Does this accurately represent how you and your company feel about your fire risk assessment? You’re not alone. However, FPO are here to help as always. Click on the link to find some excellent training resources for you and your company, and then maybe it won’t be such a agigantic chore after all.

Do you ever walk through your office building and see a fire door propped open? Even worse, do you ever walk through your office building and see a fire door propped open with a fire extinguisher? I am betting that your answer will be ‘yes’ – most people have seen this at least once, and often they’ve seen this more than once.

Well such behaviour is actually a breach of the ever-present fire regulations. And as we all know, you don’t want to be breaking those! So, is there a way that you can keep fire doors open, but not break the fire regs? And, more importantly, ensure that the fire doors still do there job in case an actual fire breaks out?

Well, in short, yes. This wouldn’t be a particularly great blog post if I didn’t have a solution for you. But as always, I am here to inform and entertain – so I present the Dorgard.

A Dorgard is a device that fixes to your fire door. It attaches at the bottom of it, and if you want to hold the door open, you simply press down the knob that is on the top of the device, and it pushes down a rubber foot which holds open the door. Now, so far there is no difference between this, and wedging it open with a traditional door wedge.

So, here comes the clever part. The Dorgard is fitted with a very clever sensing system. When a fire alarm of 65 decibels or more sounds, for at least 14 seconds, the rubber foot automatically retracts, and the door closes. This means that the fire door can then do its job and help to contain a fire.

So, clever, and even better – it is easy peasy to fit and maintain. The Dorgard is wireless, and is battery operated. It can be installed on your fire door in less than 5 minutes – the four screws and a template are included – so even a DIY novice like me should be able to do it!

So, that is it. All sorted. If you have a door that weighs more 120kg or you have a slippery floor covering (like wood, laminate or vinyl) then you’ll need to use the floorplate, but this is included in every box – hurrah!

Maintenance is simply changing the batteries every 12 months, and changing the rubber foot at the same time.

So, easy fitting, easy maintenance, and goodbye to broken fire regs – I think we have a winner!!

Fire exit signs. Okay, please don’t stop reading immediately! I know it’s not the most exciting of topics, but it is an important one nonetheless. Please read on – don’t leave me stranded here on my own!

Now, fire exit signs are signs that are placed in public buildings (shops, offices, museums, theatres, schools, hospitals…the list is endless) to show the way out. Simple. They are a requirement of the fire regulations, so it is important that you have some, so that in the case of a fire, people know how to get out.

Fire exit signs consist of a pictogram (not sure why it is referred to as this – surely the word ‘picture’ would do??) and there may or may not be text with it saying ‘Fire Exit’.

A lot of fire exit signs can also be illuminated – and this is especially important because when there is a fire, there may also be smoke, or the electrics may fail, leaving you in the dark – both of which reduce visibility. So, in order for your signs to be seen clearly there are a few ways to brighten them up a bit.

Firstly, there is photoluminescent phosphorescence. Rather a mouthful, and yes, it did take me a while to type that! What this basically means is that light is absorbed from the surroundings, and can then be re-emitted slowly to illuminate the sign. Even more basically, they glow in the dark!

Secondly there is good old electric light. This comes from a local rechargeable power source (posh term for battery!) so that if the power fails, this electric light will still work.

And lastly, electric light again, but this time the power for this comes from the emergency lighting systems within your building. In this case, power is supplied either by a UPS or a backup generator in the case of normal power being lost.

Signs must be easily seen, this is the important thing. So making them light up is very important, and they also need to be easily seen in a room – not too high up or obscured by anything. Follow these simple rules and you’ll be laughing.

So there’s a simple rundown of fire exit signs. I hope it wasn’t too boring for you – I’ll try and come up with something a bit more exciting for next time!

Who does your fire training at work? Is it you? Is it your boss? Do you get someone in from an outside company? Is it someone scary with a flipchart and a dodgy moustache? Well, chances are that one of the above is true. And bad fire training is almost as bad as no fire training at all.

Now, often the job of doing the fire training is given to someone who is not entirely sure what they are doing. They are then tasked with ensuring that the company complies with the various rules and regulations, and that all the staff know what to do in the case of a fire.

Now, I have just started teaching. Very scary, but I am actually really enjoying it. It wasn’t until I really first started looking in to the whole teaching thing that I realised that some people are really suited to the job, and others really are not. Some people are good at taking information, and interpreting it, and then presenting it to others in a way that they will understand. And that is basically what teaching is all about.

However, not everyone is good at this. In fact, I reckon the more intelligent you are, the worse you are at teaching. Hugely intelligent people simply cannot grasp why you do not understand what they are telling you. They assume that because they have no difficulty in understanding the information, that you will be able to easily interpret it too.

So, back to the fire training. This training is so important, because it may well save your life, and the lives of others. So it really isn’t something that should be left to chance. So quality teaching material is imperative, and that is where the lovely folk at FPO can help you.

FPO supply a wide range of fire training materials to help you and your company. Seeing is often better than hearing, and so videos can be really useful teaching aids. These videos are not your typical badly-lit, poorly dubbed training videos either – they are clear, and concise. Always a good thing.

The other thing is that you do not want your workforce having to go off-site for training – this incurs travel expenses, and also means that productivity will go down, as half your staff aren’t there working hard as they usually are. So, CD ROMs are a great idea – they allow staff to do their training at their desk, and also to do it at their own pace – that way no-one gets left behind.

So, have a look at the range of products that FPO has on offer. And scary-looking moustachioed men are definitely optional!

Eland House, Central London

As a business owner, you are probably aware that you have to undertake fire risk assessments, so that you remain within the bounds of the laws on fire safety. More and more companies are being fined using laws that are designed to keep people safe from fires. So, you would expect that the government, which lays down these laws, would be following the same laws – right? Well, not entirely…

A BBC investigation has shown that the government has been breaking its own laws on fire safety. The difference is that while private companies and individuals face huge fines or prison sentences, ministers and civil servants need not worry about such things. That’s because they work in buildings classed as crown premises and crown immunity from prosecution covers fire safety laws. Only if someone was to die in a disaster might they find themselves in court under different legislation. And the government is not always as good at following the fire safety regulations as perhaps you might think.

Serious failings have emerged at one central government headquarters and other breaches have been uncovered at other parts of the country.

Eland House in central London, houses the government department which is responsible for fire safety legislation enforcement. In February 2010, the Department issued a Crown Enforcement Notice against the then Secretary for Communities and Local Government, for breaking fire regulations in the department’s headquarters. This followed a safety inspection which was carried out in November 2009 by fire staff employed by the Department.

The report warned that there was a risk of uncontrolled fire-spread throughout the building, the fire risk assessment had not been adequately updated, smoke vents were not properly maintained, no fire marshals had been appointed, and the building was unable to support a phased evacuation, due to changes in the main atrium.

Quite a list of faults, and ones that could lead to prosecution for a privately-owned firm. However, crown immunity, which covers buildings that house government departments, palaces, prisons etc, means that the same penalties do not apply to such premises. Basically, those in government escape the full force of law, while those in private business face ever larger fines and risk of imprisonment.

So, let’s look at an example in a privately-owned business. In April 2007, there was a fire in a New Look store in Oxford Street, London. Although no-one was hurt in this fire, it was a very big fire, which more than 150 fire fighters and 30 fire engines attended. In the investigation that followed, it emerged that the fire alarms had been going off in the store for 20 minutes before the fire brigade was called by a person outside the store. The staff at the store were insufficiently trained to deal with a fire, and escape routes were blocked. The firm was prosecuted and fined £400,000. An appeal failed, as the judge said that although no death or injury occurred, there was potential for serious injury or death given range of deficiencies.

The courts are definitely taking a harder line than they may have previously – prosecutions went up by 43% in the private sector last year.

However, government buildings are not subject to such fines and prosecution.

Bob Neill, Minister for the Fire Services, said:

“Since learning of the Crown Enforcement Notice [on Eland House] we inherited from the last administration, I have made it my priority to resolve this issue and practice what we preach. The new Government is committed to high standards of fire safety and we’ve now put our own house in order.”

Is it right that the government is not subject to the laws that it lays down? You decide…

Since 2006, all business owners have been required to provide fire training for their staff. This is because you have a duty of care towards your employees. In other words, it is your responsibility to make sure that they are as safe as possible while they are at work.

Now, the prospect of providing fire training can be quite a daunting one. Not only do you have all the normal work to do with running a business, but now you have this to do as well. The main questions on most people’s lips would be “Where do I start?”

Well, fear not. As always, Fire Protection Online are here to help. If you have a look on our shiny website, you’ll see that there is a range of DIY fire training packages. We can also help you with fire risk assessments, which since 2006 you have been required to do too.

These training modules make providing fire training into an easy peasy task. They are perfect for small businesses – they contain video training (everyone loves an educational video – don’t they? Especially if there is a dodgy looking bloke with a bad tie and inadvisable facial hair!) There are also software tests (to make sure that you have read, understood and inwardly digested the information that you have been given – and these are self-marking, which is even better) and printable training records – so that you have a record of who has done the training. The workplace fire safety training CD can be used for training of staff, and of fire wardens too and all the information is UK based, so there won’t be any confusion over the law or any of the information.

The important bit of these training packages is that they will help your business comply with the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order of 2005 – also known as the Fire Regulations. These regulations say that the onus of responsibility for providing fire training is with the company’s responsible person – this is usually the employer, but could be the owner or occupier. That responsible person has to effectively manage fire training courses – and using these packages comes under that heading – hurrah!

The good bits of using CD-ROMs for your fire training are  that they save you time (as you don’t have to take time out of your day to do the training yourself) and money (one CD can be used as often as required for staff training). Also, your staff can learn through both audio and visual information – which caters for different learning styles. The information that your staff receive will always be the same, as they will be watching the same CD – this means you don’t have to worry about remembering what you told to which group. Videos are also nice and easy to understand, and you also get printable templates on the CD to help you.

So, to get yourselves all fire training-ed up, head to the main FPO website and get ordering! Simples!!

If I mention the words “risk assessment”, most people will either starting moaning, start ignoring or start complaining about the state of society today and mentioning nanny states and suchlike. Well, there is not a lot I can do to make it less bureaucratic, but I can provide you with some lovely items that will make it a wee bit more interesting and far less time consuming. All in all, tip top stuff.

Now, a bit of background for you. If you are a business owner, then you have a duty of care to provide fire training for your staff. Since 2006 you have also been required to do a fire risk assessment. The lovely people at Fire Protection Online have provided you with a few products to make this process as simple and painless as possible – bravo to them. These marvellous DIY fire training and fire assessment packages are perfect for small businesses. All the information in them is based on UK regulations, and if you use them properly they will help you and your business to comply with the Fire Regulations – aka The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The Fire Safety Training packages include seven fire safety sessions. These videos are designed so that staff can learn at their own pace, and the training materials can be viewed on the employee’s own computer. This means that the information is easily accessible, there is no need for offsite travel, or for expensive trainers to come into your workplace – meaning that it will save you valuable pennies. The package covers fire safety precautions and appliances, offices, warehouses, factories, homes, high rise buildings and portable heaters. There is also a fire extinguisher test, video training modules and printable staff record forms and certificates (because everyone loves a certificate – right?)

When you are writing a fire risk assessment, it can seem like a mammoth task, and often you just don’t know where to start. You could pay a consultant to come and create the whole thing for you, which is a great idea, but comes with a very hefty price tag attached to it. In today’s somewhat dodgy economic situation, that is often simply not an option. So, an alternative is offered to you, by using our software package instead. This has templates, guides and some helpful guidance notes to help you make your own risk assessment on your computer. This easy to use system is all on one CD, which has a check sheet, staff training record forms, fire safety log book, and fire management plan templates. These are all ready to use and you can print off your finished assessment once you have completed it. Job done.

So save yourself some time, hassle and, more importantly, some hard-earned cash and use one of the range of products that we have available. Easy peasy…