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As a business owner, it is vitally important that you take all reasonable steps to protect your employees and your work premises from fire. There are many things you can do to make your business safer and reduce the risk of fire, and most of these are legal requirements.

The following are a few basic steps to protecting your business from fire:

• Appoint a ‘responsible person’ for fire safety, or take on the role yourself
• Undergo fire safety training, and ensure that the ‘responsible person’ and all of your staff also take a fire safety awareness training course
• Arrange for a full risk assessment to be carried out on your work premises
• Implement all of the changes and improvements needed, according to the results of the risk assessment
• Involve your staff when implementing fire safety policy, as this will create a culture of fire safety within the business
• Plan escape routes, make sure everyone knows where the assembly point is – then conduct regular fire drills and test the fire alarms
• The ‘responsible person’ should also ensure that fire exits are kept clear, fire-fighting equipment is maintained and emergency exit lights are in good working order.