Fire Risk Minimisation
Fire risk minimisation guidance for the food industry
Fire has been and continues to be one of the major issues facing the food processing and storage and distribution industries in the UK. Whilst there have been a number of attempts in the past to evolve a generally agreed standard that food companies can work towards, there has been no universal consensus on what is a proper and economic way to control fire risk in the food industry.This guidance, therefore, is the latest attempt to address the two most prominent problems of recent years in the insurer-food industry relationship. The Food Industry Panels Group (FIPG) – formed as a result of the problems referred to above and assisted by the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce (AIRMIC) – has worked with the Risk Control group of InFiReS at the Fire Protection Association (FPA) to produce this guidance. InFiReS comprises a group of insurers which includes many that underwrite food industry risks in the UK. The first objective of this guidance is to produce a Code of Practice that is acceptable to insurers. Secondly, the guidance establishes a generic property loss control standard that companies can aspire to in the expectation that damage to the assets and earnings of their businesses will, at best, be prevented or, at worst, be minimised. The approach is to encourage ongoing gradual improvement that is economically viable. Given the changes to fire safety legislation, the guidance also updates the approach that individual companies must take to ensure that they are fully compliant with legislative requirements.
Fire Risk Minimisation Guidance For The Food Industry