Spotlight: Business Continuity & Fire

27 September 2011

The effects of fire on a business may appear fairly obvious; however, when a fuller study is undertaken, there are less obvious risks that could effect our normal business operations.

In simple terms, a fire could burn a building down. The building will be unusable and the majority of its contents lost. For large organisations, with numerous buildings, this may have a lesser impact than an organisation with a single building. However, in either scenario, the impact could be reduced by pre-determined plans.

For some organisations, BC is a legal requirement under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) a relevant example of which is the Fire & Rescue Service, whereby they are expected to maintain operations in all reasonable eventualities. Suppliers to Public Sector services / organisations that have a legislative requirement may need a documented plan also.

For others, whilst it may not be a legal requirement it does make sense. Whilst having a positive outlook and hoping such an event never happens to you, should the worst happen, having a BC plan in place will greatly soften the blow and enable your organisation to operate again in a timely manner and in most instances, make money. Failure to ‘bounce back’ will inevitably lead to detrimental effects on a business, which could ultimately lead to business failure.

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