How do Smoke Curtains fit into your Fire Risk Assesment?

On 1st October 2006 the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order came into force, replacing the Fire Precautions Act 1997, and over 100 other pieces of related legislation. Fire safety checks and certificates aren't conducted and issued by the Fire Brigade any more - instead it is now your responsibility to conduct a fire risk assessment.

Fire is a major risk in most business premises. So much so, that most organisations suffering a large fire go out of business within three years. Thousands of UK businesses are getting this wrong. Here's how not to be one of them...

Competent fire risk assessment requires a special kind of foresight - you need to be able to see the unseen, expect the unexpected, predict the unpredictable. Hopefully, through the instalation of fire alarms, sprinklers, smoke curtains and fire curtains etc most of the hard work is already complete.

However, despite the recent change in the law, many businesses are not taking their fire risks seriously. But, fire is the one of the most likely events that could affect your business and, unless controlled, will spread quickly, creating smoke damage as well as fire damage. Even if contained, the remainder of your premises can still be damaged, either by smoke or water. Without proper risk assessment and management, the outcome would be that your business would not be operational for some time.

Your three key tools for protecting your business from the devastating effects of fire are: a Fire Emergency Plan; a plan of action to improve your risk profile; and a contingency plan to help your business keep trading in the event of a disaster. Only through careful examination of your premises, practices and processes, can you identify relevant risks and take appropriate precautions.

Fire Safety In the Workplace -

Each year people die or are seriously injured as a result of fires at work. Besides loss of life, fire costs UK business millions of pounds, from damage to property, loss of business, fines, compensation claims and insurance premiums.

Many fires can be avoided by taking fire precautions. If a fire does break out, the effects can be minimised by having effective controls and procedures in place.

In England, Scotland and Wales, rules introduced in October 2006 replaced most existing fire safety legislation. Fire certificates are no longer required, and the emphasis is on preventing fires and reducing risk.

Anyone who has some control over premises must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fire. The regulations apply to all non-domestic premises.

In many offices and public buildings the utilisation of either a smoke curtain system or fire curtain system or a combination of the two to create a protected means of escape, thereby helping to demonstrate reasonable steps have been taken to ensure people can safely escape.

Flagship Fire System For The Uk’s Favourite Department Store

Fire Curtain

Undisputedly one of the top ten department stores in the UK, John Lewis Oxford Street is the flag ship of the John Lewis Partnership. With over 140 years on the same site, the store spans seven floors, stocks over half a million lines and is synonymous with excellent customer care, quality and reliability.
So, when it came to choosing a company to create the fire and smoke protection strategy as part of a £64m renovation and improvement programme in 2007, the John Lewis Partnership selected market-leading BLE Smoke & Fire Curtains – recently awarded the international UL standard for quality.
BLE designed, manufactured and fitted all of the fire and smoke safety equipment in partnership with architects Davis Langdon & Everest. The UK manufactured equipment, which will eventually be rolled out to all of the John Lewis stores, has an exceptionally neat finish to ensure it blends seamlessly with the breath-taking new design. The smoke and fire curtains are instantly retractable with very simple mechanisms, ensuring minimal disruption during maintenance and repair.
The complete redesign of the 300,000 square foot store increased selling space by 16% and centered on the creation of two striking, light and airy atria. The fire strategy had to address the potential hazards created by these two vast wells, containing 24 new escalators, plus the additional of a 17,000 square foot food hall in the basement - the first food hall in the chain - and the opening of two new restaurants.
BLE engineers worked out-of-hours for four months to install the equipment, ensuring that John Lewis Oxford Street could remain open during the refurbishment without ever compromising the safety of shoppers in the store.

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