I’m joined by Ross Smith from Anderson Smith Insurance Brokers to discuss recent changes in Scotland regarding fire safety regulations. It may not be long until the same changes affect the rest of the UK. We delve into the new process for getting the fire brigade to respond to fire alarms, which now involves contacting key holders instead of immediately alerting the fire brigade, and also highlight the potential risks and liabilities for property owners and the importance of having a robust fire safety risk assessment and monitoring system in place.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The change in the process is aimed at reducing the number of false alarms, as 98% of fire alarm signals in Scotland are not the result of an actual fire.
- The new regulation applies to businesses and property owners, excluding sleeping premises such as hospitals, care homes, hotels, and domestic dwellings.
- Property owners now have a greater responsibility to have a robust fire safety risk assessment, create an action plan, and ensure they have a good fire monitoring system in place.
- The insurance industry has not yet reacted to these changes, but it is likely that there will be increased scrutiny and potential changes in insurance policies in the future as a result of any high-profile fire incidents.
BEST MOMENTS
“Each year across Scotland, 48,000 fire alarm signals are generated, accounting for 45% of all fire and rescue activity. Less than 2% are as a result of an actual fire.”
“So getting proper assessment, making sure this doesn’t happen in the first place is obvious, right?”
“This legislation is all about reducing unwanted fire alarm signals. So I think the best place to start is, again, your fire safety risk assessment, but also having a look at your actual monitors, making sure they’re up to date, so you’re reducing any false alarms.”
“But it’s just, I think there will be a case where there’s going to be more tick boxes. You mentioned about fire policy, obviously that’s part of the process already, right? Yeah. But how old’s your system? How often is it serviced? All these sorts of things I think are going to start coming in, aren’t they?”
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