| The latest (2006) UK fire statistics available, state that losses of approximately £20 million can be directly attributed to electrical fires in commercial and public premises alone. These range from the entertainment sector in Surrey
(£250,000), a hotel in Berkshire (£1.8 million) to a primary school in Kent (£3.4 million). Whilst it is virtually impossible to totally eradicate the risk entirely there are several things you can do to lessen the risk:
- Check your electrical system wiring in accordance with the current wiring regulations (IEE Regs.). The current recommendation is for a 5 yearly ‘health’ check. This should be more frequent if substantial changes have taken place to the wiring system or building.
- Carry out Portable Appliance Tests (PAT) in accordance with current guidelines. There is often misunderstanding about how often tests should be carried out. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) offers no clear cut directive but SUGGESTS in its documentation that it should be carried out about every 1 / 2 years. Portable generally means any appliance that weighs under 18 kg or has castors/wheels to facilitate its movement. A good visual check should be kept on all portable appliances and staff should be reminded to be observant and carry out visual checks.
For further information visit www.pat-testing.info
- Avoid the use of inappropriate electrical adaptors. These are generally adaptors which look like a white cube and you can plug 2-4 plugs into them. Doing this you cannot control the amp rating of the appliance and many fires have been caused by overheating of inappropriately rated appliances. Mechanical movement of the appliance being plugged in can often cause internal wear which cannot be seen from outside. If you need additional connections either use a properly fused extension or best of all fit additional outlet points.
- Avoid daisychaining of extension leads. Daisychaining is where one cable extension is plugged into another cable extension etc, etc. This can again cause overloading of the cable extension.
- Avoid using UNWOUND cable reel extensions. If not, it is possible that heat may be generated in the same way as an electric motor generates heat with disastrous consequences.
- If your building is fitted with a lightning conductor it should be checked annually.
- Do you have a suitable policy for staff that bring in their own portable electrical appliances? Often overlooked staff may bring in phone chargers and other electrical items. A formal staff electrical policy should be developed. You do not stop staff bringing in appliances, just ensure that they are tested. (You can even charge a nominal fee for the test!).
Remember that following a fire:-
28% of businesses recover
29% fail within 3 years
43% never recover
Ensure your business is one of the 28% should you be unfortunate enough to have a fire! |
