Working in the Hotel and Bed and Breakfast industry has an exhaustive amount of fire risks attached to it. Making sure that your establishment is safe for your guests and staff is paramount from a legal and moral perspective. A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment must be conducted on all sleeping accommodation in England and Wales, under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Employing an assessor that is qualified is essential but consider what to look out for too.
When undertaking a Fire Risk Assessment it is important to think through the following:
- Consider the fabric of the building, making sure that your building is structurally sound and fitted with the correct fire safety doors and alarms. A professional assessor will tell you all of the areas that need to have fire detection, however every room that a guest is sleeping in should have an alarm that is fully functional.
- Identify the rooms and areas that you think a fire would most likely start in, such as the kitchen. Do you have smoking areas outside the premises? Does your establishment have open fires? In what areas are there naked flames, such as candles in dining rooms, chaffing dishes. Every room and corner should be assessed clearly and methodically to ensure that every risk is minimised.
- Making sure that your fire exists are suitable for the less abled of your guests is also important to consider. Disabled access and routes out of the building should all be clearly marked with notices on all of the doors and the rooms.
We have many years experience advising hoteliers on fire safety, for free and impartial advice contact us using our online contact form or on 0203 478 7347.