Fire Safety Policies

Fire safety is crucial for ensuring the safety of yourself, your employees, and your property from potential fire damage. If you are an employer, owner, landlord, occupier, or have control over a building, such as a facilities manager, you are responsible for fire safety in any business or non-domestic premises.

Prioritising fire safety is essential, involving responsibilities such as conducting fire risk assessments, informing staff about identified risks, implementing suitable fire safety measures, planning for emergencies, and providing adequate fire safety training for staff. These actions are vital to ensure the safety of everyone on the premises.

Routine fire safety checks, like regularly testing your fire alarm, can be life-saving.

Every business must have a formal fire safety policy as part of its fire safety procedure. This policy should be reviewed periodically and signed off by the most senior person in the company.

A fire safety policy outlines fire safety procedures and the actions to be taken in the event of a fire and should include a policy statement that covers immediate evacuation, raising the alarm, and reporting concerns.

This statement typically represents the company's stance on fire safety and the expectations of staff, such as leaving immediately without taking personal belongings.

In addition, the policy should outline:

Preventive measures, such as identifying safe working methods and conducting risk assessments.

It should also include protective measures such as:

Appointing fire wardens
Conducting regular fire drills
Inspecting escape routes

Covering all these points in a fire safety policy is essential to minimize the risk of injury or damage.

The policy should also detail the procedures to follow during a fire such as:

Activating the nearest fire alarm,
Evacuating the building promptly,
Reporting to the assembly point.

This information helps ensure a swift and safe evacuation, reducing the risk of injuries.

Maintaining detailed administrative records, including fire drills and alarm tests, is also crucial.

A fire safety policy should include a section on training, specifying where staff can access the fire safety policy, the locations of fire safety equipment, and fire alarm points.

Ensuring that all this information is included in a fire safety policy increases employee awareness of fire safety, thereby creating a safer work environment. It is also vital to keep the policy up to date.

For example, if new staff members join and are responsible for organising fire safety training, their names should be added to the policy.

This ensures that anyone referencing the policy receives the most current and accurate information.

Each policy should be bespoke and tailored to your business to help ensure effective fire safety management and at White Rose Fire Safety we specialise in writing fire safety policies & evacuation procedures for Start Ups and SME businesses.

Give us a call on 0800 180 4132 or email info@whiterosefiresafety.co.uk for further details and costs on this service.