Attention Businesses
COVID-19 – Advice to Businesses
The National Fire Chiefs Council has issued an updated COVID 19 Statement and a number of Strategic Intentions to support this. Please read the document below for details.
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Fire Safety Advice during COVID 19 Outbreak
During these unprecedented times we are aware that businesses may have to make difficult decisions and change working practices and arrangements dramatically to ensure business continuity. If you are having to make any changes to your working arrangements, please consider the following:
- Fire Risk Assessment – all changes to working practices should be detailed in your fire risk assessment, especially if this could include smaller staff numbers for staff led evacuations or key members of staff could be absent, such as Fire Wardens.
- Lone workers should ensure they would be aware of any fires that could start in remote areas of a building that would normally be staffed. The closing of fire doors in such circumstances will be vital to stop the spread of fire and smoke.
- Lower staff numbers may result in changes to arrangements if the fire alarm actuates, if you no longer have enough staff to investigate a false alarm then immediate evacuation would be the most sensible practice.
- Between 09:00 hrs and 17:00 hrs, Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) the Fire Service will not attend calls from automatic fire alarms at low and medium risk premises unless accompanied by a confirmation that there is an actual fire at the premises. It is very important to let the Fire Service know if you have a fire alarm system which automatically calls the Fire Service and you are closing your workplace for the foreseeable future so we can utilise our resources correctly in the event of a call to your workplace. This can be communicated to us by e-mailing firesafety@ddfire.gov.uk .
Please consider the Fire Safety of all your staff and visitors through these difficult times, the Fire Safety Team are still available to answer any questions you may have so please contact us on firesafety@ddfire.gov.uk with any questions you may have.