Fire Hazards
Overloaded plug sockets. Faulty electrical equipment. Heaters covered or left plugged in. All of these hazards aren’t difficult to imagine within the workplace, and the effects can be devastating.
Unlike most other safety concerns, if fire hazards aren’t controlled properly, they have the potential to injure or kill large numbers of people very quickly. Even if harm is avoided, the costs of a serious fire can be significant, and many businesses do not recover.
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How we help
Protect your people and property from fire risk
Fires happen in all industries. In some, where there are large quantities of waste and combustible materials, dust build-up and/or flammable liquids and vapours, the risk is amplified.
Whether you’re a school or a manufacturing facility, under the Regulatory Reform Order 2005, you must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can escape safely should one occur. If you’re not equipped to manage this risk yourself, Ellis Whittam can help.
- Ensure your fire safety arrangements are effective and review and remedy potential fire hazards through an on-site health and safety audit (General Risk Assessment)
- Get a more in-depth picture of fire risk with a specific Fire Risk Assessment, should this be required
- Develop internal awareness and competence with RoSPA-approved e-Learning training, including fire safety essentials, fire wardens and DSEAR courses
- Access expert-created templates, checklists and forms from our full-version Knowledge Hub available via MyEW
- Maintain safety and compliance with unlimited advice and support from a dedicated Health & Safety specialist
Related Information
Develop your fire strategy, minimise the potential for harm
All organisations, regardless of size or sector, should have a fire strategy. Do you have an evacuation plan setting out a suitable method for raising the alarm and means of escape? Are your fire management system and fire safety controls monitored for effectiveness? Do staff know what to do in the event of a fire through induction training, regular refreshers and drills?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, your fire prevention strategy and emergency arrangements may fall short of legal requirements and you may be putting your people, business and reputation at risk. Call us to discuss your needs and discover how our fixed-fee Health & Safety service can support all aspects of compliance.
"With the help of Ellis Whittam, we have developed robust and efficient health and safety systems and they continue to work with us to keep up these exceptional standards. It’s very reassuring for our colleagues, clients and anyone connected with our business."
Hardies Property and Construction Consultants
Popular FAQs
Common fire safety queries and questions about our service, answered by our Health & Safety specialists.
Do I need a Fire Risk Assessment?
The Regulatory Reform 2005 states that it is an absolute requirement for the responsible person to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment. The responsible person is the main duty holder, and Ellis Whittam can assist by completing this for you.
Do I need to have all my portable appliances tested annually?
You must make sure electrical equipment is safe if it can cause damage, but the law does not say how you must do this or how often. Besides regular user checks, the HSE recommends that all portable equipment is visually inspected at initial intervals which could be between six months and four years depending on the type of equipment. The regulator also states that portable equipment that is not double insulated should have a portable appliance test at initial intervals which could be between one and five years depending on the type of equipment.
How do I store flammable chemicals safely?
Flammable chemicals should be stored in secure fire-resistant containers/cabinets when not in use. Consider limiting the quantity on site to further reduce the fire hazard.
How do I monitor the actions arising from my Fire Risk Assessment?
Your Ellis Whittam General Risk Assessment (or Fire Risk Assessment as appropriate) will identify any areas of non-compliance. Afterwards, you will receive an electronic report that includes a prioritised action plan together with practical advice to remedy shortfalls.
Every client gets access to our award-winning Health & Safety Software which can be used to manage all health and safety responsibilities quickly and efficiently. The software includes apps that enable you to manage any actions arising from the General Risk Assessment and Fire Risk Assessment, as well as conduct workplace inspections, develop risk assessments and record and investigate accidents. It also includes a repository for all your health and safety documentation, including your Health & Safety Policy and Handbook.
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Audit and Inspection
From a procedure that isn’t being executed properly to a policy or risk assessment that’s out of date, we can conduct a thorough examination of your premises, practices and procedures to identify and remedy any areas where you’re exposed.
What form does the audit take?
There are a number of different models and templates for conducting health and safety audits. Most commonly, and the approach we adopt at Ellis Whittam, is what’s known as a General Risk Assessment (GRA). This is a systematic examination of your workplace to identify possible causes of harm, the likelihood and severity of that harm occurring given the safeguards already in place, and any further control measures needed to reduce risk to as low a level as is “reasonably practicable”.
Will you just provide a report of the issues identified?
No. The report will provide clear solutions and recommendations to address particular areas of concern. Unlike some providers, we won’t insert default ‘corrective action required’ responses unless it is absolutely clear what you need to do; we edit to provide clarity. Plus, if you have any questions or concerns, your dedicated Health & Safety Consultant will be more than happy to assist.
Advice Line
Whether you need a steer on risk assessment or help unpacking legislation, with our unlimited advice line support, you can relieve the pressures of regulatory compliance and dramatically reduce risk.
Who will I be advised by?
At Ellis Whittam, we’re big believers in a personal approach. That’s why we assign each of our clients a named consultant, with who will become your main point of contact for advice, guidance and support on all health and safety matters. If you take up our full Health & Safety service, your consultant will also be the one to conduct your health and safety audit and produce your policy and handbook. This means you’ll receive consistent advice from a dedicated expert who truly understands your organisation’s safety system, arrangements and goals.
How do I know I’m getting good advice?
All of our consultants are professionally qualified to a minimum of NEBOSH level, with 95% having achieved Grad IOSH status or higher. They also have strong commercial acumen, extensive practical experience in supporting similar businesses with their compliance, and the knowledge and technical ability to help you develop sensible, proportionate solutions to all your health and safety challenges.
Risk Assessment
Whether you’re looking for a full health and safety audit or a task-specific risk assessment, our experts can take a systematic look at your premises and practices and work with you to ensure safety and compliance.
Is a risk assessment a legal requirement?
Yes. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, all employers, regardless of size or sector, must undertake a “suitable and sufficient” assessment of the health and safety of risks their employees are exposed to while at work, as well as the risks to any non-employees (customers, visitors, contractors, etc.) who may be affected by their activities. If you employ five or more employees, it is a legal requirement to keep a written record of your assessment and significant findings.
If you’re not sure where to begin with risk assessment, we can help you ensure they and properly conducted, documented and kept up to date as part of our fixed-fee Health & Safety service.
Can you do risk assessments for particular pieces of machinery?
If, for example, the audit we’ve conducted for you (or that you’ve conducted yourself) has revealed a number of items of machinery that you haven’t completed risk assessments on, we could support you with this as an additional piece of work outside of our core service. The same applies to risk assessments for lots of hazardous substances, or a large workplace with interactions between moving vehicles and pedestrians. In these cases, we can discuss this as an additional fee, or you can download and modify a particular risk assessment from our Knowledge Hub (included as part of our core Health & Safety service), which we will then review for you free of charge.
Investigating Accidents and Incidents
From advice on RIDDOR reporting requirements to serious accident and emergency support, take the stress and uncertainty out of health and safety incidents with our personalised, Health & Safety service.
Can you provide an accident investigation template?
Yes. Our fixed-fee Health & Safety service gives you full access to an extensive library of expert-created templates and helpful guidance notes available through our Knowledge Hub. This includes an accident investigation template, which you can complete and share with your consultant, who will help to make sure it contains everything it needs to (and nothing it shouldn’t).
Can you help us to prepare an accident investigation report?
Yes. This can be tricky to get right, especially as once you reach conclusions and set out the actions you have taken, the document is disclosable to the other side in the event of a personal injury claim or prosecution. We’ll help you stick to the facts, keep opinion separate, and make sure the report is presented in a way that protects your best interests.
Legal Expenses Insurance
For many employers, a six-figure penalty will have a significant impact. An optional element of our fixed-fee Health & Safety support, our FCA-regulated Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI) can bring you peace of mind during the most difficult of times.
What happens if there’s an accident in our workplace? Is it likely we will be fined?
Normally, an accident in the workplace will trigger an inspection by a regulator. If they have taken an interest, you’re part way to some sort of enforcement action being taken. This might not always be an improvement or prohibition notice; it may be a caution and notice of being taken to court, the cost of which can be significant.
What does your LEI?
In brief, our Health & Safety LEI covers legal representation, including in court, to defend you against prosecution; appealing against the serving of an improvement or prohibition notice, and protection in the event of any Fee For Intervention (FFI) charges from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), including initial representation. If a case goes to court, we will support you with the highest quality representation and present the strongest possible defence.
95% Client satisfaction rate - 97% Client retention rate
Experts in Health & Safety
Why choose us?
If you’re not confident in your current practices, or don’t have professional support in place, our network of qualified Health & Safety Consultants can help you to build a safe and compliant working environment through expert support tailored to your organisation.
- Approved by a Primary Authority
- Dedicated specialists with recognised qualifications
- Genuine hands-on experience of managing risk
- Unlimited 24/7 advice, award-winning software and policy support
- The confidence to act as one of your competent persons
Who you'll be working with
Nick Wilson
Director of H&S Services
Charles Spencer
Principal H&S Consultant
Oli Williams
Regional H&S Manager
Scott Crichton
Senior H&S Consultant
Steve McCallum
H&S Consultant
Gail Dyer
H&S Consultant
Client Stories
The Works
“I’ve taken Ellis Whittam into every organisation that I’ve worked with. I’ve introduced them to many teams and many colleagues and referred them with absolute pleasure because I genuinely trust in the service that we get.”
Debbie Jamieson, People Director
Client Stories
Culina Group
“We get a great deal of comfort and satisfaction knowing that we have support as and when we need it, in a decisive and responsive way.”
Richard Berry, Group HR Director
Client Stories
Bluestone National Park Resort
“What we recognised in Ellis Whittam is the background that they have. They are able to supply knowledge and experience in a number of disciplines, which enables us to develop our business in a way that’s safe, to do it on time and with a quality to it.”
Debbie Rainbow, Director of Human Resources and Health & Safety
Client Stories
BeaverFit
“As the company started to get larger, we knew we had to protect our employees and our contractors both onsite and in the offices. Ellis Whittam is exactly what we needed to move the company forward.”
Joanne Beaver, Operations Director
Client Stories
Choice Care
“We have found Ellis Whittam to be responsive and aligned with our business in terms of our processes and expectations. Their pragmatic approach has proven to be a great fit – nobody wants to be fighting their adviser on basic employment decisions.”
Jonathan Green, COO
Client Stories
Catalyst Choices
“Ellis Whittam supports our 280 staff members with Employment Law and Health & Safety and has provided quality management training too.”
Lisa Best, Head of Service Delivery
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