Fire Safety and Security to Save Empty Buildings
An interesting 2008 document developed under the Insurers’ Fire Research Strategy scheme (InFiReS) and published by the Fire Protection Association (FPA) concerns safety measures to be adopted in empty buildings. InFiReS is a group of UK insurers who actively support expert working groups to develop and promote best practice for the protection of people, property, businesses and the environment from losses due to fire and other risks.
The topic of the document is still of great interest, due to the continuing frequency of fires affecting buildings of different historical and functional value, united by the fact that they have lost their commercial value over time. Moreover, press reports of fires in abandoned buildings are extremely frequent almost everywhere.
The document provides guidance for owners of empty buildings on how to protect their assets from fire and theft. Empty buildings are at greater risk of crime and deterioration, so it is important to take precautions to minimise the risk of loss or damage.
When a building becomes empty, owners should manage the closure in an orderly and structured way. This includes informing the property insurer, undertaking a risk assessment and taking steps to reduce the risk of fire and/or intrusion. Valuable items should be removed immediately and steps should be taken to remove all rubbish, excess furniture and other items that are not part of the fixtures. The building should be ‘put to sleep’, which includes physically securing the exterior, possibly upgrading the level of perimeter security and disconnecting/isolating selected services.
There are a number of general precautions that owners can take to reduce the risk of an attack on a vacant building, including removing sources of ignition, minimising the amount of combustible materials present, minimising the attractiveness of the building to vandals or thieves, optimising levels of physical security, maintaining the efficiency of security systems and ensuring that all postal or other deliveries are stopped. Additional security measures may also be considered, such as offering the building on short-term loan to responsible voluntary organisations, making full use of any accommodation attached to the premises and installing temporary intruder and fire alarm systems.
The document also provides specific guidance on protecting vacant historic buildings, which present unique challenges. For example, it is important to respect the historic value of the building when taking physical measures to protect it. The document recommends that owners of historic buildings consider employing a live-in caretaker, a site guard and/or installing an intruder alarm system.
Finally, the document includes a management checklist that owners can use to ensure they have taken all necessary precautions to protect their vacant building. The checklist covers a variety of topics, including administration, health and safety, fire safety, physical security, and other safety measures.
Another feature of the document concerns the integration of safety and security measures. This aspect should be particularly taken care of in historic buildings, starting from the most frequented ones. The symbolic value, in fact, can expose these buildings to the risk of malicious acts that cannot be overlooked.
