The pitfalls of buying fire safety equipment online

According to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and British Standards, it’s the responsibility of a business to ensure that all fire safety equipment meets required standards and are installed and commissioned by a technician who has the necessary training and certifications.

People are often tempted to purchase their fire safety equipment online, mostly due to headline-grabbing prices that make it seem like a great deal. However, these are often cheaper models with lesser fire ratings, some of which aren’t up to the correct standards and can land business owners in hot water in the form of heavy fines or even imprisonment.

Should a fire take place on your business’s premises it’s highly likely that authorities will launch an investigation. If the investigation finds that your fire safety equipment was not up to standards or properly maintained, the person responsible would likely face prosecution. Many people mistakenly think that fire extinguishers are all alike, it’s crucial you do your due diligence to ensure the ones you source would pass an inspection and have been commissioned by a certified engineer.  

Is the company you’re sourcing from willing to take responsibility for any faulty equipment and provide guarantees? If you haven’t carried out your own tests there’s always a chance that an extinguisher will not function as expected. This can be disastrous in the event of a fire and lead to further damage and potentially even loss of life. In many cases, when buying online there is no chain of responsibility or guarantees in place, which means the buck stops with whoever is responsible for the business’s fire safety efforts.

Another consideration is those fire extinguishers purchased online are commonly supplied in parts to be assembled. This, of course, should always be done by a qualified technician and will add to any cost or savings made by purchasing online. Any waste equipment, such as extinguishers, would also have to be disposed of, which would usually be taken care of by the company supplying them, which again adds an unseen cost that can’t be avoided.

Ensure you’re only sourcing high-quality equipment with Walker Fire. Our technicians are audited both internally and externally for quality assurance purposes and operate in accordance with all current standards and legislation.

Call us on 0800 731 3630 or email uk@walkerfire.com to arrange a free site survey and receive a no obligation quote for your business’s premises.

Guidance Buying Extinguishers via the Internet