Fire Blankets

Hi Mairead, apologies for mis-understanding your comment i.e. "Can anyone tell me what I should be doing - or could we even get rid of them, as we have extinguishers?" To mean you had got rid of the extinguishers. I come across many incidences of removal of fire extinguishers as 'unnecessary' when all along the underlying factor is saving cost and the hassle of training.
Plus, agree with Matthew - if you have a fire blanket to hand and you have a 'small/manageable' fire that is easily controlable with a blanket you won't have to waste an expensive wet chem on it, or vice versa the extinguisher will be on hand for a larger/hotter incident.
Regards

Matthew Binding - thanks, I think that covers it. I was just a little lots in the mire of information about extinguishers, and how that applied to blankets!

Graham Ferris - Interesting that your firm have got rid of your extinguishers - I think you misunderstood me, I meant do we need the blankets as we have multiple extinguishers in the same area. Not that I would get rid of the blankets as we did the same with extinguishers. I can assure you I take the safety of myself, our staff, and the general public very seriously! We have everything checked anually, and I am comitted to ensuring I do the more regular checks correctly :)

Thanks very much for both of your comments,
Mairead

Interesting that your firm have got rid of your extinguishers - "all fires start small and 60% of businesses never recover from a serious fire" Still if it saves money why worry about protecting people and the business? Hopefully the decision to remove the fire extinguishers is backed up by your FRA and that your insurance company is aware

With regards to the fire blanket the competent person as recommended by the FSO will carry out the following, annually:-
Blankets manufactured to BS6575 and BS EN1869 may be inspected as follows. – Take the blanket from its container, ensuring that it can be easily and quickly removed. Unfold and inspect. Ensure that the blanket is placed or laid only on clean dry surfaces at all times to avoid damage to the fabric or coating and/or contamination by dirt or foreign bodies.
Inspect for signs of damage or deterioration. Damage may take the form of cuts or holes in the fabric or coating and particular care must be taken to check the integrity of the fabric or coating at the points were the blanket is folded.
Inspect the container for damage.
Most fire blankets will be located in kitchens and particular care must be taken to ensure these are not contaminated by cooking oils or grease as this may reduce their effectiveness in containing a fire.
If the blanket and container is in acceptable condition refold and replace.
If the blanket or container is damaged or in unacceptable condition replace and
label accordingly.
Ensure the container is securely fitted to the wall and can be easily accessed. The blanket should be fitted at a minimum height of 1.5 metres and maximum height of eye level.
The blanket must always be located in a position where it can be reached safely
without access being impeded by a possible fire involving any cooking appliances.

Hope that helps

Fire blankets are useable on things differently to fire extinguishers so would not recommend that you get rid of them as they mostly used in a Kitchen area but could be used on a number of other fires. If you wish to get rid of them ask a professional to assess whether they are needed.
visual inspection (as per british standard5306-3:2009) should be carried out at least monthly where circumstances require, inspections should be carried out more frequently, (there is a note in the british standard that suggests good practice is to determine whether the extinguisher has been operated and to check for damage on a weekly basis)
a)each extinguisher is correctly located in the designated place
b)Each extinguisher is unobstructed and visible
c)the operating instructions of each extinguisher are clean legible and faceoutwards
d)each extinguisher has not been operated is not obviously damaged or has any missing parts
e)the reading of any pressure gauge or indicator fitted to an extinguisher is within operational and safety limits
f)the seals and tamper indicators of each extinguisher are not broken or missing.
The responsible person should record the results of these visual inspections and arrange for corrective action, where necessary by a competent person. In the event of doubt, the responsible person should arrange for a competent person to examine the extinguisher.

I am working in a building with 2 fire blankets, which are also backed up by fire extinguishers.
I have been asked to do the monthly visual inspection (we are open to the public) and am comfortable with doing this for the extinguishers. However, I can't seem to find any information on the inspection (if any) needed for the 2 fire blankets.
Can anyone tell me what I should be doing - or could we even get rid of them, as we have extinguishers?
Thanks for your time,
Mairead