subject: How to Lower Your Risk and Exposure: Planning is Only One Piece of the Puzzle [print this page] How to Lower Your Risk and Exposure: Planning is Only One Piece of the Puzzle
When it comes to most things in life, planning and risk have an inverse relation, the more planning you do, the less risk you have. This certainly rings true for your Fire and Life Safety Program planning. Simply having a Fire Safety Plan is only the beginning when it comes to following the Fire Code and minimizing your risk and exposure. In fact, simply having a plan isn't good enough when it comes to meeting the legal requirements set out in the National Fire Code.
While having a Fire Safety Plan is a must, it is just one piece of a successful Fire and Life Safety Program. To comply with the Fire Code and lower your risk and exposure, you need to implement the other pieces: training your personnel on an ongoing basis, maintaining an up-to-date Plan, and when necessary, putting your plan into action and supporting the First Responders. Following the Fire Code means employing all of these pieces, and in doing so, you reduce your risk and exposure.
The more comprehensive your Fire and Life Safety Program, the more you lower your risk and exposure. Upgrading to a Multi-Hazard Plan that contains standard operating procedures for various other emergencies, not just fires, further reduces your risk and exposure by enabling you and your personnel to be prepared for almost anything. It also demonstrates that you are concerned with your personnel's safety and well-being.
But what does it really mean to reduce your risk and exposure? And why should you care so much? As a Building Owner or Property Manager, you can be held personally responsible and liable in a court of law should a disaster ever occur at one of your properties. It is your duty to ensure that a current Fire and Life Safety Program is in-place and your personnel are trained and know what to do in the event of a disaster. There are numerous cases now where building owners or managers have been found guilty and, and in some cases charged large sums of money, after being found negligent. In one extreme case, the building owners had to pay $9 million and Building Management had to pay $24 million after six people died in a high-rise fire (Cook County).
Don't take the chance of being held liable have an extensive Fire and Life Safety Program, train your personnel and maintain your Plan.
