les potter's newest comments

i fully agree with you colin, a fire risk assessment is definately needed in order to answer the question, it certainly cant be answered blindly on a general question as every premise is different.

well it wont be long before the government bans gas patio heaters, so all of you smoke free loving peeps cant keep warm outside in the fresh air :D and the smoke from our cigarettes will linger longer, because of the lack of hot air outside to dispell the smoke, one has to wonder where the next stealth tax will be coming from to compensate for all of the revenue producing things that are being outlawed.....

im a smoker and this is a smokers comment: if all of the non smokers want fresh air why dont they go outside!!! oh you cant do that any longer because we smkoers are out there!!!

but all joking aside i think this smoking ban i great, finally the non smokers will have to start paying added taxes somewhere to the government because of the loss in revenue that the government is clearly losing where people are quitting.

if a company is willing to invest in people and train them proffessionally to carry out a task at a higher and better standard, i think i is only reasonable that the indiviual should contribute the cost of the course should they decide to leave within a 12 month period, that being said if the employer at a later date within this period decides to terminate the contact of employment with the person, they should NOT repay anything, as they have not been allowed to complete the term of the agreement. this is for training only that is outside of the training that is expected as an employees right.

i think enforcing the fine may have some difficuluties for example it could be argued that a 44 year old man taking his mother aged 68 to the shop can park there as it ( technically ) is still mother and child !!!!

the calculation as guided in BS 5306 is to take the area and x 0.065 therefore as an example 400 sq metres x 0.065 = 26 this is the minimum A rating required for this area, additional equipment is then added to make it consumnate to the risk ie Carbon doixide for electrical cover and a fire blanket in a kitchen for example.

if you employ 5 or more you must have by law have a fire risk assessment in place and the person who carries out the assessment should be able to tell you if you have to many and/or if they are located correctly.

the rire risk assessment is required under the regulatory reform ( fire safety ) order 2005

Happy new year, did you get a dictaphone to keep in your pocket while walking the corridors for xmas :-)

1. have you been trained in the correct use of the evac chair? if not ,then you could potentially injure yourself.

2. if there is a fire whilst you are using the evac chair to move the mail, what procedures are in pace for the disabled people whom would use this equipment to escape in the event of a fire, from where the evac chair is supposed to be located?

these are only personal thoughts based on reading your post.....

a few more pages with reference to the training that may be of interest to you gavin,

RR FS O [ 4. (1) (i), 15 (2) (a) , 21 (1) & 2 and schedule 1 part 3. all indicating that the empployees must be given adiquate training, must carry out regular fire drills. you cannot charge the employees for this and if an employee loses money because you have failed to comply to the order he can recover his loss from you .

sorry but i really must retire to my pit now :D 00:02

please read fire regulation 4; Fire-fighting and detection paragraph 2, a b and c

An employer shall where nessessary.............. maybe i am imagining the line that states "their training and equipment available to them is adiquate.... when i have time i will also point out the section in the 1997 work place regulations, but its late now... both of these are part of the current RR (FS )O

from my understanding ( note i have not read the fact sheet as it is in a locked section ) [Editor's comment: White Papers are available to Premium members of the Workplace Law Network] you need to inform people that cctv is in operation under the data protection act. in all cases where cctv is used anyone who suspects they have been filmed can request to see the footage. you are legally obliged to show it. many of the major clients that i deal with have a sign, indicating that cctv is in operation within the premises and that it can be viewed for a fee of £ XXX this as i understand is within the guidelines of the DPA. additionally once this signage is installed you can use both overt and covert CCTV freely. all of the above are personal comments from past experiences only. hope it helps.

How can it be a tea break, if there is not a break?

i have been in working in in the fire industry years now too, obviously i have had the relevent training etc. i had a company car a number of years ago while still working in the industry for a major fire company and at the time had a boot full of every type and class of extinguisher available, this vehicle caught fire on the A2 heading towards canterbury. my family,including my children were in the car at the time. what do you think i did ?

FIGHT THE FIRE ?
like hell i did, i got my kids and wife out of the car and walked them back down the road about half a mile. within 90 seconds what was smoke coming into the car was a mass of flames. yes the car was a right off as were the stock extinguishers, and yes my kids are now many years older and all safe.

MY point you can know how to fight a fire, but no matter how much training you have, NOTHING can prepared you for the reality.... GET OUT, GET your passengers OUT... STAY OUT..

carrying a fire extinguisher in the cab of a taxi is a requirement of the hackney licence. training to extinguish a fire in a vehicle is very specialised with many considerations. the vehicle is insured and is easily replaced. a life however is not easily replaced.
in the event of a fire the simplest and easiest risk assessment is the obvious one, GETOUT...... STAY OUT.....

As to the powder extinguisher; dry powder extinguishers contain withingthe powder, ammonium phosphate, which us used to prevent the clogging of the powder. this has been known to burn the tongue, throat, stomach and lungs when inhaled. it severely reduces visibility and causes severe breathing difficulties.

therefore i would suggest GET OUT.... GET YOUR PASSENGER OUT... STAY OUT...
CALL THE FIRE BRIGADE...

Additionally i agree 100% with kevins comment IF IN DOUBT- GET OUT

If you are an employer you are currently reguired, under the regulatory reform ( fire safety) order 2005 to give all staff a minimum of 1 hours training in the use of portable fire equipment.. this now extendend to businesses where all of the staff are self employed but work for the same company.

IMO the taxi driver in the event of a fire within the vehicle could possibly be deemed to be responsible for the safety of its passengers in the same manner as an office manager would for the visitors to the site.

if im not mistaken, ( please correct me if i am ) most local authorities are asking for either 1kg or 2kg powder extinguishers to be installed in the cabs.

in all cases. EVERY fire extinguisher with a BS kite mark on it has the instructions printed on the front stating how to use it and what types of fires it can be used on.

quote: Please can you confirm to me whether the 20min break required in law must be paid or can employers make it an unpaid break?

my interpretation of this is that it should be paid, however.. i would tend to ask myself the question

if i look after my workforce and do not deduct them money for smoking, are they more likely to look after my business interests while they are working?

As a smoker i am bias, however i would suggest you would get more from your smoking employees if you were to pay them when they need to smoke than you would if you were not to pay them... ( if you look after those who work for you... they are more likely to look after you).this argument could go on and on and on. eventually some one will ask " do i have to pay my employee while they use the toilet?

have we really reach the stage is society that we are all power and money mad and have forgotten how to care about those who are loyal to us?

1. the minimum recommended distance for a wall mounted ashtray to be from a fire exit or any entrance / exit leaving a building is 1 Metre. if the smoking area you are refering to is a structure then it still needs to be at least 1 metre from an exit, but not more than 50% of the walls can be enclosed, therefore you can have a for example a square structure with a roof amd 2 solid walls. this would be deemedas legal. if this structure was to be made of wood for example and up against the side of a building, the solid brickwork of the building ( even if the structure was not in anyway attached) would still be considered in the 50% ruling.further advice on this matter can be found at www.smokefreeengland.org

2. in my opinion the business has no choice but to allow people to smoke outside as it is illegal for them to smoke in the workplace, as for the residents who do not wish to have smoking outside, there is nothing preventing them form staying inside when smokers are outside.... i have to say at this point i am a smoker and therefore my comments here are bias.

Jasim wrote'i would like to buy a dry powder fire extinguisher and used in highly corrosive & humid location.
how can i choose the suitable fire extinguisher that withstand this environment'

the application and location of all portable appliance should ideally be located by a proffessional person. the best advice i could give would be to locate the correct fire extinguisher that is consummate to the risk, via the risk assessment process. in that way you will have the correct size and type of extinguisher,reccomended by a proffessionally compitent person.

As to the dry powder part of your comment.
while dry powder is designed to extinguish classes A B C and electrical fires. it also reduces visibility thus hindering escape, it can cause severe breathing difficulties when inhaled, and due to the content of ammonium phosphate, can burn the lungs and stomach if digested.

Tina wrote' Once every five years each extinguisher (except CO2) is subjected to a discharge test, wherein the contents are expelled under the normal operating pressure and technique of the extinguisher, and then refilled as per a service visit.'

whilst this is partially correct, it does not apply to primary sealed portable appliances, they are only discharge tested on a 10 yearly basis too. Currently the only company to supply primary sealed cartridge extinguishers is Nu-Swift