Recent Updates

Don’t take risks with unapproved Fire Technicians

June 7, 2016 by FASS

news-unapproved-technicians If you regularly read our news section, you will know that at Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd we take our responsibilities, and that of our staff and Fire Technicians, towards our clients seriously and never more so than when it comes to ensuring that any work we carry out on your behalf is done by a qualified and competent person, to the correct standards. This is not only because we believe in delivering a quality service, but more importantly any mistakes or shortcuts could be costly or at worse, fatal should a fire break out.

It therefor always amazes and in truth, shocks us, that other companies or individuals would even consider not conforming to regulations and carrying out work safely and correctly, however a recent article in IFSEC Global highlighted one such case. In what is believed to be a landmark case, a fire system contractor has been convicted under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and fined £5,000 plus ordered to pay £6,000 costs. The conviction relates to two charges of failing to maintain a fire detection and alarm system at a care home in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and failing to inform the owners of the deficiencies in the system.

The incident came to light following a fire at the care home in May 2009. Enforcement officers commissioned a specialist examination of the fire alarm panel following the fire and amongst other things reported:

A blown fuse overridden with a piece of wire
An electronic component suspended between two terminal bocks instead of being attached to the circuit board
An alarm silence/fault warning buzzer missing from the circuit board
The fault warning light on the front face of the panel had been almost covered by paint

Speaking on the article, Paul Wilkinson, MD of FASS said; “It’s always sad to hear of a fire, especially when there is the possibility that it may have been prevented, however I am pleased to hear of the successful prosecution under the Fire Safety Order. Over the years we have seen all to often where shortcuts or falsified documents have been used, sub-standard work or inappropriate fire safety equipment installed, all of which is unacceptable and a disaster waiting to happen. Saving a few pounds can in no way compensate for the danger and damage caused by fire so I would urge anyone who has any doubt about a previous contractor or work carried out, or who has not had a recent fire safety inspection to contact us. All of our staff are fully qualified, experienced and competent giving you complete peace of mind that any work we do is carried out to the highest standard”.

To find out more or to book your fire safety survey, please contact us.

Fire & Safety Solutions Ltd exhibiting at USHA Fire Group Seminar 2016

May 27, 2016 by FASS

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.

FASS know who’s working on your site… do you?

May 23, 2016 by FASS

news-cscs-card 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.

Visit Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd at NAHFO 2016

May 17, 2016 by FASS

news-nahfo-update We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who visited us today (17th May) at our stand whilst attending the 2016 annual NAHFO conference at the Redworth Hall Hotel, County Durham.

Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd will be exhibiting tomorrow and Thursday (18th and 19th of May 2016) and would welcome you to come and say ‘hello’ to us and to discuss any fire and safety questions you may have or to see how our services can benefit you.

The National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers (NAHFO) conference is aimed at anyone within the healthcare industry, whether that is NHS Fire Safety Officers, Nominated Officers, Fire Safety Managers, Estate Managers, Local Authority Fire Safety Officers, Private healthcare fire safety professionals and residential care staff with a responsibility towards fire safety.

Further details about how you can attend the conference can be found on the NAHFO website at www.nahfonorthern.com or please contact us at FASS to find out more. We look forward to seeing you there.

Routine Fire Safety Maintenance that is anything but routine

May 6, 2016 by FASS

As with any business connected to the Fire and Safety Industry, here at Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd we are often called upon to carry out routine maintenance work, whether that’s checking a smoke detector or even replacing discoloured signage – we are always happy to help.

news-ipaf-fire-engineer Routine maintenance work, whilst vital in ensuring your equipment is up to date and safe, is by it’s very nature… ‘routine’. Therefore most people will arrange an appointment for one of our engineers to attend, they will see our engineer who will quietly and as unobtrusively as possible carry out the maintenance, then once finished the engineer leaves and the job is complete. You would expect nothing different.

However, for us at FASS routine is never just ‘routine’. Routine means detail, safety and accountability for every action taken. We would never send just any engineer out for even the most minor of maintenance tasks. Take for example a simple lightbulb in an Emergency Lighting Exit Sign, if the wrong bulb is fitted and the sign fails not only are you in breech of legislation but more seriously it could fail in an emergency resulting in loss of life.

Many of our clients Fire Safety Equipment is located in difficult to reach areas, such as high up within warehousing for example, whereby the use of a cherry picker would be required to safely maintain the item – it is essential therefor that the cherry picker is operated and used safely within your premises, both for our engineers safety and that of your staff too.

For this reason all of our staff are qualified to use equipment by ensuring they have completed an International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) qualification and they also understand the importance of operating safely within an environment. Each member of our team adheres to our core values of safety first and checking every little detail, because small errors can lead to large consequences. Each item that is maintained by our engineers is fully accountable back to them and the slightest discrepancy results in disciplinary action. We take keeping our clients systems fully maintained and more importantly, keeping our clients safe seriously and we believe our clients would expect nothing else.

Therefor your routine system maintenance tasks may well be routine, but to us at FASS, every detail counts. To find out more or to book your routine maintenance please contact us.

Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd exhibiting at NAHFO 2016

April 26, 2016 by FASS

Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd are pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at the 2016 annual NAHFO conference, held from Tuesday the 17^th to Thursday the 19^th of May at the Redworth Hall Hotel, County Durham.

The National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers (NAHFO) represents all of those who are associated with healthcare fire safety and gives a voice to those people at a national level. The two day conference creates an opportunity for people to meet industry experts and to find out about the latest developments within the industry.

The conference is aimed at anyone within the healthcare industry, whether that is NHS Fire Safety Officers, Nominated Officers, Fire Safety Managers, Estate Managers, Local Authority Fire Safety Officers, Private healthcare fire safety professionals and residential care staff with a responsibility towards fire safety.

FASS would be delighted to welcome you to our stand and to discuss how we can assist you with your fire and safety needs. If you would like further details about this conference, please either contact us or visit the dedicated NAHFO website at www.nahfonorthern.com