Summer 2017 WMFS Helping businesses to grow safely West Midlands Fire Service aims to contribute to the regions economic prosperity by helping enterprises to stay safe from fire through direct advice and support. Heres what business people can expect from the service West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) wants local businesses to be successful. By working with community leaders and groups in the region, it hopes to establish and maintain trust with local firms, with a view to helping them achieve compliant, safe properties. It wants business people to feel able to contact it for fire-safety advice whenever they need to, and promises that they will always receive an efficient and professional service. Enforcement action would only be taken if the safety of people was at risk. The WMFS says its team of officers will: The WMFS wants businesspeople to feel able to contact it for fire-safety advice whenever they need to Enforcement action would only be taken if the safetyofpeople wasat risk l Be courteous and polite l Identify themselves by name and provide their contact details l Try to understand how the business operates and the pressures it faces l Give details of how to raise any concerns the business may have l Agree timescales, expectations and preferred methods of communication l Ensure they are available to discuss progress against issues raised Businesses interact with many other organisations and regulators, and the WMFS will do its best to work with these to ensure firms receive the best information, advice and service. An example of this collective approach is the recent work carried out by WMFS fire safety officers in the Black Country North Team and Wolverhampton Business Crime Reduction Group (WvBCRG). Sam duru, chairman of Wolverhampton Black Business Network (WBBN), supports the WvBCRG and advises business groups within the community. He informed WMFS that the black community in the area felt less able to access support or advice, and he wanted to break down these barriers. So the WvBCRG, WMFS fire safety inspecting officers, West Midlands Police and the local MP for Wolverhampton came together for a networking event with the black community to discuss how they could help all business groups with compliance and safety. The event was successful and now the WMFS has more referrals from within the black community and not only for business. As a result of the networking event, the West Midlands Fire Service and the local crew from Fallings Park Fire Station will support an event for the Victims of domestic Abuse Group on 17 June 2017. Information and guidance on fire-safety law is available here. CaSe Study fire crews from erdington and Perry Barr, in the West midlands, were called to smoke issuing from a building in sutton Coldfield. on arrival, they identified a small fire within a stud wall on the first floor, caused by work a contractor had carried out earlier in the day. it was quickly extinguished by the crew. the property comprised a fast-food outlet on the ground floor, commercial offices on the first level and a private flat on the second. after further investigations, the crews identified many fire-safety issues within the premises, including: a lack of fire detection; inadequate fire doors; and concerns about the layout between user groups. a referral was made to the fire safety team, which visited the premises to confirm the issues. to prevent a Prohibition notice from being served on part or all of the premises, an interim fire-detection system was installed to keep the occupants safe. fire safety officers worked closely with the people responsible for the building to resolve the other issues, and with the letting agency to ensure compliance was achieved. What is a prohibition notice? a Prohibition notice can be served on a responsible person where a situation existing in a workplace puts peoples lives at risk from fire. this situation has to be so serious that someone is likely to be killed or seriously injured. the notice can prohibit part or all of the building from being used until the deficiencies have been rectified. Credit: Leanne orton Images: iStock.com / jcarillet for further information, click here. for further information, please contact your local trading Standards Service