Fire Safety Guide for Cardiff Startups

Setting up a business comes with all types of woes and worries. From getting registered with HMRC and finding the right premises to work from to making sure you have a healthy cash flow, the list of responsibilities seems endless.

But, while you head for world domination, it is important that as a new business you do not overlook your fire safety responsibilities. Though something you may not have thought about, implementing fire safety procedures at your place of work is a legal obligation. This is a case whether you are running the business from an office, factory or even a bakery.

Below, we take a look at the fire safety measures all startups should be looking into from day dot.

Fire risk assessment in Cardiff

For startups, fire safety requirements will vary depending on the premises in which they occupy and the nature of their work. This is why conducting a fire risk assessment should be any startup’s first step. This can either be conducted by yourself as the business owner, someone you have appointed as a ‘Responsible Person’ within the business or an external Assessor such as us at Twenty4.

The risk assessment will outline the risk areas of your business as well as the people who are most vulnerable at your place of work in the event of a fire. The conclusion of the assessment should be to limit these risks and implement fire safety procedures where necessary. These will need to be conducted annually.

But, if you make any structural changes to the building or change the nature of the work carried out from it, a new assessment will need to be conducted immediately.

Business Fire extinguishers in Cardiff

Whether running a tech startup or a food establishment, the building you occupy will need to have suitable fire extinguishers installed. But any old extinguisher will not do. The extinguishers installed in your place of work need to reflect the types of fire threats it faces. For instance, if the company has lots of packaging and paper in its stock room, having a Water extinguisher installed nearby is advised. This is because Water extinguishers are designed to eradicate fires fueled by paper and wood.

Fire doors in Cardiff

Installing fire doors is a fire safety measure more and more businesses are taking. Helping prevent the spreading of a blaze whilst allowing people to exit the building safely in the event of a fire, installing fire doors has lots of benefits.

Where these are not a legal obligation, installing them may reduce your insurance premiums on the property substantially. This is because they limit the impact a fire can have, therefore reducing the cost of damage an insurance firm will have to pay out on.

Other fire safety services you may want to explore as a start-up include: