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News Archive 2008

This is where you will find archived stories of interest from 2008. All items were originally on the latest news page.

November 08
Rubbing shoulders with the stars

When we sent our trainer, John Timperley, to Lurgan, Northern Ireland, to carry out Fire Warden training, we promised him the jet set lifestyle and a full Irish breakfast. We could never have guessed that he would chum-up with rock star Paul Weller in the departure lounge of Belfast International Airport . Here they are sharing a photo opportunity (right).

Of course, we can’t always guarantee our consultants they will be mixing with superstars, but we can guarantee you’ll get four star treatment from our high-flying team. Here are the courses we offer

October 08
Nightclub prosecuted after man suffers burns

The owner of a night-club in northeast England has been fined £4,000 after a man suffered serious burns while on a night out at the premises.

Ultimate Leisure Limited, owner of Sea Nightclub in Newcastle, was found guilty of breaching the Fire Safety Order. Specifically, the company failed in its duty of care to take general fire precautions and failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. The prosecution was mounted after Andrew Reilly, 29, suffered severe burns to his back while visiting the nightclub in June 2007. He was leaning against a shelf when a tea light candle, positioned on the shelf, set light to his shirt.

The court heard that the nightclub's risk assessment made no mention of the use of tea light candles and that staff were not trained in how to deal with an incident involving naked flames. Ultimate Leisure Limited was fined a total of £4,000 for two offences under the Fire Safety Order, and was ordered to pay £975 costs.

If you need any advice concerning fire risk assessments, please use our contact form so we can advise you on the best course of action. Alternatively you can e-mail us or call +44 (0)1524 784356

Source: Fire Risk Management Journal

September 08
Fire Investigation Dogs Proving Successful

Dogs are highly social animals and most of them are able to be trained for various purposes, from guiding people with visual impairment, through to assisting with search operations for police and customs services and, of course, fire investigation work.

With their superior olfactory sense, fire investigation dogs (FIDs) bring a number of advantages when used by specialist teams within fire and rescue services worldwide:

FIDs can rapidly detect the location of accelerant in a large area. For example, a test carried out by London Fire Brigade in 2005 revealed that a trained FID needed only about 2 minutes to detect and locate the presence of an accelerant within an area of 100m2. A fire investigator would take an average of 2 hours using specialist equipment to do the same task
FIDs can detect the presence of flammable fuels more sensitively and accurately than electronic field equipment. A dog’s olfactory system is capable of detecting 0.01 microlitres of petroleum spirit under normal conditions – their detection level is estimated to be over 200 times more sensitive than human beings. Moreover, it has been found that an FID is able to detect the presence of accelerants as long as 18 days after a fire has been extinguished
A trained dog is able to differentiate between accelerants and similar chemical compounds which are normally present at a fire scene
Dogs are more capable of gaining access to narrow and confined spaces to detect the presence of flammable fuels
FIDs are good for fire safety publicity in respect of arson prevention and fire safety promotion

Source: Fire Risk Management Journal

September 08
Arson Prevention Project

Greater joint working between arson practitioners across Europe is the key aim of a current exchange project.

In 2006, Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service in the UK successfully secured a grant from the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment to complete a two-year project on arson. The project, entitled European exchange of best practice in arson prevention and investigation, aims to identify, collate and disseminate best practice in this area.

Some 33 European countries, including the UK, are included within the scope of the project. By sharing knowledge, experience and expertise across national borders, it aims to help achieve a reduction in the number and severity of arson fires at continental, regional, national and local levels in Europe.

Source: Fire Risk Management Journal

September 08
Protecting Your Assets

We will be exhibiting on Stand F70 at the Total Workplace Management trade show at Olympia, London on the 8 & 9 October.

Total Workplace Management is the UK's largest annual gathering of Facilities Managers and brings together product and service providers with FM and Estates professionals from across the globe.

The decision to attend and exhibit at the show comes at a time when we are experiencing exceptional growth both locally and nationally. Bucking the national trend, we have managed to increase turnover by 80% despite the national economic downturn, and a projected increase this year of another 70% is proof that the nation still takes high quality safety seriously.

We will be focusing heavily on supporting clients and potential clients with Fire Risk Assessment , a specialist skill not held in-house by most organisations and one valued by our current customers.

We would love to see you whist we are down there, why not pop along and hear our MD Brian Gregory 's presentation at 10am in the Seminar Theatre and pick up some practical tips on your own Fire Risk Assessment. More information on Brian's presentation

Find us on Stand F70 at Total Workplace Management 2008

August 08
HSE Update - Interim changes to First Aid at Work

During a recent consultation exercise, HSE invited comments on a number of specific issues. Overall, consultees supported a number of proposals, including the following:

Paramedics registered with the Health Professions Council are exempt from the requirement to hold a valid First Aid at Work certificate to administer first aid in the workplace.
Paramedics registered with the Health Professions Council are exempt from the requirement to hold a valid First Aid at Work certificate to be trainers/ assessors for FAW courses, providing they can demonstrate their competence to train/ assess.
One assessor can conduct assessments on an FAW course with no more than six students.

HSE will introduce these three changes to current arrangements from 1 September 2008. More information here

July 08
Marketing Surgery

On 17th September we are hosting a marketing surgery event in association with Showing Off Ltd here at Safety Management.

If you would like a free one-hour consultation with a Chartered Marketer you can book a place by responding to this newsletter. The hour is for anyone who wants to grow their business and wants some free advice. The free sessions will be led by Joanne Allday of Showing Off, who has over ten years experience in marketing and has spent the last four years running her own consultancy.

All attendees will receive a free hour with a Chartered Marketer and the event is for anyone who wants to grow their business and wants some free advice. The event will be led by Joanne Allday of Showing Off, who has over ten years experience in Marketing and has spent the last four years running her own consultancy.

July 08
Total Workplace Management Exhibition

We have just confirmed our place to exhibit at Total Workplace Management at London Olympia on the 8th & 9th of October. Our leader Brian Gregory will be speaking at one of the events on the subject of fire risk assessment. We will be on stand F70 so pop in and see us if you can; we promise to have a fine selection of biscuits available!

July 08
Underpinning Your Safety

We have gone safety-pin-mad here at Safety Management (UK). Our new corporate brochure, launched this month, is full of them, with a different safety pin image for each core area of our business. Over the coming months we will be developing the pin theme in all areas of our promotional literature, starting with the new-look website.

Health and safety is a serious business, however we like to think that we offer our customers a refreshing and, dare we say it, fun approach to the subject.

For a free copy of our new brochure, please use this form. We would like to hear your thoughts, good or bad, so feel free to drop us an e-mail when you get it.

July 08
Complying with the Fire Safety Order

On Friday 13th June, the Lancaster Guardian ran an article (view it here) warning businesses of the importance of complying with the Fire Safety Order. Fire risk assessments (FRA) have been a legal requirement since 1997, but the Fire Service are now enforcing them vigorously under the new legislation. We are here to help.

We have worked with a large number of businesses in the Lancaster and surrounding area to ensure that they comply with the Fire Safety Order. We understand the legislation inside-out, and so know how best to implement it and make it work for your business. We conduct the assessment and have a full written report with significant findings and solutions to those findings back with you in writing within 10 working days.

To discuss your requirements you can e-mail us or call +44 (0)1524 784356

Free fire risk assessment quote - fill out our quote form online and receive a 10% discount on the final estimate

June 08
The Apprentices!

Over the coming 8 weeks we will be working on a marketing project with a team of creative students from Lancaster University. This is a chance for the students to gain valuable practical experience and apply the skills they have acquired during their studies to a real-life business situation.

The project will also allow us to tap into the excellent local knowledge offered by the University, and may lead the way for future collaborations between Safety Management UK and Lancaster University.

May 08
Success Report

Having recently run a range of open safety courses, we have scheduled a number of additional ones to run in September.

The Fire Managers course was a great success, with Christine Warren from Appletree Treatment Centre saying “the morning was very informative and the content understandable, the bonus was all the free documentation we received to take back to work that we also found very useful”.

We also ran a Foundation Food Hygiene course and a Manual Handling course which attracted 9 delegates from local businesses. If you have staff that you would like to attend one of our short courses you can book here.

We have another Fire Warden course running on 13th May, 0930–1230 hrs, cost £45 per person plus VAT, book here.

April 08
Easter Treat

Jeanette Parkin was the proud winner of the champagne truffle Easter Egg from the last issue of Fire and Ice, our bi-monthly newsletter. This photo shows Jeanette with her prize - apparently it was lovely! If you would like to receive our newsletter and be in with a chance of winning a prize each time, just follow this link to sign up.

Jeanette works with the British Antarctic Survey. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is one of the world's leading environmental research centres and is responsible for the UK's national scientific activities in Antarctica.

April 08
Tea light campaign

A NEW campaign from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue underlines the potential dangers of using tea light candles. A series of roadshows and community initiatives will stress the need to always use a holder because the foil container of tea lights – which can become very hot as the candle burns – only collects the wax and is not fire resistant.

At the launch of the campaign in February, the fire service used the Harrow Court blaze in Stevenage in 2005 to illustrate the risks. The fire, which claimed the lives of two firefighters and one resident, was started by a tea light left burning on a TV set without a holder.

More information is available from: www.hertsdirect.org/yrccouncil/hcc/fire/

March 08
Pauline Is A Winner

Pauline (on the right) receiving her prize from Safety Management UK's Rebecca Walker

Pauline Crossley was the proud winner of the bottle of champagne from the last issue of Fire and Ice, our bi-monthly newsletter. This photo shows Pauline (on the right) receiving her prize from Safety Management UK's Rebecca Walker.

If you would like to receive our newsletter and be in with a chance of winning a prize each time, just follow this link to sign up.

Pauline works with Cumbria Tourism. Cumbria Tourism has played a major role in rebuilding the visitor economy after Foot and Mouth and has been instrumental in growing visitor numbers to over 16 million per annum. Cumbria Tourism is at the heart of the Cumbria Visitor Economy and is the lead organisation for tourism in the county.

February 08
Fire Safety Webcast

Working in partnership with Cumbria Fire Service, we have put together a webcast offering an insight into the new fire regulations.

It features our very own Brian Gregory in conversation with a Fire Officer, discussing the implications of the Fire Safety Order.

Click here to watch the fire safety webcast.

January 08
Expansion - New Cumbria Office

We are proud to announce the opening of a new satellite office for Safety Management UK in Barrow, Cumbria.

The office will function as a point of contact for all our Cumbria-based customers, and will stock our full range of printed and published material. There is also the potential to run training courses from the new premises.

More information will be available soon.

January 08
Extra New Dimension vehicles

FIRE MINISTER Parmjit Dhanda has announced that the fleet of heavy-duty vehicles that fire and rescue services in England use to transport New Dimension equipment around the country during emergencies is to be extended.

Some 48 vehicles (known as prime movers) are being distributed to brigades, adding to the 150 such vehicles already available. The vehicles will be used to transport specialist equipment – including mass decontamination and urban search and rescue (USAR) kit, and high-volume pumping equipment – to deal with major incidents.

More information here

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