The Importance of Smoke and Fire Alarm Maintenance
The fact that alarms are essential to keeping us safe is obvious for most of us. Functioning similarly to a canary in a coal mine, they give us early warning that an area needs to be quickly evacuated, saving countless lives. But fire alarm maintenance is equally essential for making sure these tiny machines that we depend on continue to function correctly, and give us that warning we need in order to be able to evacuate.
In the UK, businesses are required by law to schedule at least two fire alarm maintenance checks every year. Though that is the minimum required, some businesses will opt for more frequent checks - either because of their own concerns about safety due to the particular nature of their work or environment, or because it is required by their insurance company. But what happens when a business doesn't make the legally required checks?
A care home in Somerset was fined £100,000 after an inspection discovered that the building was unprepared for fire or smoke. Maintenance had clearly never been performed on the un-working fire alarm, emergency lighting was inadequate, escape and evacuation routes were blocked, and the fire exit door could not even be opened.
During the following trial, the company responsible for the nursing home - Almondsbury Care Ltd - was demonstrated to have failed to follow the laws surrounding fire safety, with an incorrectly performed risk assessment or alarm maintenance. Though their risk assessment had not been performed according to the proper standards, it had identified issues with the home's safety - which had not been followed up on by the staff.
Stories like these are a cautionary tale to businesses around the world. Though fortunately in this instance, nobody was killed at a result of staff negligence, the company responsible still felt the legal and financial consequences. It is essential that businesses ensure they are following best practice in order to stay on the right side of both the law and their insurance company: £100,000 is not a small sum of money to be fined, particularly for a smaller business.
Fire alarm maintenance should be carried out only by a competent professionals. Many businesses will hire a third-party organisation to handle this - not only does this mean they can be assured a trained and knowledgeable expert is checking their alarm, but that repairs will be carried out swiftly and efficiently. However, for more routine checks - such as weekly fire drills - it is more common for a nominated staff member to undergo some short training so that they can take responsibility for ensuring that the alarm is taken care of on a smaller scale on a more regular basis.
As a result of regular, responsible maintenance by professionals we can breathe a sigh of relief that our safety is being properly taken care of, and that in the event of a fire we will have the necessary warning in time to evacuate quickly and safely. This crucial maintenance saves time, money, and most importantly: lives.
In the UK, businesses are required by law to schedule at least two fire alarm maintenance checks every year. Though that is the minimum required, some businesses will opt for more frequent checks - either because of their own concerns about safety due to the particular nature of their work or environment, or because it is required by their insurance company. But what happens when a business doesn't make the legally required checks?
A care home in Somerset was fined £100,000 after an inspection discovered that the building was unprepared for fire or smoke. Maintenance had clearly never been performed on the un-working fire alarm, emergency lighting was inadequate, escape and evacuation routes were blocked, and the fire exit door could not even be opened.
During the following trial, the company responsible for the nursing home - Almondsbury Care Ltd - was demonstrated to have failed to follow the laws surrounding fire safety, with an incorrectly performed risk assessment or alarm maintenance. Though their risk assessment had not been performed according to the proper standards, it had identified issues with the home's safety - which had not been followed up on by the staff.
Stories like these are a cautionary tale to businesses around the world. Though fortunately in this instance, nobody was killed at a result of staff negligence, the company responsible still felt the legal and financial consequences. It is essential that businesses ensure they are following best practice in order to stay on the right side of both the law and their insurance company: £100,000 is not a small sum of money to be fined, particularly for a smaller business.
Fire alarm maintenance should be carried out only by a competent professionals. Many businesses will hire a third-party organisation to handle this - not only does this mean they can be assured a trained and knowledgeable expert is checking their alarm, but that repairs will be carried out swiftly and efficiently. However, for more routine checks - such as weekly fire drills - it is more common for a nominated staff member to undergo some short training so that they can take responsibility for ensuring that the alarm is taken care of on a smaller scale on a more regular basis.
As a result of regular, responsible maintenance by professionals we can breathe a sigh of relief that our safety is being properly taken care of, and that in the event of a fire we will have the necessary warning in time to evacuate quickly and safely. This crucial maintenance saves time, money, and most importantly: lives.
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