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A fire safety inspection at ATS Euromaster revealed that adequate precautions are not being followed by the company inside its premises. The European tyre service provider was found lacking in basic fire safety measures at its company premises in Southampton.

Following this detection, a fine of £7,500 was imposed on the company after formal proceedings concluded. It was charged with breach of provisions outlined in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The company pleaded guilty to the charges levelled at Southampton Magistrates’ Court.

ATS Euromaster sources said that this was an unfortunate incident for the company that is always conscious about workers’ safety. They also confirmed that the required precautions were immediately put in place following the investigations. They reiterated that this failing is being taken very seriously by the company management and necessary steps are being taken to ensure that such negligence does not occur again.

The inadequacies were discovered when a routine fire safety inspection was carried out at the Southampton property by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services Fire Safety Officers. Some of the inadequacies included failure to provide proper lighting in the fire escape routes, failure to provide clear access to a fire exit, inadequate fire safety training provided to the superior-in-charge and also lack of adequate warning mechanisms in case of fire.

In all, it was concluded that proper fire safety assessment had not been carried out in the organisation.

Speaking about the proceedings, Steve Hamm of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said that this case must serve as a reminder to other organisations that fire safety is of utmost importance. Fire-safety regulations are put in place to ensure the safety of the public and must be followed diligently, said Hamm. With this penalisation and reprimand, Hamm hopes that other businesses would take steps to evaluate their own fire safety measures and improve them where necessary.

The NEBOSH Fire Certificate has been designed for managers, supervisors, and employee representatives who need to ensure that their organisation meets its responsibilities under fire safety legislation – click NEBOSH Fire. It is of benefit to organisations in enabling them to contribute to the conduct and review of fire risk assessments and fire preventive and protective measures within most workplaces.