for free on 0800 298 0258.

It’s something a lot of us do. We need a job doing that requires the knowledge of an expert to carry it out – for example Fire Extinguisher Servicing – so we go online and search for that service and are pleased to see a company that appears to be approachable and knowledgeable. It says all of the right things on the website, X number of years of Fire and Safety experience, a reliable service, high quality extinguishers and to seal the deal they even promise that you will be fully satisfied. What more could you ask for?…

Well, the one thing you really need to ask for is to ensure that the person carrying out any Fire and Safety work at your premises, from fire extinguisher servicing to fire alarm installation, is fully qualified with the correct, up to date industry specific certificates to prove they are fully competent in carrying out the job you are paying for. It’s a serious issue, an incorrectly installed or serviced device could prove fatal or at the very least invalidate your buildings insurance, neither scenario would be desirable for anyone.

All too often we are made aware of companies who only have one approved technician, sending out a small team of unqualified technicians to carry out a job then getting ‘Bob who’s qualified’ to check their work. We feel this is unacceptable as often in an installation some of the items are hidden and obscured so can not easily be checked after the installation. It is therefor essential that anyone carrying out the work is knowledgeable and independently approved – so before you pick up the phone to speak to the first company you find online, can you be sure their staff are fully qualified?

At Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd we believe everyone working as a technician for us must be qualified in their relevant area and that means everyone – which is why our MD, Paul Wilkinson is leading by example and has recently had his BAFE Qualification renewed and approved again. So if you want a company that is experienced, reliable, promises that you will be completely satisfied AND has fully qualified technicians, please get in touch via the website or contact FASS on freephone 0800 298 0258.

Fires in both domestic and commercial buildings are sadly an everyday occurrence in the UK, the majority of which could be avoided by carrying out correct fire safety precautions. So at Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd when we read of a recent devastating fire at a town centre café, it highlighted one of the horrendous facts about fire that many people overlook when they consider the impact with fire.

In this instance, a fire broke out at Café Piccola in Epsom High Street and whilst fortunately there were no fatalities, one person was treated for burns following the fire. Many of the eyewitness accounts stated that whilst there were visible flames, the smoke from the fire filled the air and surrounding buildings, especially as the fire was extinguished.

This is the point we would like to highlight at Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd, that when someone chooses to cut corners or ignore fire regulations and fire safety precautions, it’s not just peoples lives and their own building that are put at serious risk, but the neighbouring buildings too.

One of the most destructive things about fire is the water damage and the smoke damage – smoke especially as this is one of the key causes of death or serious illness in a fire. Fortunately most people will not have seen just how utterly devastating fire is and at FASS we hope that remains the case, but from our extensive industry experience and exposure to fire it is hard to put in to words the sheer destructive nature of a fire and the consequent smoke and water damage.

As mentioned at the start of the article, this is mostly avoidable. Fires frequently break out due to the careless actions or inaction, in terms of putting in place appropriate fire safety equipment and training, by building owners or business owners.

This is where FASS can help. We are experts in Fire Safety with a long, proven track record and extensive industry experience. We can advise you through a fire safety survey where your current fire equipment and procedures can be improved to meet or exceed current fire regulations and test, service or supply fire safety equipment such as fire alarms or fire extinguishers. In addition we can offer a range if fire safety training courses from standard courses to bespoke courses, to train attendees of how to tackle fire and stay safe and how to prevent fire from occurring.

As the old adage says, ‘prevention is better than cure’. Fire prevention is a responsibility every building or business owner must take seriously to avoid the devastating impact of fire, not only to life or your building, but those around you too. For further information on how FASS can help you, please contact us to arrange a Fire Safety Survey or for an informal, no obligation chat. We look forward to hearing from you.

A recent news item reported on the tragic case of a young worker, just 21 years old, at a distillery who suffered twenty percent burns to his head, neck and hands after being engulfed in flames when ethyl acetate – a highly flammable liquid – was being transferred from a bulk storage tank into an intermediate bulk container.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident and found that the most likely source of ignition was a discharge of static electricity caused by the transfer of the liquid. In addition to the young mans injuries, the fire destroyed the warehouse and caused damaged to nearby cars and houses.

The HSE’s investigation discovered poor maintenance of pipework and associated valves, plus a failure to competently inspect the equipment or monitor the systems of work. Alcohols Limited, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £270,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,009.

This caused some discussion here at FASS between those members of the team who carry out Fire Safety Assessments and Risk Assessments and the consensus of opinion was that many people believe that by having the mandatory number of fire extinguishers and fire alarms, they have done all that is reasonable possible to reduce the risk of fire.

Whilst we always please to hear when people are aware of the need for alarms and extinguishers, we would also encourage them to think beyond that and this is where using a company such as FASS will help. We will work with you to consider the additional items that you may not think about in terms of ignition points or dangers, plus also we have a whole range of fire detection and extinguishing products that are specific to industries.

For example, if you have a server or IT room in your office you may CO2 extinguishers in the corner of the room, ready to tackle a fire should one break out. But what if you weren’t in the room? What if the fire started whilst you were in the next room or grabbing a coffee? For situations like this we can offer a fully automated specialist fire suppression system that would react automatically and extinguish the fire faster that you could react.

Or, if you have machinery we have a solution for that, or a kitchen where a fat fire could spread rapidly… we have a suppression system and solution for that too. It’s not just fire suppression systems, we have a whole range of other items such as specific multi-chemical fire extinguishers for specific applications or fire safety training to help your staff understand the dangers and stay safe in the event of a fire or it could simply be some advice that we can offer with regards to maintenance and checks that need to be carried out to reduce a fire risk.

If you would like further information on any of our solutions, from fire alarms to extinguishers, fire risk assessments to fire safety training or even a fire risk assessment, please get in contact with us and we would be only too happy to help.

Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd are pleased to publicise that we will be exhibiting at the Universities Safety and Health Association (USHA) Fire Group Seminar 2016 on Tuesday the 7^th and Wednesday the 8^th of June 2016 at the East Sussex National at Uckfield, East Sussex.

The Universities Safety and Health Association (USHA) key aim is to promote safety and health in higher education to ensure the wellbeing of university staff, students and visitors. USHA is t the forefront of consultation and lobbying on national policies, offering members a community of support, knowledge sharing and networking.

A key part of health and safety is Fire Safety and the theme for this event is ‘Compliance’ which is an area that FASS are always keen to emphasise. Fire and Safety compliance is a core area that FASS can assist you with, so that rather than just simply confirming you meet the minimum obligations, we work with you to ensure that all aspects of compliance and potential risk have been considered and minimised or removed.

If you would like further details about this conference, please visit the dedicated website at http://www.usha.org.uk or if you would like further information about Fire and Safety compliance, please contact us.