Save 10% on Fire Safety Bookings Throughout July

Throughout July Fire Crest UK Ltd. have a fantastic offer available and save you can SAVE a little money on our services.

If you need any of the following, you can save 10% on the following Services we offer:

• Fire Warden Training
• Basic Fire Training Courses
• Fire Risk Assessment
• Fire Alarm Maintenance
• Fire Extinguisher Servicing
• PAT Testing

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First Class Support helps UKFA Member Win Major Contracts

In today’s fast paced society, employers need to know they can rely on suppliers to deliver. No longer can people wait, particularly when the threat of fire not only can destroy businesses, but legislation means employees must be protected at all times whilst at work.

It is this level of service and reputation that has helped Firecrest UK Ltd. secure a major 3 year contract with Nottingham Trent University who have over 2,500 fire extinguishers that need maintained and in operational condition at all times.

We are very pleased to be associated with Firecrest, who are responsive and deliver all aspects of the contract in a very timely and efficient manner. We like the idea that this is an extended family business involving Director Ian Emmonds and his wife as Company Secretary, his son and cousin as engineers and his brother-in-law as office manager.

All the signs are that there can be high levels of trust – a very important factor in the awarding of any contract for the University.

Since being awarded the contract, Nottingham Trent University has refurbished a building and have placed a further order for an additional 100 plus Fire Extinguishers and Jo Bird Tough Store Cabinets.

No Nonsense, Reactive and Proactive is Key

Balfour Beatty is an infrastructure services company that rely on Service. They have demanding clients and deadlines to achieve and need suppliers to deliver efficiently and on time.

Tony Steward, Manager for Balfour Beatty said:

As a Manager responsible for over £1M worth of assets and 13 different sites I needed a company that was reactive, proactive reliable, approachable and knowledgeable. FIRECREST UK LTD rectified over 90% of the problems that my Managers identified within 24 hours or were planned and completed within 48hrs.

Firecrest UK is one of more than 50 member companies which comprise the UKFA, a trade association of independent companies involved in manufacture, supply, servicing and installation of a whole range of fire and safety equipment.

If you would like help and advice on assessing and implementing a fire safety solution that meets your obligations from a family run, no nonsense and reliable contractor, please contact us – click here for details.

Employers are liable if Fire Safety Tasks to non Trained Employees

With all the hoo ha going on with the election, you may have missed that a new regulation being quietly introduced by the now previous government relating to fire safety.

Fire Safety Regulations 2010

The Fire Safety (Employees’ Capabilities) (England) Regulations 2010 was slipped into law on 6 April 2010 to plug a gap in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (or FSO – the main fire legislation) after realising that when the FSO was written they missed out a piece that was required by Europe.

The new regulation has only one requirement: that employers delegating fire safety tasks take into account the fire safety capabilities of employees (this was already implied but is now made an explicit requirement.

In other words, if you give important fire safety jobs and responsibilities to staff who are not competent, you will probably be in breach of the law.

This means if you fail to train staff appropriately in their roles, enforcement action, in the form of notices and even prosecution and fines, is a real possibility.

Therefore, if you delegate staff to do fire risk assessments, weekly fire alarm tests, monthly emergency lighting tests, fire safety equipment checks, or Fire Warden duties, etc, you need to ensure they have the right skills, knowledge and experience to do it properly, what to do if there is a problem and be satisfied that they are capable and competent for the task depending on complexity.

This is a good time to ensure risk assessments, standards, training and supervision are appropriate, up-to-date and the provisions of your health and safety policy are being applied in practice.

For help and advice on staff training needs, please contact Firecrest on 0800 783 05 88 or send us an email and we will contact you.

Fire Extinguisher Documents

Below are a number of documents that you can download and print off.

Standard AFFF COSHH Sheet

Pentspray Water Additive COSHH

L2 Powder COSHH Sheet

High Performance AFFF COSHH Sheet

Carbon Dioxide Data Sheet

ABC Powder COSHH Sheet

3% AFF Powder Foam Sheet

Wet Chemical COSHH Sheet

Standard AFFF COSHH Sheet

If you require any further information, please feel free to get in touch – Contact Us.

Fire at a Retail Store results in record fine for the store owner

A fire that ripped through a flagship clothing retailer in Oxford Street, London, resulted in structural damage so severe that the parts of the building left standing had to be demolished.

Thirty five fire appliances and 150 fire fighters attended the incident, during which around 450 people from the store and surrounding premises were evacuated.

Fortunately, no one was killed, but as the subsequent investigation by the London Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) revealed, this was more by luck than judgement.

The fire took complete hold of the building because the retailer’s staff had no idea what to do in the circumstances. They didn’t even notify the FRS – an office worker in an adjacent building did that, and the delay allowed the fire to quickly spread and break through the second floor windows by the time the fire fighters arrived.

Incredibly, despite the building’s fire alarm sounding, the alarm was reset at least once and eventually, around 150 customers were evacuated through a door right beneath the seat of the fire on the second floor.

The company pleaded guilty in court to two breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) and was fined £400,000 as follows:

1. Failing to carry out and produce a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, including no record of the appropriate procedures to be taken during a fire alarm – £250,000.
2. Failing to train staff adequately – £150,000

The company was also ordered to pay costs of £136,000.

This is the largest fine under the FSO to date and was so high because the company’s breaches endangered the lives of so many.

It highlights the legislation is there to serve a purpose – the requirement to complete risk assessments and save lives.

As an occupier of non-domestic premises, you must carry out a fire risk assessment. It must identify potential sources of fire and what control measures you deem necessary to prevent one. In addition – as this case proves – it must include details of how employees, visitors, contractors, customers, disabled people etc, should be evacuated.

This is a good time to ensure risk assessments, standards, staff fire safety training and supervision are appropriate, up-to-date and the provisions of your health and safety policy are being applied in practice.

If you have any queries or would like some advice or would like a professional carry out a fire risk assessment, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01623 861331.

How and what Fire Extinguisher do I use in a Fire

Appropriate fire training courses will give your staff the skills needed to tackle a fire safely. If used incorrectly, fire extinguishers can actually make a fire far worse & put the user at risk. So ensure everyone in your building knows how to use a fire extinguisher safely with the guide below.

What fire extinguishers are designed for what types of fires

Before you can begin to tackle a fire you need to understand what the different types of fires are. There are six different categories of fire which are defined in classes A – F, knowing these classes and the corresponding chemicals to combat them is the core basis of fire extinguisher safety.

• A class fires are the most common type of fires and begin when solid material such as wood or cloth become hot and are ignited.  These should be tackled with water based fire extinguishers.

• B class fires refer to liquid fires such as petrol & oil, foam or Dry powder fire extinguishers are the safest way to deal with these fires.
• C class fires are caused by flammable gas and can be put out by using powder fire extinguishers. Powder fire extinguishers make a good investment as they can also tackle liquid and solid fires.
• D class fires refer to fires on metals such as steel, uranium and potassium. Special metal fire extinguishers can be used on these types of fire as other extinguishers may aggravate the fire.
• E class electrical fires sometimes known as E class are best tackled by a carbon dioxide / CO2 extinguisher
• F class fires are caused by cooking oil or fat igniting. Wet chemical fire extinguishers are designed to put out class F fires and can also be used on class a fires.

Knowing which extinguishers put out which fires is the foundation of fire extinguisher safety. Using the wrong type of fire extinguisher can have devastating consequences as it can result in spreading the fire further.

Top tips for fire extinguisher safety

1. You should make people aware that they should only tackle a fire if it’s safe to do so. If the fire is in early stages and not in any immediate danger of spreading quickly then it’s probably safe to extinguish it but each situation should be assessed for safety.
2. If there is a lot of smoke in the area then it’s best to sound the alarm, evacuate the building and not stay to tackle the fire. Smoke inhalation can be highly dangerous so leave it to the fire brigade.
3. Fire and smoke spread quickly and not always through a visible route. For example, smoke can spread through air conditioning systems which could make escaping more difficult. Only use a fire extinguisher if the smoke or fire won’t block your exit.
4. If you do decide to tackle the fire then position yourself in between the fire and your nearest exit so you have a means of escape should the fire become worse.
5. Keep low when you tackle a fire as heat and smoke rise.

Fire extinguisher training is a key part of fire safety so make sure your staff know what to do in an emergency situation. For more advice on how to use a fire extinguisher safely, contact fire risk assessment and ask about their fire extinguisher training courses.

Click here to contact us or call 0800 7830588

Fire Safety Breaches Restaurant Fined

A former restaurant manager has been ordered to pay over £7,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of fire safety legislation following a prosecution brought by the London Fire Brigade.

Mr Wei Chen, who was managing Kan’s Chinese and Thai Cuisine at the time of the breaches, admitted guilt on 10 contraventions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Sentencing occurred on Monday 26 October 2009 at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court.

In June 2007, visiting fire inspectors discovered a number of fire safety breaches and an enforcement notice was issued requiring Mr Wei Chen to remedy the faults by 11 April 2008. A further inspection took place on 29 April 2008 and all of the fire safety breaches were still evident. These included no fire warning system, no fire exit signs and inadequate fire safety training to staff. There was also no fire risk assessment done for the premises. It was noted in court that there had been a history of non compliance with fire regulations dating back to December 2005.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order places a duty on a defined ‘responsible person’ for the premises (the person who controls the premises e.g. a landlord/manager/owner) to carry out a fire risk assessment, take appropriate measures to minimise the risk of fire and implement general fire precautions to protect people in the premises if a fire occurs. The assessment and the fire precautions must be kept under review by the ‘responsible person’.

In this case Mr Wei Chen was the responsible person. Assistant Commissioner for fire safety regulation Steve Turek said:

“Knowing about fire safety is not an option, if you are the responsible person it is a necessity and if people do not adhere to the legislation then as shown in this case we can prosecute.

The general public should feel safe from fire when going out to places like restaurants and the responsible person must make sure their premises comply with the regulations.

All premises owners and operators must undertake a fire safety risk assessment, which is now mandatory, act upon its findings and put in place an emergency plan.”

To avoid being in this position, you could ask Firecrest UK Ltd. to complete a fire risk assessment and advise you on what you need to do to ensure this sort of thing doesn’t happen to YOU!

For details in how we can help you ensure you are fully compliant with current legislation, please contact us on 0800 783 0588 or send us your details and we will contact you.

Dry Riser Testing

The person responsible for a building or site is legally required to maintain all fire fighting equipment, including dry risers. The British Standard Code of Practice BS9990:2006 requires a full annual pressure test and six monthly visual check for dry risers for buildings above 18 metres and below 60 metres (buildings over 60 metres/18 storeys require wet risers).

Clause 7 of the Code states that inlets, landing valves, drain valves and landing valve boxes should be inspected every 6 months and recommends that wet tests be carried out annually when the main can be checked for leaks.

BS9990:2006 also states that maintenance and repairs should be carried out by a competent person. With FIRECREST UK LTD you can be confident that all work will be carried out in accordance with the Code of Practice. We are ISO 9001 Registered and members of the UK Fire Association.

Dry Riser Maintenance & Servicing

Dry Risers are a vital piece of fire protection equipment for buildings above 18 metres. They play a critical role in delivering considerable quantities of water in a high rise building. They can however be prone to serious neglect and vandalism so it is important to have them regularly maintained and serviced. FIRECREST UK LTD engineers will carry out a full annual pressure test and six monthly visual check to the current British Standard Code of Practice BS9990:2006 using our own dry riser testing appliance.

Annual Dry Riser Wet Test

Dry and wet risers are checked and pressure tested to 150 PSL or 10 bar for a minimum of 15 minutes. All insets and outlets are checked for leaks and any missing or faulty items replaced. Flow testing is also carried out. If any valves have to be replaced a further pressure test will be carried out before certification is issued.

Six Monthly Visual Test of Your Dry Risers

This test involves a visual inspection only as required by BS9990:2006 and any missing or damaged items are replaced.

For details in how we can help you ensure you are fully compliant with current legislation, please contact us on 0800 783 0588 or send us your details and we will contact you.

Fire Safety at Christmas

Christmas Fire Safety Check list

Dodgy decorations – most offices like to get into the festive spirit by stringing a few lines of tinsel or some sparkly fairy lights across the office, especially at the Christmas party. If these are the same decorations you’ve been taking out of the store cupboard for the past 20 years then it’s time you checked out if they could be endangering your staff.

You need to double check that your fairy light wiring isn’t split and check that they conform to a British Standard in safety. You should also check fuses and make sure that one or two members of staff take responsibility for switching the lights off at the end of each day and after the office party.

Make sure your staff use common sense when it comes to office decorations. If anyone is draping tinsel across the top of computer monitors or hanging bunting from lights then check they’re not purposely planning an arson attack on your office building!

• Overloaded sockets – office fire safety (and patience) can be tested to the limit at Christmas time with staff bringing in CD players, lights, singing Santas and pretty much any Christmas related electrical device you can think of. All these gadgets need electrical sockets and if your sockets are powering the usual PCs, printers and monitors, then adding all these electrical devices could overload sockets. Make sure you invest in some extra extension sockets to cover the demand and make sure all switches are turned off at the end of the Christmas party.

• Cigarettes and alcohol – for some people these two go hand in hand at any celebration but after a hard year at the office, your team will be more inclined to let their hair down, especially if the company’s paying! All office buildings should be a smoke free zone so make sure that even after a few drinks, your staff are aware that smoking inside won’t be tolerated. Alcohol can make even seasoned drinkers absent minded to say the least so if you spot anyone well on their way to becoming inebriated, ask one of their friends to look out for them. Better still, have your office party in the early evening and then people should start filtering out before anyone drinks too much.

• Office fire alarm – your office should be kitted out with a comprehensive office fire alarm system to keep your staff safe. If your system needs updating or if you want to install a completely new one then contact FIRECREST UK LTD and ask about our conventional office fire alarm systems. Conventional fire systems are the entry level for most fire system requirements and are ideal for small offices. By having an office fire alarm you will know that if anything was to go wrong, your staff will be alerted quickly and have time to exit the building safely.

• Office fire safety – regardless of the time of year, your staff need to be aware of the office fire safety drill and what to do in case of an emergency. If you’re unsure of how effective your office fire safety plan is then contact FIRECREST. We offer Fire Risk Assessment packages suitable for your building to make sure your office fire safety plan complies with regulations.

While you’re planning your Christmas party this year, take the time to follow the check list above so you and your staff can enjoy the festivities safely.

If you’d like any more information about Christmas fire safety or office fire safety then please visit Fire Risk Assessment UK.

Lighting Protection

The old saying prevention is better than cure is particularly prevalent with fire. Simple basic fire prevention techniques could not only save your business, but could also prevent loss of life, too.

Take lighting for example. Did you realise that if your building was unfortunate enough to be hit by lighting, it can not only damage the structure but it can also affect all the electrical equipment held within it – just think, computers, lights, coffee machines, alarms and the list goes on.

We have just launched an new service, lighting protection, and have prepared some information of what it entails and how it could benefit you.

If you have any questions, please contact us or why not post a reply to this thread and engange in a conversation – you never know, it might help someone else, too!