Luton Pub Fire

The Fancott Pub in Toddington, just outside Luton, is facing a couple of months of closure due to a fire that started in a bin a couple of days ago. Fortunately no one was hurt as there were not many customers and staff were able to get everyone out to safety which highlights the importance of an evacuation plan. Imagine a busy pub having to be evacuated within a couple of minutes – it is a lot easier to do if all staff know what they are doing to get everyone to safety without having to discuss it at the time.

We are in no way suggesting that the management of the pub do not have thorough safety procedures in place as we do not know the situation and the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation. They just know that it started in a bin.

The consequences of the fire are far reaching which really highlights the huge impact that a fire can have on business and community:

• Staff do not know when they will next be able to work
• The owners have a lot of repairs to make to the outhouse, kitchen and main building, they cannot open for business until this is done
• There are numerous community groups who will have to find somewhere else to meet
• Four fire crews were called to bring the blaze under control.

Fire cannot start without ignition and fuel together. If heat sources are kept away from fuel sources and all business activities are worked out to keep these two essential elements apart, the likelihood of fire is minimised. The process by which this is done is a fire risk assessment which is the foundation stone of all fire safety management systems and a legal requirement.

If you would like to create or improve fire risk assessments then we can help at Fire & Electrical Safety Ltd.