Here at Tas Valley Fire (UK) Ltd, we don’t need to employ Mystic Meg to predict the question a customer will ask when approaching us about a fire risk assessment. Quite understandably, they’ll say, “How much will this cost me?” but the answer isn’t numerical at all.

There’s only one proper way to respond, and it’s been the Tas Valley Fire (UK) Ltd way for as long as we’ve been in business. We tell our clients, “It’s not the fire risk assessment that will cost you, it’s the work that may need to be undertaken following any significant findings of that assessment.”

We are well aware that when you take us on to assess the risk of fire at your premises, you are placing a lot of trust in our team. So we work to clear, industry standards, and we take pride the professional promises we can make. So if you are planning to have a fire risk assessment carried out, make sure that whoever performs it is working to these standards. If they don’t, it could be very costly to you.

Our risk assessment rules

–   Our reports are based on PAS 79, a mythology of undertaking Fire Risk Assessments widely accepted by Fire Authorities and throughout the Fire Safety Industry.

–   The report will clarify any findings, not just provide yes or no answers, tick boxes and sweeping statements.

–   If you need work to be done so you can meet an acceptable standard of fire safety, we will advise you on securing cost effective solutions without compromising safety.

–   The report will also advise on which work should be prioritised and on an acceptable period in which it should be completed.

Our risk assessments are completed by David Woodward, MIFireE. David worked as a member of the Norfolk Fire Service for 35 years, has been a Fire Consultant for fifteen years in his own business and is a Fire Alarm and Fire Extinguisher Engineer. If you would like a no-obligation chat with David about your risk assessment requirements, please contact him at david@tasvalleyfire.com or on 07714099886. Here at Tas Valley Fire (UK) LTd, we are always happy to help!

When you buy a fire alarm system, the goal is to keep your personnel safe and has the added bonus of protecting your premises too. But what happens when this top of the range alarm sounds at 3 am to warn there’s a fire, but no one responds. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

That’s why when you plan your fire detection system it’s important to consider these scenarios. Of course, you’ll be considering the well-intentioned advice of architects, the Fire Authority and checking it against Building Control recommendations. However, often the aim of these hi-tech, high-cost systems isn’t life safety – you’ll have that covered in other ways – but property protection.

But taking you back to 3 am, the ringing alarm and no response, what use was shelling out all that money?

The solution is auto-diallers.

Forget the fire alarm systems, if you’ve got smoke and or/heat detection installed, all you now need is an auto-dialler. This clever little device will monitor the building outside working hours, or when the property is unoccupied and in the event of a fire, you’ll get a call. Of course, all the solutions for total fire protection come down to the requirements of the property itself and you may need some other extensions to the fire detection system. But for many buildings and business, auto-diallers are a great solution.

Auto-diallers: the facts

Auto-diallers are available in two types:

LANDLINE: a version that can link into your existing telephone system

MOBILE: a version that links via a mobile telephone, for use in premises that either has no landline facilities or where linking into the landline would prove complicated.

Both types of auto-dialler can store six or more telephone numbers and, when the fire alarm is activated, will continuously ring those numbers until the call is answered. They also have the facility to attach to other devices, like burglar alarms.

Cost of Installation

Here’s even more good news! Once the auto-dialler is installed, there are no additional charges to worry about – no running costs, rental agreements, or ‘call centres’ to pay for.

However, if the auto-dialler is of the mobile phone type, the device (which can also be used to ring in and ring out like a normal phone) will require a dedicated sim card that must be reactivated on a monthly basis.

More Information

If you would like to know more about how we can fit an auto-dialler to your fire detection system and give you that extra level of protection and peace of mind, contact Tas Valley Fire (UK) Ltd today. We’re always here to help! Tel: 01603 811502 / 0771 4099886 or Email: david@tasvalleyfire.com

As many of you will know Tas Valley Fire (UK)Ltd was built on the reputation of one man – our founder and director David Woodward.

There’s a good reason why people trust David with their fire protection needs and that’s because of his long and celebrated career in the Norfolk Fire Service. So we’re going to take you for a walk down memory lane as David tells us what inspired him to join up…

“I grew in the 1960s which was a wonderful and exciting time to be a young man,” says David. “From an early age I really loved getting involved in community activities – whether it was in my church, or putting on dances or helping out at public events. But when it came to a career, I was a bit stuck.

“I started off trying to do some teaching, before taking a job as a trainee in an accounting firm. The people were nice, the work was fine but I just wasn’t in love with it and I knew whatever I did would have to be a vocation. Thank goodness, I happened to bump into a friend one day who asked me to join him at an introductory meeting for the King’s Lynn Auxiliary Fire Service. From the moment I arrived, something felt different and by the end of the session I knew I’d found my perfect career.

“Training to be a fireman is tough but I’m a fitness fanatic and I was so driven to succeed that I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of me reaching my goal. It was an amazing day when I finally qualified and was an official firefighter! One of the things that I most loved about the job is that I was making a huge difference in people’s lives. It’s tough to be on hand when people are facing tragedy and terrible fear, but knowing that I was part of the team that tried to help meant a great deal. It’s an incredibly interesting and diverse job, and I wasn’t stuck behind a desk – although I’ll admit the shifts could be a killer!

“Throughout my career, I moved up the ladder and I ended up being a station officer. This was the perfect job for me because it meant more responsibility and very interesting work, but I remained working out and about, not tied to an office for days on end.

“When I retired, it was a big moment because I’d loved my career and the Fire Service was a huge part of my life. But I knew I’d never be able to leave that world behind and that’s why I set up my own fire consultancy. Funnily enough, as well as covering people’s fire protection needs, I’m doing a lot of training these days. I guess that short foray into teaching wasn’t a waste of time after all!”

If I’m honest, it took a while for me to be convinced of the power of social media.

While I love a gadget and I freak out when my iPad battery life gets low, I couldn’t get my head around posting regular updates on Facebook and Twitter. Who would be interested?

But with the arrival of my daughter Kate to the Tas Valley Fire team, things have changed significantly. She and Bev have been hard at work posting all sorts of weird and wonderful things out to our followers – and the great news is, they like it.

Now I understand that what we write on our social media channels doesn’t have to be boring updates or just business, it’s a place for us to let people get a glimpse of Tas Valley Fire from a more personal perspective. As well as keeping everyone up to date with any news, we share lots of interesting stuff about Norfolk, health and fitness, silly jokes, funny stories and plenty of crazy cat videos.

It’s a great way to meet people in the local business community too. We’re now tuned into the #Norfolkhour on Twitter and love finding out what other companies are up to. We’ve made new friends, found out about loads of great events happening in the area and been able to give people some good fire safety advice along the way.

Social media is working out well for us, but we know it can take a while to get established and to feel you are getting the benefit from it. But being active, engaged and ready to answer questions when our customers need them is paying dividends. So log on and check us out on Twitter or Facebook – we’d love to hear all about you.

Cheers!

David

There’s no end of red tape and unexpected problems to deal with when you open a new business. So it’s good to know exactly what is expected of you, by law, in terms of fire protection.

We’ve guided plenty of new businesses through this part of the process, so they can move on to doing the thing that they actually want to do. But if you’re still wondering if you’ll ever get to opening your doors and doing the thing you love, contact us and we’ll run you through a new business checklist.

We can take you through what needs to be done to keep you on the right side of the regulator, and offers tips and advice on how to access those services. If you need any other advice, Tas Valley Fire (UK) Ltd offers all the services you’ll need to be fire safe. Just get in touch at david@tasvalleyfire.com.