The reality of course is that because of the hazards of explosives, strict and in-depth fire management systems will (should) be in place, creating a safely managed work environment, whereas an office with no or inappropriate fire management could provide an unsafe working environment. Consider that an explosives factory will have safe systems of working and automatic fire systems, then consider an office with dated electrics, poor housekeeping and, if any, fire exits which are then locked. E1.1: Moral and financial reasons for managing fire safety Assessment criteria: E1.1 Discuss the moral, financial, and legal reasons for managing health and safety in the workplace. Moral expectations of good standards of fire safety In 2020, the UK Fire and Rescue services attended 549,913 incidents, of which 156,128 were fires and over 230,000 fire-related false alarms. Sadly, there were 289 fire-related deaths. In the US, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) reported 1,318,500 fires in 2018. Sadly, there were 3655 fire-related deaths. The catastrophic Australian bushfires in 2019/20 destroyed over 5,900 buildings and sadly resulted in the deaths of at least 34 people. Fires can also result in a great deal of suffering for all those affected and result in low morale within the workforce. It is also a legal requirement in many countries to prevent fire and to protect employees and other relevant persons from the effects of fire and to mitigate the effects of fire from anyone in the vicinity of a premises on fire. The financial cost of incidents (including penalties that could be imposed in the event of a false alarm) Fire can result in massive financial and economic loss involving the loss of personal property and private dwellings. The potential for material damage and loss of revenue to a small business or even a large corporation is great enough to cause that business to cease trading with the subsequent loss of jobs. Such a situation can have a massive effect on the local economy, therefore the financial effect of fire can be far reaching and is not only limited to any material damage caused at the time of any incident. It is virtually impossible to place an exact figure as to the financial cost of fire, but reliable estimates show a huge cost to society each year in both financial and human terms. In 2008 it was estimated that fires cost the UK economy over £8 billion. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) estimated the cost of the reported 1,318,500 fires in 2018 to be $25.6 billion. There is generally no specific “fire damage insurance policy” that can be taken out. There are however several types of policy that would pay for repair for items in the event of fire. For example, homeowner buildings and contents, business owner buildings and stock. However, the policies are likely to be expensive and will not protect against business losses such as downtime/production losses, loss of revenue or loss of customers. These uninsurable losses in the event of a fire are likely to be much greater than the insured losses.
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