Workshops help staff to be prepared!
A new scheme delivering fire safety in the workplace is being piloted by Warwickshire County Councils Fire and Rescue Service as part of a drive to make residents’ homes safer.
Staff at Wolseley UK’s headquarters in Leamington were among the first to take part in the scheme on Monday 28 March with more than 30 employees attending to seek fire safety advice.
During the event, firefighters facilitated a number of workshops to help employees to think about the risk in their homes and how to reduce it. Questions asked during the sessions included – where is the right place to install a smoke alarm? What is the safe limit when using plug sockets?
Watch Manager, Dave Finnerty said:
“We all know that people are busy and it is often residents with young families who are out at work all day, which makes it hard for us to reach them. By going into their place of work, we are able to provide them with potentially life saving advice. Advice they may never have received if we were not able to work with employers such as Wolseley who see there are real benefits to keeping their employees safe, not just at work, but in their home environment too.
“During the workshops, we asked people to go through a home fire safety check form and identify potential fire safety issues in their home. This included looking at whether they have smoke alarms fitted or if they know how to produce an escape plan. issues identified during the session will now be followed up by our teams who will arrange to carry out a free home fire safety check.”
John Page, Site Facilities Manager for Wolseley UK, who arranged the visit said: “We were delighted to welcome Warwickshire Fire Service to Wolseley and were pleased to see so many staff take advantage of the advice and information on offer.
“In fact, following the success of this initiative, we plan to repeat it during the summer months.”