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Legislation
Fire Safety in new and altered Shops or Departmental
Stores is subject to the Building Regulations and the guidence
for fire matters can be found on my page on Fire
Safety in New, Extended or Altered Buildings.
When premises are occupied fire precautions
are controlled by The
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and this order
lays down legal requirements, check them out at the above
link.
The most appropriate guide for Shops and Departmental
stores is likely to be Guide
1 - Offices and shops and can be downloaded at the Department
of Communities and Local Government web site.
Fire Risks.
Shops are considered to be a moderate fire
risk and fires usually occur as the result of some bodies
carelessness and arson attacks are not unknown. The risks
are similar to those in Offices however the level of risk
varies as a result of the number of customers and the time
the premises are occupied, the five principle risk are,
- Carelessly discarded smoking materials
especially if it is allowed to come into contact with
flammable items. A lighted cigarette end could take a
long time to ignite the the item, at which time the premise
could be unoccupied. Use signage and constantly broadcast
the dangers to the staff. A no smoking policy should be
adopted throughout the store with designated smoking areas
for staff and as a result these areas can be supervised
closely.
- Electrical Appliances can be a source
of fire if they have been subjected to misuse and occasionally,
electrical faults can occur on apparatus, usually because
they have not been serviced regularly. All electrical
equipment should be tested annually and keep the staff
informed of the possible dangers associated with the different
types of equipment.
- Kitchenettes or tea rooms can be a fire
risk dependent on what has been provided especially if
food that is cooking is left unattended. Full dining facilities
and kitchens are a high risk but this is lessened by having
fully trained staff in attendance at all times.
- A higher fire risk are store rooms because
a large quantity of flammable goods may stored with limited
supervision. House keeping and ensuring the storerooms
are keep as tidy as possible will reduce the risk, this
also applies to the premises as a whole. Also ensure the
dangers are discussed at any training sessions.
- Tradesmen on the premises, especially
those that use apparatus that is capable of starting a
fire, like blow lamps, gas torches, metal angle cutters,
etc. One needs to ensure a high degree of supervision
with suitable fire fighting equipment available during
and after their presence. Give the area they have been
working in a through inspection and make sure no hot spots
or small fires have been missed.
Training.
During training sessions as well as detailing
and practicing fire procedures some time should be devoted
to emphasising simple fire precautions in an attempt to stop
fires happening. Not only is fire training in most premises
required under law it also makes sense, half an hour spent
before the fire may prevent the fire in the first place and
can save lives. For further information go to Staff
fire safety training.
Arson Prevention
Arson is the single most common cause of fire
in business premises and 45% of all serious fires are a result
of arson. Much of this is not targeted and the vast majority
of arson attacks are down to opportunist vandalism. Apart
from the need to comply with the law the Responsible Person
has a duty to himself and his business to reduce this risk
to as low as reasonable possible. Information to assist you,
to achieve these aims, go to my page on How
to Combat Arson
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