Fire! It does happen! Too often.

'It wont happen to me!' Short and sweet. 5 little words that either directly or said in the same context that we hear at least once or twice a week. 'My building is tilt slab concrete, it cant burn.' There's nothing in my warehouse that can ignite.' 'I keep my house clean nothing will ever happen!' These are comments that we regularly hear from clients or prospective clients. Well, surely the past week in Australia should change everyone's minds about fires in the home or in businesses.

Every week without fail there is a large fire in the news. Scrolling back through news sites we've counted over 18 fires in Australia since August of some description. This actually excludes Bush fires! However last week it was basically every night. Let's see if we can recap the last week in Ozzie news.


1. Tuesday 17th September: A Norlane (Victoria) home is found alight. Allegations of resident starting fire deliberately.
2. Wednesday 18th September: 2 people die in a Deer Park (Victoria) house fire.
3. Thursday 19th September: Large warehouse fire in a Dandenong (Victoria) Carpet Factory. Estimated costs of over $5,000,000.
4. Thursday 19th September: A child dies in a Toowoomba (QLD) house fire caused by cooking oil.
5. Thursday 19th September: Elderly man dies in a Taperoo (South Australia) house fire. Cause unknown.

But lets go a little further back and we also had on 6th September a large Sydney factory fire at a truck repair shop. August 20 in Lidcombe (NSW) a food supply factory catches fire. We could rattle off any numbers of recent fires, so the argument that 'It wont happen to me,' is great in theory but without care and diligence around your property is an accident waiting to happen.

We've commented on fire's before but it's still something people take for granted. When we do a review of a clients business we are constantly looking all around the building, not just the obvious places. In factories one of the first things we do is look up. Is there a build up of dust around wiring and exposed lights. Take a look at the switchboard, is it open, enclosed or is there also dust. Where are flammables stored. Signs of vermin are also a warning sign.Rats chewing on the floor might be the start of rats chewing on wiring. All it takes is a single spark for multi millions of dollars to go up in flames and worse still potentially lives. Fire safety is paramount in your home and business. Last week we mentioned how an Insurance policy is just like a goal keeper for dealing with legislation in your business. It's the same for Fires. Don't just buy a policy and then do nothing to safe guard your property. An Insurance Policy is NOT a maintenance program. It's the last resort if catastrophe strikes. Your goal keeper when the defensive line has been breached.

This blog isn't going to go into great detail on all the ways you can protect your business or home, what it will do is hopefully trigger something in your mind that says, 'Yes, Fires are more common then we thought, we need to protect ourself.' We strongly recommend you do a Fire Safety audit on a regular date. Whether this is the anniversary of moving into the property or something more recognisable. For example the 1st day of spring is traditionally the day you change the battery on your smoke detector. A Fire Safety is not a long and arduous task and there are many informative sites to guide you along or provide templates.

http://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/ is a great place to start. When viewing this page also go to the page to do a Home Fire Safety Audit. www.HomeFireSafetyAudit.com.au There are some key areas in your home to consider.

* Usage of Cooking Oil. (As tragically evidenced this past week)
* Heaters
* Use of candles
* Lint filter in the clothes dryer.
* Dust around power outlets.

The list goes on but every single one of these is easily preventable. It sounds boring but regular dusting and cleaning is the first hazard reduction process and a blatantly obvious one. This carries into your business as well. Simple maintenance and cleaning programs will dramatically reduce the chance of fire. Electrical fires and sparking are such a dangerous type of fire as they are indiscriminate. Having your wiring checked by a qualified electrician once every year or 2 as part of your maintenance will assist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LrWM8WjcL1Y

Keep in mind as well that anything burns! As we mentioned earlier we have clients tell us it's a tilt slab it cant burn. In these buildings in particular take attention to the news and how there are always chopper shots above of a buckled and collapsing roof. Generally the fire heats the metals joists and rivets to a point that it simply collapses. Metal on Metal building. If you look at an image earlier it shows the metal buckled and opened up like a tin can. Fire can find a way in any type of building. We wont show any images of the recent home fires out of respect for the deceased but you see enough of these on the news to know that it can happen.

If you think it is a chore around the home than get the children involved. Children have been about Fire Safety at school for as along as we can remember. Yet at home how much is reinforced. There are some great kids pages to raise awareness about fire safety. Check out http://www.brigadekids.com/
As big kids we loved building a Fire Engine!! Our first go on building a truck we were missing 18 parts! Righto, how bout we point you in the right direction and leave the actual building to you. Great fun though!

To finish up we really wanted to ensure you aren't just watching the news the shrugging your shoulders at another house or industrial fire. Be engaged with it and use it as a reminder to clean up around the power points or do a Fire Audit at the warehouse tomorrow. It happens far too often that one day it could happen to you. Take the time to do an audit at the web link we provided and have it displayed somewhere so everyone in the family or business knows what to do and when to do it. A Fire is a more emotionally devastating event than you may think. It can impact many around you particularly if you have employees who rely on the job for their families well being. Do an audit and stay vigilant.

** Information provided in this blog are of a general nature only. Please take all necessary precautions and preparations by way of your own Fire Safety audit procedures. Information courtesy of NSW Government, Sky News, The Age, Courier Mail, Geelong Advertiser & Herald Sun. To discuss fire protection in your business and insurance requirements please contact us.