Fire Prevention Week: Time to Refresh your Memory!

This October saw the annual Fire Prevention Week take place, promoting fire safety worldwide through a number of campaigns and informative resources.

While Fire Prevention Week was set up by American organisation the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), created to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the fire safety concepts it promotes are universal.

With that in mind, why not spruce up your fire safety knowledge with a look back through a few of Scutum Group’s best posts from the past year…

London’s Rapid Expansion – What Safety Precautions do new Businesses Need to Consider?

Back in January, Scutum Group took a look at the construction situation in the capital, focusing on the expansion of the city’s commercial sprawl. While this may be a good thing financially, it nevertheless raises a number of safety issues, with the rapid nature of the growth. Fire safety is at the top of this list of concerns, with the risk of corners being cut in regards to regulations to ensure deadlines are met a very real possibility.

Scutum Group discussed a few of the main dangers, from the installation of fire safety features (fire doors, alarms, emergency lighting etc.) through to keeping flammable construction materials safe while on site.

How to Defend your Office when the Dragons Attack

Probably the most ambitious bit of fire safety content produced by the Scutum Group team this year, the How to Defend… mini-site consists of 3 pages depicting different scenes within an average office environment, including a desk space, staircase and outside area. However, these scenes also include a rather angry dragon who has laid siege to the office building – not only causing distress to the inhabitants, but also presenting a significant fire risk.

Each page of the site depicts some of the main fire hazards within each environment, as well as some of the safety equipment used in line with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.

The Scutum Group Protection Resource Hub

Not so much a single piece of fire safety advice but more a whole library, the Scutum Group resource hub is a vast collection of advice and safety materials designed to aid a number of industries. From hotels and restaurants to retail and construction, the centre focuses on information pertaining to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and the sections that relate specifically to these industries.

Topics range from common fire hazards to risk assessments, with an FAQs section tackling any other commonly asked questions.

Back to Basics with the Fire Triangle

With all of the regulations and technical fire safety advice provided by Scutum Group, sometimes it’s important to concentrate on the fundamentals. The article discussing the fire triangle aimed to do just that, focusing on the basic components that make up a fire: namely oxygen, fuel and heat (ignition).

Gaining an understanding of the fire triangle is important for fire marshals and other responsible persons in order to identify and remove hazards from working environments, and the article looks at ways in which knowledge of the individual components can help in extinguishing fires.

The Fire Safety Order

As well as having a detailed understanding of all of the various facets of fire safety, it is important for designated ‘responsible persons’ within an organisation to acknowledge and remain compliant with the regulations governing the industry.

This article looked at the main legislation overseeing fire safety at all commercial premises: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. Introduced in 2005, the reform’s main modus operandi was to bring together the many disparate pieces of fire safety legislature that, up to that point, were applied across the country. The Scutum Group article discussed which parts of the Fire Safety Order applies to commercial properties, focusing on risk assessments as well as some of the penalties that employers could face if the regulations are not fully complied with.

While Fire Prevention Week highlights a number of important issues, fire safety is an ongoing concern at businesses across the UK. Scutum London is on hand to provide fire safety equipment and training at all commercial premises, keeping you and your staff safe from the threat of fire and fully in line with all industry regulations and guidelines all year round. 

Get in touch with us today to find out more.