Sadly, fires are fairly commonplace in the hospitality industry and can pose a significant risk to your business. According to government statistics, there were 2,764 fires in hospitality premises during the 2020/21 financial year alone in England. Given that many hospitality venues were closed for much of this time due to Covid restrictions, it shows just how common fires can be in this industry and how easy it is for them to break out.
Below, we outline the main causes of fire in the hospitality industry and how to prevent and safeguard against them. Doing so can save lives and costly damage to your premises.
Sadly, fires are fairly commonplace in the hospitality industry and can pose a significant risk to your business. According to government statistics, there were 2,764 fires in hospitality premises during the 2020/21 financial year alone in England. Given that many hospitality venues were closed for much of this time due to Covid restrictions, it shows just how common fires can be in this industry and how easy it is for them to break out.
Below, we outline the main causes of fire in the hospitality industry and how to prevent and safeguard against them. Doing so can save lives and costly damage to your premises.
1. Electrical appliances
In hospitality buildings such as hotels, there can be a huge number of electrical appliances throughout, from lamps and kettles to hairdryers and irons. The growing number of appliances in each hotel room means the risk of them causing a fire is also increasing.
Building owners should ensure that all electrical appliances are PAT tested annually to ensure they are safe to use and any potential degradation is identified early. Appropriate fire extinguishers should also be provided in all rooms and all communal areas and corridors.
2. Cooking equipment
Another common cause of fire in the hospitality industry is cooking equipment. Cooking oils are combustible materials that are frequently used in restaurants and kitchens and can easily start a fire.
Faulty or unsupervised equipment is also a common cause of fire and as such it’s important that appliances and equipment are used correctly and not left unsupervised.
3. Cigarettes
Given the number of people, both employees and guests, that can be in a hospitality venue at one time, the risk of cigarettes causing a fire is high. It’s important that bins or ashtrays are clearly visible and accessible within the designated smoking area(s) in order for individuals to put out and dispose of their cigarettes correctly and safely.
How to protect against hospitality fires
Despite the hospitality industry displaying several fire risks, it is possible to mitigate the chance of this happening to your establishment through thorough and regular fire risk assessment checks and the correct implementation of fire safety policies.
Your building should also be protected by putting in place passive fireproofing where the compartmentation of the building works to contain the fire for a given amount of time. This means that people are given more time to evacuate in the event of a fire, and for damage to the building to be limited as much as possible, saving money and the time it takes to return to business as usual.
At FireSealsDirect we offer a range of passive fire protection products from a variety of brands you can trust, including FSI, Briton, Pyroplex, Eclipse and Lorient.
If you need advice on the right fire protection product for your project then our Customer Service team is on hand to help at [email protected] or phone 029 2085 7959.
