In March this year, Indepth Hygiene carried out a Fire Safety awareness survey, to identify and understand some of the common misconceptions Facilities Management (FM’s) companies have about the Fire Safety Order. The survey aimed at outsourced Facilities and Building Managers; investigated whether the group fully understand their role and responsibilities under the law, for fire safety matters.
The survey has revealed some interesting results, which provide some real insight into what this sector really knows about the Fire Safety Order. It was an encouraging start to see that 90% of respondents were aware of the primary compliance requirements of the regulation, which outlines that a responsible person must be appointed to carry out a fire safety risk assessment and implement and maintain a fire management plan. It was also reassuring to note that 54.5% of FM’s understand that as an appointed responsible person, they could be liable for criminal prosecution if death or injury is caused by a fire from an extract duct. Read the rest of this entry »
A chip shop on Brighton seafront was severely damaged by a fire at the start of the bank holiday weekend last week (according to the BBC). Over 40 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Beach Break Cafe at the Kings Road Arches on Thursday afternoon. Customers had been in the cafe when the fire broke out at about 1530 BST. The Umi Hotel on the seafront also had to be evacuated because of the smoke from the blaze.
The usually busy A259 was closed for a time while engineers ensured there had been no structural damage to the road. Sussex Police said no-one had been injured in the fire.
One customer who was in the shop when it started said: “We were sitting there having our fish and chips and all this smoke started coming out of the fan at the top and the next thing there were flames coming out.
“The fire brigade turned up within minutes and the flames were just billowing out.”
View an onlookers video of how the fire unfolded here:
Yet again it looks like a grease extract ductwork fire has occurred within a restaurant; this time at The Beach Break Cafe in Brighton.
It will be of interest to see if this gets the Fire and Rescue Services spending more time and resources on checking the condition of grease extract ductwork systems in restaurants across the UK.
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Once again I read about hospitals which have been putting patients’ lives at risk by failing to ensure even basic food hygiene standards are maintained in their kitchens. According to a freedom of information report in the Sunday Times three out of four hospitals have breached minimum standards. In all 579 out of 752 kitchens were breaking regulations, of which 273 had not been properly cleaned.
It is clear that overall standards have not improved since the death of 19 patients as a result of poor practices in the kitchens at the Wakefield hospital in 1984. That incident lead to the Government lifting crown immunity from hospitals, but in spite of the shocking evidence of poor standards I have seen no report of hospitals being prosecuted.
This is in sharp contrast to the standards being achieved on another area of the Government – the MOD estate. Indepth Hygiene have been providing specialist hygiene and safety deep cleaning services for mess kitchens for many years. I know of not one military kitchen which does not have at least one hygiene and safety deep cleaning service each year and singularly, I do not know of any reported cases of the military failing to maintain standards.
Why this contrast? Whilst I would not claim deep cleaning solves all problems in kitchens it plays an essential role as part of an overall policy of good hygiene and safety practice.
Could it be a matter of money? The costs of putting good practices in place is nominal and any excuse they are not carried out because of budgetary constraints is unsupportable.
With fewer than 200 hospitals being given a clean bill of health there must be concerted action to improve standards. It’s my experience standards only improve where the kitchen operators know they will be prosecuted for compliance failures as they do in the Private Sector. The statement by a spokesman for the representative body for Environmental Health Officers that “Hospitals should not be treated differently from anyone else when it comes to prosecutions”, rings very hollow.
Only when EHOs exercise their rights to prosecute hospitals for hygiene and safety failures will there be a measurable improvement in standards. After all, they are the “policemen” for the legislation. Hopefully it will not require another Wakefield Hospital experience to goad hospital management into action.
The Fire Safety Order (the Regulatory Reform [Fire Safety] Order 2005) has been law now for over 4 years, but as an FM or Building Manager, are you clear on your responsibilities?
Please take 5 mins of your time to complete our short survey – Click on the link below:
You will need to complete the contact details at the end of the survey to enter the draw for iTunes Vouchers. The survey will remain open until the end of March 2011, answers will be treated in confidence. The draw will take place early April 2011.
Subscribe to the www.ductwork-cleaning-services.co.uk blog for more information about ventilation system services, specialist ventilation cleaning services, General Ventilation System Cleaning, Indoor Air Quality Monitoring, Grease Ventilation Cleaning, Local Exhaust Ventilation System and Expert Witness Service or visit our main site www.indepthhygiene.co.uk.
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In the February edition of Local Authority Building & Maintenance David Sugden of the Passive Fire Protection Federation comments on the poor performance of so-called expert fire and safety consultants.
My surveyors repeatedly attend properties where the owners/managers had retained advisors to assist meeting the requirements of the Fire Safety Order only to find that the grease extract ventilation system linked to catering facilities had not been included in the buildings’ fire risk assessments. This is in spite of the Fire Authorities having gone on record by stating “uncleaned grease extract ventilation systems present probably the greatest danger to occupants in buildings with catering facilities”.
Recent restaurant fires have underlined the truth of this. Grease deposits in uncleaned ducting caught fire resulting in destructive and widespread damage. There have been several other similar cases in the past.
Fortunately to date no one has lost their life as a result of one of these fires. If that were to happen then the building managers/owners and their advisors would be liable to criminal prosecution.
The legislation is quite clear. All potential sources of fire which might put building occupants in danger must be identified in Fire Risk Assessments and action taken to eliminate or at the very least to minimise the risk. Failure to do so will result in prosecution and substantial fines.
Subscribe to the www.ductwork-cleaning-services.co.uk blog for more information about ventilation system services, specialist ventilation cleaning services, General Ventilation System Cleaning, Indoor Air Quality Monitoring, Grease Ventilation Cleaning, Local Exhaust Ventilation System and Expert Witness Service or visit our main site www.indepthhygiene.co.uk.
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