The Fire Industry Association (FIA) and the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA) have joined forces to present a seminar aimed at raising awareness of fire safety in the owners and operators of warehouses, factories and similar facilities.

The free seminar, entitled ‘Fire Safety in Warehouses’, will take place at Tranmere Rovers Football Club, Birkenhead on Wednesday 19 May and is designed to provide all the latest information for the responsible persons: owners, operators, Health & Safety managers, building designers and consultants of such facilities - along with those who use third-party warehouses - to ensure that staff, colleagues, employees and/or visitors are protected from the threat of fire.

The warehouse sector has been identified as one worthy of a seminar about the importance and benefits of incorporating fire safety measures to create a safe environment because major fires in such businesses often result in their closing for good.Even when a warehouse is not destroyed after a fire, there is usually crippling financial pressure resulting from the large losses incurred. Recent research has shown that warehouse fires accounted for the third highest losses in the UK – behind only those in the manufacturing and retailing sectors.

Becky Reid, Marketing Manager with the FIA, comments –“This seminar follows on from the collaboration between ourselves and BAFSA which resulted in very successful seminars aimed at the carehome and hotel sectors. This time the focus is warehouses in all their guises and whatever the size of their operation.

Amongst the topics being discussed are the legal obligations of the owner and the responsible person, the role of fire risk assessments, fire detection and alarm systems, extinguishing systems, fire fighting by staff, means of escape and the importance of third party certification.

Attention will also be given to the problems specific to warehouses, such as those classified as being of ‘modern construction’ where today’s lightweight building techniques lead to reliance on defensive firefighting. Indeed there is evidence to support that where no risk to life is present, reliance on exterior firefighting is the norm. Other key issues covered will be the removal of compartmentalisation in today’s warehouse design (which has a direct bearing on the extent of direct loss) - and the installation of early detection and suppression systems in warehouses (which are increasingly situated in out-of-town locations and accordingly necessitate a longer response time from the fire and rescue services).

Further information and registration for the seminar is available online at www.fia.uk.com/en/Events