Industry News

At Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd we pride ourselves on our quality of work and the competency of our highly skilled engineers, always ensuring that each of our staff have the relevant qualifications and certifications to carry out fire safety work on your site safely. One such certification scheme is the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) which provides proof that the individual working meets the required standard and has all of the right qualifications necessary. Although you have our assurance of this, you can ask to see the CSCS card for an engineer and they will be happy to show this to you.

The reason we are highlighting this to you is that in a recent trade journal an article featured the increase and subsequent dangers of people purchasing fake CSCS cards which is both disappointing and alarming. It goes without saying the risks of having someone working on site who is not correctly qualified, not only the risk to human life or loss of property should a fire occur, but also the potential invalidation of your insurance as a consequence of this.

One example given in the article was of a company director who purchased fake CSCS cards in a pub, who then issued the cards to her employees in order to secure a new contract. The fake cards came to light after a routine induction process on site, the CITB’s fraud team were notified and a subsequent prosecution against the director took place who received 14 weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months and is required to undertake 180 hours of unpaid community service. She must also pay a victim surcharge and court costs totaling £265.

At FASS we can not emphasise enough the importance of having work, no matter how routine it may seem or who complex, carried out by properly qualified, checked and insured engineers. Each and every one of our engineers all meet the correct safety and competency requirements as set out in law and also our own extremely high standards. If you would like to see any of our engineer’s qualifications and certificates we would be happy to provide these to you or if you would like to find out more about how FASS can help you with all your fire and safety needs, please get in touch.

At Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd we are often surprised by the diverse attitudes business owners have towards fire risk and the law. Many of our clients are very risk aware or appreciative that the law is in place to protect people from the risk of fire, therefor initiate contact with FASS to either purchase Fire Safety Equipment or request a Fire Risk Assessment. These people we genuinely congratulate on their positive attitude towards keeping people safe and we wish everyone was like minded.

Then there are the minority, those who feel that either the law does not apply to them or that it’s a cost they can not justify so they will ignore the regulations. It’s hard to believe that such attitudes exist but we recently read about one such case in the Fire Management Journal which we would like to share with you (you can view the full article here).

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service were made aware of a complaint relating safety of Mirch Massala restaurant in Mansfield Woodhouse. Officers visited the premises in October 2013 and identified a number of serious safety issues including the only escape staircase from the upper floor unprotected from any fire in the kitchen, a lack of adequate fire doors, a lack of fire detectors and alarms and a lack of emergency lighting.

A Prohibition Notice was issued to the restaurant owner Gia Kamali, which prevented the use of the upper floor, which was being used as sleeping accommodation and also stopping use of the first floor except as a store room. A follow up visit took place in April 2014, which found that the Prohibition Notices had been breached as the first floor was being uses as accommodation.

Kamali appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on 4 February and admitted three breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. He was fined £15,000 and given a one month prison sentence for two breaches and a two month sentence for the final breach all to run concurrently. He was also ordered to pay £14,000 in costs.

Speaking on the article, Paul Wilkinson, Managing Director of FASS said; “It’s very frustrating and disappointing to read some peoples poor attitude towards fire safety although it’s good to read that Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service were very vigilant and followed through from inspection to prosecution, preventing a potential tragedy. There is no excuse to not carry out a Fire Risk Assessment and act on the recommendations to make sure you comply with fire regulations. It’s as simple as picking up the phone or sending an email to a company like ours and we will do the rest for you, it could not be easier. I would urge anyone who has not recently carried out a Fire Risk Assessment to contact us and arrange for this to be done.

To find out more about our Fire Risk Assessments please visit our dedicated page with further information or alternatively please contact us to arrange your assessment.

A Fire and Safety Solutions we never feel we can emphasise enough the importance of the prevention of fire and understanding risks. Often simple steps, combined with a cohesive action plan, is all it takes to prevent a tragedy.

Our attention was drawn to a recent article (you can view the full article here) in which South-East London housing association, Lewisham Homes, pleaded guilty to failing to properly maintain fire doors and keep their Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RSO) risk assessment under review. The prosecution followed the tragic death of two residents after a fire was deliberately started in the Deptford tower block in February 2011.

Speaking on the article, Paul Wilkinson, Managing Director of FASS said; “The tragic events of the fire at the Deptford tower block really brings in to focus and serves as a timely reminder that there is no room for complacency or ignoring regulations. Everyone who owns a residential building, whether it is a landlord, manager or building owner, has a legal and moral duty to ensure that people within their building are safe from the dangers of fire at all times. A fire safety assessment should be carried out and regularly reviewed, this is a service that we as a company offer and I feel passionately about the importance of using this service. I would urge anyone who has either not had a Fire Risk Assessment done or has not recently reviewed their risk assessment to contact us and discuss how we can help them with this.”

To find out more about our Fire Risk Assessments please visit our dedicated page with further information or alternatively please contact us to arrange your assessment.