Rate this!
Alan Cox
Member - 43 posts
One approach that I am encountering more often now is where companies provide fire extinguishers as required by the regulations but choose not to train staff because they have a policy of evacuation only and tell staff not to fight the fire due to the risk. They argue that because they have this policy they do not need to provide practical training and many present a very good case for this approach. Many have even argued that they do not need to provide extinguishers because of this policy and the recent case for the removal of extinguishers in a block of flats has given them even more support for their argument.
Whilst I think that many of these decisions are made on cost grounds rather that on the basis of risk many organisations are also removing fire hose reels and I wonder how long it will be before someone produces a risk assessment that indicates we don't need a fire alarm because we haven't had a fire. You may think that this is a little too far but I was speaking to a Safety Officer recently who was convinced they didn't need to service fire alarms and emergency lighting at intervals required by British Standards because he could show that they had not had a failure in over 15 years!!!!!
0 (0)
