Within your business planning and from the content of your risk assessment you will of course have a plan for life safety in accordance with the fire safety order 2006.
What is less likely is if any considerations have been made as to the protection of or possible removal of irreplaceable or priceless artefacts and items of high/extreme value from your building in the event of a fire.
Clearly insurance plays its part but, it cannot bring back items destroyed in a fire.
In years past, even with comprehensive fire detections systems there have been serious and significant losses of irreplaceable items which, with some forethought and planning could have been saved if some liaison with the fire brigade had been in place – https://artquest.org.uk/artlaw-article/the-momart-fire-4/
There is a way of providing a potential safeguard by way of an asset protection plan with Veritas in partnership with Gerda being able to provide the fire and rescue services with accurate information on site as to which items in the event of a fire they are to target for rescue and recovery, thus offering some potential salvation for these potentially priceless and unique articles.
These may include some of the following:
- Works of art and religious artefacts
- Motor vehicles, boasts and aircraft
- Jewellery clothing and furnishings
These items, even if stored within a building with very high levels of smoke detection may still be at risk and will be likely to suffer significant damage from the fire and smoke even in the event of a small fire, therefore having a plan that provides information to the brigade will, likely reduce both risk of irreparable damage and permanent loss.
There is also the potential for discussion with your insurance provider as to how such a plan might impact on your cover, terms and costs which might even reduce as a consequence of such a plan.
Understanding where you can give yourself and business a small advantage and what this mazy give you in terms of the safety and protection of your assets is a positive step.
If therefore you would like to discuss this with us to see where we can help you then please feel free to get in touch for a free no obligation discussion.
