Fire Extinguishers Bradford
Fire Extinguishers Bradford Virtually all businesses in the UK require fire-fighting provision, although technically that decision is dependent upon the findings of a mandatory 'fire risk assessment'. The likelihood is though, no matter how small, the recommendation would be to employ extinguishers. From a business owner's perspective it makes sense - imagine that a small waste-paper-bin fire was allowed to get out of control and end up burning your building to the ground. Once the decision to install portable extinguishers has been taken then things can, unnecessarily, become complicated. Unfortunately, the industry has become littered with commission-based, high pressure sales companies often driven by huge profits rather than your safety. Many of which have no real understanding of BS5306 and would be deemed far from 'competent'. An extinguisher service has many checks including weighing the units to ensure they haven't lost any contents - Does your supplier weigh every extinguisher? They should! So how do you make your business safe without getting ripped off? Firstly, you need to determine how many and what type you require. There are some basic guidelines such as they should be on every floor, no more than 30m apart, in common locations (typically landings and exit points) and be appropriate for the fuels present. However, ensuring they are appropriate for the fuels present requires a degree of expertise. Pick some established local suppliers who offer free no-obligation extinguisher reviews and quotations. Check the terms and conditions (e.g. are they outright sales or endless rental). Find out what ongoing service costs will be. Service cost also often have hidden costs. Ensure that the quotation for servicing includes parts. Those that do not often end up charging more in parts than the service cost itself. Any other hidden costs? Well sort of .. yes! In that fire-safety legislation requires you to provide extinguisher training for your staff on induction and at regular refresher intervals which can be costly. Once again though there are cost effective measures you can employ. Firstly, you decide which members of staff are allowed to use the extinguishers. If you decide all staff can then all must be trained. However, if you decide only certain members of staff (fire wardens, supervisors etc) then the training budget can be significantly reduced. Also, the type of training can massively affect the cost. Hands-on is perhaps the best but most costly, particularly with a new starter as a trainer often has a minimum cost which is more cost effective with groups. But the legislation says it should be competent and involve a test of understanding so online training is an accessible less costly option and a blend of the two, over time is a good approach. At certain intervals over the years extinguishers will need replacing, good companies will be more than happy to let your staff have a practical demonstration of an extinguisher that is at the end of its life. A note on emergency lighting - What? I hear you say. Well thought given to extinguisher positioning can save you money on mandatory emergency light provision. The emergency lighting standard BS5266 requires that emergency lights should be fitted near extinguishers. Therefore, it may be practical to specify extinguisher positions near existing emergency lights. So undoubtedly it can be complicated for the layman and it may be clearer now why so many cowboys join the industry with the opportunity to baffle you with science. But it doesn't have to be expensive to be safe. At Bradford Fire Extinguishers we offer free reviews and no-obligation quotations. All our sales are outright not rental and servicing costs include all parts. Our engineers are salaried and not commission-based and have no incentive to sell you anything you don't need. Call us for a free extinguisher review today.