Fire extinguisher bought at car boot sale is false economy

When it comes to Fire Extinguishers I like to think I am pretty clued up on Standards and legislation and at Fire and Safety Centre we have invested a great deal of time in trying to educate our customers regarding compliance issues particularly post the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005 the RRO. Clearly getting the message across to some businesses on how to select the right Fire Extinguishers has some way to go if my casual observation last Sunday is any measure.

Since the demise of our local village shop I am obliged to visit the next village to collect my Sunday newspaper. In so doing I pass the regular Sunday morning car boot sale in the same village. As I drove through I noticed a chap leaving the car boot lugging a red fire extinguisher.  I only caught a passing glance but thought it unusual to find fire extinguishers for sale on a car boot.

The newsagent is just a couple of hundred yards from the car boot and as I left the shop the chap with the extinguisher had caught me up. He was outside another shop in the arcade and had placed the canister on the ground whilst he unlocked the door so I had a better look as I returned to my car. It was clearly a 6 litre water extinguisher but I could see no BS EN3 kitemark or even a CE mark and worse still the safety pin was missing.  I recognised the new owner as the proprietor of the shop which is a cafe and chippy which I visit occasionally when we fancy fish and chips.

Now it could be that the extinguisher was intended for some legitimate purpose even though it was clearly not fit for purpose, but the idea of a water extinguisher in proximity to scalding hot fat made me more than uneasy. There is a big difference between genuine approved kite marked budget fire extinguishers as found on our web site and car boot seconds of suspect provenance. The few pounds he may have saved may cost him thousands if the fire inspector calls and finds his “bargain” deployed in the shop. I regret to say I walked on by without putting him in the know but will be on the lookout the next time I call in and may summon the courage to mention the potential pitfalls.

Workplace First Aid Kits get a British Standard makeover

Probably all households have that special cupboard converted to a makeshift first aid cabinet full of assorted first aid products assembled over the years. Half empty boxes of first aid plasters, bandages, dressings and antiseptic balms are all jumbled together for those inevitable little accidents and emergencies. Of course when they are needed you can never find a plaster of the right size, the finger guard has gone missing or the medical tape has perished.

In the home this is all part of the living experience but in the workplace the consequences of not having a viable first aid kit will lead you to fall foul of the Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 that obliges that “An employer shall provide or ensure (provision of) such equipment and facilities as are adequate and appropriate in the circumstances for enabling first aid to be rendered to ……employees if they are injured or become ill at work”

Attitudes to Risk Assessment and the workplace environment has moved on since 1981 and British Standards with advice from HSE, has produced a new standard BS 8599 for workplace first aid kits that replaces the old British Healthcare Trade Association (BHTA) guideline. We will be phasing in the new kits over the next few weeks to meet the required implementation date of December 31st.

The new Standard has revised the product and equipment content of workplace first aid kits to improve safety provision for both patient and first aiders. The Standard details 3 sizes, small first aid kits, medium first aid kits and large first aid kits appropriate to the size of the workforce and the level of workplace safety risk but all will contain the same basic contents in varying quantities.

First aid Kits to BS 8599 will contain the following:

• First Aid Plasters – more quantity
• Nitrile Gloves – more quantity
• Sterile Wipes – more quantity (now must meet the European CE marking rules)
• Medium and Large Dressings – fewer quantities
• Triangular Bandages – fewer quantities
• Finger Dressings
• Burns Gel Dressing – modern burns gel with a conforming bandage to attach and retain it
• Adhesive Tape in addition to Safety Pins allowing a choice of application
• Shears – for cutting clothing around wound sites to allow first aid treatment.
• Foil Emergency Blanket – clinical shock presents a serious life threatening risk to a casualty, Foil blankets keep the casualty dry and warm
• Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation Device to protects the first aider from cross infection
• First Aid Guidance Leaflet – with latest HSE guidance

Note that eye wash is not on the list although it is recommended in Travel First Aid Kits for employees on the move and separate eye wash stations should be provided in high risk workplace areas.

The BS 8599 Standard does differentiate between low risk environments including offices, retail, libraries etc. and high risk such as construction, engineering and process plants. By example in an office a small size first aid kit to BS 8599 is ok for up to 25 employees but you need a large size kit for every 25 employees in a high risk workplace.

Specialist workplace environments require more specialist First Aid provision and we will continue to supply “blue plaster” Catering First Aid Kits and PSV first aid kits conforming to the new standard.

Should Big Brother govern life choices?

There was something worryingly Orwellian about reading the Sunday paper this week. It started with an apparently serious front page article about the Mandometer (after mandible I guess) an ingenious talking plate that measures the amount of food you eat and issues terse warnings if you eat too much or too quickly. It even has a screen showing graphics of the food on the plate and shows it disappearing as one eats. Surely observing the actual plate would be equally effective in spotting this.  The idea of course is meant to cure all us common folk of obesity by “training” us to eat responsibly. Mad! Mad! Mad! This kind of intuitive talking safety device is not new. Our intelligent Cigarette Smoke Detector can not only detect a lighter flame at 6 metres but also issues a verbal “No smoking allowed” warning. In this case at least it is a necessary safeguard to meet sensible HSE and fire safety legislation.

Then the BMA publishes its annual crackpot scientific review on the dangers of cigarette smoking calling for smoking to be banned in (private) cars. The report asserted children in cars were subjected to 23 times the level of toxins from cigarettes than they would compared to a smoke filled bar. As we quite rightly no longer have smoked filled bars this assertion seemed based on dubious science. When challenged, the BMA had to quickly backtrack reducing its figure to “nearer 11″ before admitting the measurements were taken in cars with windows closed and the air-conditioning in recirculation mode. I think more lives could be saved by urging drivers to carry emergency safety equipment such as a fire extinguisher, a travel first aid kit and a lifehammer to break a window and let the kids escape if the doors are jammed in an accident.

Next I read a story that shows the rise in CCTV cameras monitoring our kids in school has reached epidemic proportions with several schools boasting a camera to pupil ratio approaching 1 for every 6 kids. Even the school toilets that last bastion of privacy have succumbed to the official pupil snooper. The Heads at these schools defend their blanket surveillance strategy as essential to prevent misbehaviour and vandalism. They may need reminding that due to EU human rights excesses the day has long gone when our children held the slightest fear of retribution for doing anything wrong.

To cap it all another article reported that atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels have “shot up” by 2.5 ppm to 390 or so. The climate change doom mongers are never that hot on detail or margins of error but how convenient are the findings with the Kyoto climate change conference just weeks away. Smoking a cigarette creates carbon dioxide as does a car but not I suspect as much as manufacturing CCTV cameras.

Winter Nights – Safety Driving

Once again our politicians at Westminster have bowed to the Scottish lobby and missed another opportunity to ditch the ludicrous time warp that is Daylight Saving Time which now plunges us all into darkness by 4pm. I dislike driving in the dark at the best of times but in deep winter with any combination of ice, snow, fog and rain the commute home is even more hazardous and stressful.

Traffic death rates are three times greater at night, yet many of us are unaware of the hazards that night driving poses or effective ways to minimise the risk. It is therefore all the more important to prepare for your journey and take sensible safety precautions to protect you and your passengers.

Start out by ensuring the vehicle is roadworthy. Check for blown bulbs, check tyre pressures and oil levels, fill the screen wash tanks and check the cabin demist is working.
When driving at night follow these tips on safer driving

• Use your lights responsibly – Turn headlights on one hour before sunset and leave on for at least half an hour after sunrise to make it easier for other drivers to see you in early twilight. Use your high beams sparingly at all times but in fog use low beam headlights in conjunction with fog lamps if you have them.

• Avoid glare – Don’t look directly at oncoming headlights and use the day night shift on the rear view mirror to prevent glare from following traffic.

• Keep all windows and headlights clean – Dirty windows diffuse light and can increase glare, making it more difficult to see, while dirty headlights can reduce efficiency by as much as 90 percent.

• Be alert – Look for flashes of light at hilltops, curves and junctions that may indicate the headlights of approaching vehicles.

• Increase your following distance – Increasing your distance by four to five seconds can make it easier to spot potential problems on the roadway and give you more time to react safely.

• Avoid fatigue - Night driving can be tiring, so on long journeys ensure good ventilation inside the cabin, and take frequent refreshment breaks to give your eyes a chance to recover. Take a short nap or a brisk walk, or have some caffeine to help you stay alert.

• Glasses- Anti-reflective (AR) coating reduces internal reflections in the lenses. AR-coated glasses also transmit more light than regular lenses which can improve vision at night.

Finally if we have anything like the winter of last year you should also consider equipping the car with a winter survival pack to get you out of trouble should you break down or become stranded.
Carry at least one reflective warning triangle in case of a vehicle breakdown, so you are as visible to other drivers as possible.  A snow shovel and small tub of icemelt is a must to escape from drifts and icy roads. To sustain body and mind having warm weather proof clothing, rugged rigger boots, a blanket, thermos and a supply of high energy food would be a potential lifesaver.

If you have more tips for our readers then let us know.

10 Work Place Safety Essentials When Starting a Business.

You may think that business start-up’s in the current economic climate would be a rare occurrence yet government statistics still report “Business Births” as they term it at approaching 200,000 a year. Starting a business is stressful enough with so much red tape and regulations to plough through. Work place safety including fire safety is just one aspect but at least we can help with a rundown of 10 essential provisions to put budding entrepreneurs on the right side of the law.

• Display a Health and Safety Law poster prominently in the premises either on reception or in a communal staff area.
• Display Fire Signs detailing what to do in the event of fire, the designated escape routes and fire assembly points.
• Display a No Smoking Sign at each public entrance to the premises
• Conduct a fire risk assessment and utilise the outcome to determine any extra fire safety provisions such as Fire Extinguishers. If you need help purchase one of our self help manuals or step by step fire risk assessment tools. It’s far less expensive that employing a consultant.
• Purchase a Fire Log Book to record fire safety training, fire equipment maintenance records, fire drills and fire action plans. This is mandatory if you employ 5 or more people.
• Accidents can happen in any business so a First Aid Kit is a good safeguard.
• If the business extends over several rooms install a Rotary Hand Bell in a usually occupied room that can be heard throughout the building.
• In unoccupied rooms such as storage, server or computer rooms that present a fire risk install Smoke Detectors. For large premises extending to many rooms or more than one floor interlinked wired smoke detectors and alarms are preferred.
• If in the course of your business activity you store and use quantities of hazardous substances, described generally as toxic, corrosive or flammable you should store these in a suitable Flammable Storage Cabinet compliant with the COSHH or DSEAR regulations.
• Having done all this you should then bring in your insurers and ensure you have third party liability insurance appropriate to your business. Having a clear fire and safety policy in place should help with the premiums.

You can find more information in our Advice section on Fire Safety Management and if you have any further tips to help start up businesses let us know.