Employers are putting millions of UK workers at risk as a result of lax fire safety procedures, warns insurance company RSA.
The firm commissioned research which shows that a quarter of workers have never participated in a full fire evacuation of their workplace. One in 20 UK workers also said their workplace had no marked fire exits at all.
According to the survey, over 40% of people said they would spend time retrieving personal belongings or work documents before vacating the building. One in ten workers said they sit at their desks for more than a minute before getting up to leave the building on hearing the alarm go off, regardless of whether they believe there is a real fire or not. RSA says not enough is being done to ensure that businesses operate good fire safety practices in the UK. The company is calling for businesses to step up their behaviour, encourage all employees to take fire safety seriously and hold more regular fire drills.
David Geer, UK business director at RSA, said: “Our research revealed a much higher level of apathy about fire safety among workers throughout the country than we had hoped. It is crucial in the case of fire safety that companies not only evacuate employees from the workplace quickly and efficiently in an emergency, but also make sure that staff are made acutely aware of fire safety procedures and the location of their nearest fire exit.
“Businesses that do not take fire safety seriously are risking their employees’ lives and their livelihoods.”
