Retail is a fast-paced environment with a high turnover of shoppers as well as store staff, security, cleaning personnel, and shopping centre management.

With shopping hours extending into weekdays, weekends and numerous later trading days in larger shopping centres, the importance of fire safety in retail is more important than ever.

Retailers have a duty of care to protect staff and customers from fire risks when they visit or work on premises. The fire risks in retail premises are varied, and when a fire does occur it has the potential to spread very quickly.

The specific fire hazards inherent to retail environments are due to the high volume of merchandise, with extra stock often stored in small back rooms, as well as the presence of flammable materials including core flute and plastics used in signage and fixtures.

For national retail operators, there is the added challenge of providing appropriate fire protection to suit a variety of store layouts and locations, with the size and age of each shopping complex likely to differ.

Safety always

The foremost priority is to ensure safety. Prior to starting any on-site work, a comprehensive Environmental, Health, and Safety, (EH&S) system is imperative. The EHS team must engage in weekly activities to conduct site audits, quality checks, technical assessments, and other relevant tasks.

Managing fire risk: six essential steps

1. Conduct a fire safety audit to highlight potential fire risks around the store.
2. Keep up to date with relevant regulation and legislation to stay across your responsibilities when it comes to ethical and legislative fire safety requirements.
3. Install adequate fire protection equipment which may include fire extinguishers, fire hose reels, fire doors or more advanced fire detection and suppression systems.
4. Fire protection systems and equipment should always be serviced and maintained to perform to the standard to which they were originally designed an installed. This should include maintenance or replacement of electrical wiring and circuits to avert electrical fires.
5. Provide appropriate signage for all hazards, fire protection equipment, and emergency exits.
6. Train your local team to respond appropriately in the event of a fire. This is an invaluable investment and can substantially reduce the impact of a crisis.

How Wormald can help

Wormald offers complete, ready-to-operate turnkey solutions including:

• Maintenance and certification: Routine inspection, testing and compliance checks
• Portable fire equipment: fire extinguishers, fire blankets, and hose reels
• Passive fire solutions: Barries and fire-resistant materials
• Fire detection and alarm systems: Advanced technology for early warning
• Fire safety training: Emergency response and evacuation exercises
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