It sounds so obvious doesn’t it? Wear your hard hat! Where are your Protective boots? Don’t block the fire exit! All sensible and reasonable requests that us, as humans, seem to struggle with.
Some of us remember the seat belt law coming in and the sheer reluctance of some people to wear them (even now). Are these people bloody minded idiots or are they simply human? That’s the question. I personally think the latter. We become conditioned and don’t see or look for the obvious. I’m reminded of some of the public casualties at Kings Cross, of passengers ignoring the pleas of the fire brigade and using the escalator up to certain death.
It is the task of managers to allow time in the day for people to take health and safety seriously. To look at some of the things they are doing and decide that it is better to not do that. Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean that it wont. A late delivery of boxes of plastic clothing hangers, stacked on the stairs, to be moved the following day resulted in the death of 4 people in East London. A mindlessly discarded cigarette ignited them and blocked their only exit. Hundreds of similar tales can be found.
I firmly believe that the only way to change the mindset is with education and company policy that ensures that it becomes second nature to keep fire exits clear.
Fire Safety Order 13 Years On
Fines for fire safety breaches have soared since Grenfell. The average fine handed down for breaches of the Fire Safety Order has also risen sharply since the fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017.
Reviewing 200 of his cases brought under the legislation, Fire Safety Solicitor Warren Spencer found that the average fine since the tragedy is £27,519, more than a third (35%) higher than the average across 2014-2019, which is £20,375.
His research, published to mark the 13th anniversary of the legislation coming into force, also found that three fire services have not brought a single prosecution under the order.
The most enforced part of the order relates to emergency routes and exits.
The ground-breaking study reveals that the most enforced part of the order is Article 14, which relates to emergency routes and exits. And of Spencer’s 200 cases only nine defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges brought.
The research might be the most detailed analysis yet of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, to give it its full name.
“All of the data relating to sentencing comes from my own records as I am not aware that there has been any other analysis relating to this since the Fire Safety Order came into effect,” said Spencer. “There are some interesting patterns and a sharp increase in the average fine imposed since Grenfell.”
Spencer, who topped the fire safety category in the IFSEC Global Security & Fire Influencers 2018, was taken aback by the extent of his involvement.
“For me, the most surprising aspect of the government figures was that there had been approximately 560 prosecutions between October 2006 and March 2018,” said Spencer. “If this is correct, then I have been involved in over a third of all prosecutions brought under the order, which makes our figures statistically relevant.”
The Standout Numbers
Out of 200 cases only nine defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges brought
Article 14 relating to emergency routes and exits is the most enforced
The most prosecutions by a single fire service is 120
Three fire services have not brought any prosecutions since the order came into force 13 years ago
A total of £1,230,879 has been handed out in fines
The average fine between 2014-2019 was £20,375
Average fine Post Grenfell was £27,519
As you can see from this article the most enforced part of the order relates to emergency routes and exits. That’s because it is the most obvious and undefendable breach. For business owners this can be a catastrophic event. Not only the drawn out legal process, costs and eventual fine, but the bad publicity. It is often assumed that these poor practices can be the remit of small to medium shops and office “sweatshops!” but statistics show this affects large high profile companies too.
London Fire Block Ltd is one of the UK’s leading fire stopping companies. With 35 years of experience, our experts are able to accurately assess fire risk in your buildings and install measures to ensure full compliance with current regulations. If you’d like to know more, get in touch with London Fire Block Ltd today.
Disclaimer: This post is intended for educational use only, and should not be relied upon for compliance purposes.
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