JLT Business Insurance Services is urging
organisations to check their fire risk
assessment systems in the wake of a major
fashion retailer's record fine.
On the 25th of November 2009 high
street retailer New Look was JLT Business Insurance Services is urging
organisations to check their fire risk
assessment systems in the wake of a major
fashion retailer's record fine.
On the 25th of November 2009 high
street retailer New Look was fined
£400,000 and ordered to pay costs of
£136,052 after pleading guilty to serious
breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire
Safety) Order 2005 (RRO). This is
currently the largest fine handed out
under the order.
London Fire Brigade prosecuted New
Look following a blaze at their Oxford
Street store in 2007. Thirty fire engines
and around 150 firefighters were needed
to tackle the blaze and crews remained at
the scene for three days. The first call to
the Brigade was not from a member of
staff but from an office worker in a
nearby building. This delay meant that
the fire had already developed and had
broken through the second floor windows
when crews arrived. Despite the building's
fire alarm sounding, it was reset on at
least one occasion.
Following the fire, the Brigade carried
out several fire safety inspections and
found a substantial number of breaches of
fire legislation. The most serious of these
was a fire risk assessment with numerous
failures, including no record of the correct
procedure to adopt when the fire alarm is
activated.
The RRO requires the responsible
person (in a workplace it is the employer)
to carry out a suitable fire risk assessment
and act on its findings.
Another significant breach was the
insufficient training of staff, which led to
a delayed evacuation of the premises and
staff being ill-prepared to respond to a fire
or fire alarm signal. Staff did not use the
appropriate fire exits to evacuate the public,
which meant that approximately 150
people were evacuated through the main
entrance - directly underneath the fire.
Mandy Perry, (pictured)divisional
managing director of JLT Business
Insurance Services, said: "Ask yourself how
robust your fire safety arrangements are
and if they are being adhered to. There are
many areas you may not be aware of, for
example, do your fire safety arrangements
include emergency procedures for leaving
the building?
"Even with stringent and far-reaching
safety procedures your business may still
be at risk from fire-related damage.
"Check the cover you have in place and
ensure your insurance broker is giving
you advice on all the issues surrounding
fire and other types of damage."
The RRO requires the responsible
person to ensure their employees are
provided with adequate fire safety
training.
Other serious deficiencies included:
All of the basement fire exits were
unavailable to members of staff and the
public because the swipe card system,
which should have linked to the fire
alarm system and opened the doors in
an emergency, was not properly
connected
Not all members of staff were issued
with swipe cards
The green emergency break glass,
designed to override the door locks,
was fitted on the wrong side of the
doors in the basement
The premises was also found to have
items blocking escape routes on all
floors
The RRO requires that:
Emergency doors must not be so
locked or fastened that they cannot be
easily and immediately opened by any
person in an emergency
Routes to emergency exits from
premises and the exits themselves must
be kept clear at all times
And most importantly:
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety)
Order 2005 applies to virtually all
premises and covers nearly every type of
building, structure and open space. It
does not, however, apply to people's
private homes.
