Creating A Safe Fire Exit Route In Your Commercial Building

Many firms do everything they can to prevent a fire. It’s right that they’d wish to protect everybody on their premises.

However, despite their best efforts, bad luck can still strike. Moreover, people can underestimate the damage fires can cause to businesses. Because these premises are often full of flammable materials and hazardous substances, a blaze can tear through these areas rapidly. Such instances aren’t all that uncommon, either.

Consequently, it would help if you had a plan for an emergency exit strategy in place. They’re not easy to put together, especially if your commercial premises is rather complicated in design. So, without further adieu, here’s a quick guide to creating a safe fire exit route in your business premises.

Evaluate Your Building

You can’t create a safe fire exit route on a whim. You need to completely understand the assignment, and that means thoroughly understanding the layout of your commercial building.

Questions you should be asking here include:

  • Which areas of the building increase the risk of fire? Electrical outlets, flammable substances and materials, and areas where trips could occur all heightened present risks in a fire-related emergency.
  • Are any access points too narrow for all to pass through? Older buildings, in particular, can be harder to navigate and may cause congestion during an escape.
  • If you’ve established a primary fire exit route, can you establish a secondary option too? There can be many reasons the main route becomes inaccessible during a fire, so backup plans are essential. If the building is large enough, multiple exits must also be established.
  • Is disability access sufficient? Perhaps some routes involve stairwells while others don’t. Ramps may need to be installed and protected. Fire safety wardens may need areas to help and coordinate any disabled people.

Your safe fire exit route should ideally be one of many, with the specific needs of individuals taken into account at every stage. Keeping the layout of your business premises is the first step in that process, as those considerations will help you account for everybody.

Look Into Fire Stopping

Some people think fire exit routes are just regular passageways leading to an assembly point outside. However, you can do more with them than that.

LFS work with London businesses to provide fire stopping services. Fire stopping equipment is installed throughout a building to contain a blaze and stall its spread. It can make walls, floors, and roofs more resistant to flames. In turn, fire stopping equipment help creates a safe fire escape route, as well as a secure passage for emergency services. These providers work closely with top-tier manufacturers to ensure everything is up to standard.

We’re mentioning fire stopping early because it’s a legal requirement in the UK’s Passive Fire Protection laws. Usually, the owner or landlord is obligated to carry out these measures, but as you can see, they keep people safe too. So, if you don’t occupy either of these roles, and things aren’t up to standard, it’s recommended that you speak up and highlight your concerns.

Clearly Display Fire Signage

Your staff may have familiarised themselves with the designated fire exit route in your commercial building. Still, that’s not enough.

People can be very forgetful in an emergency, despite training they may have done months prior. Moreover, guests to your premises may be unfamiliar with the procedure too. So, fire signage becomes integral here, serving useful reminders of many factors like:

  • Discouraging people from using lifts while a fire is underway.
  • Sounding the alarm if one is part of the fire exit route.
  • Leaving the building by the nearest available fire exit only.
  • Directing people to the nearest assembly point.
  • Instructing people how to use fire safety equipment in the unlikely event they’re in immediate peril along the safe fire exit route.

Some of the information can seem like common knowledge, but it can be immensely reassuring during extreme stress. At that time, people need clarity of thought to exit the building calmly and safely, and that’s what notices can provide. Keep the area around fire safety signs clear and clean.

Install Easy to Open Fire Doors

While the doors can be heavy and hard to shift in some settings, it’s vital that different types of people can use these doors without issue should an emergency happen. Otherwise, their escape may be stalled with perilous consequences.

In 2018, reports surfaced about fire doors that older people couldn’t open in Honely, West Yorkshire. Even if your staff is made up of younger people, older clients and customers may still be occupying the same building. Obviously, 2018 was awhile ago now, but it’s hard to imagine every business out there has accessible fire doors.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to assess the accessibility of yours. Remember, it’s not just about people getting out, either. Opening these doors can sometimes trigger fire alarms, which makes everyone else safer, too, if they can get out sooner for hearing it.

Establish the Assembly Point

You won’t be shocked to learn that fire assembly points should be established outside the building and away from fire hazards. The ideal location should be large and at least 50ft away from the building. More needs to be considered here, though.

Emergency responders may need to urgently give workers and guests medical attention at the assembly point. It is essential to ensure they can easily find the place and have easy access and enough room to provide that care. If an assembly point is a small tucked, away area with no road access, it’s a bad move. You shouldn’t use car parks, either.

Signs should clearly mark the area as a fire assembly point ahead of time. That way, there’s no doubt about where people should be. People will learn that soon enough if they follow the signs mentioned earlier in the article, but nevertheless, that final confirmation is essential for all.

Fire assembly points should always have storage areas with water and first aid kits on standby. Fire and health and safety officers may not be able to treat everyone effectively after a fire, depending on the severity of their condition. Still, there should be enough supplies for people to provide the best care they can until emergency services arrive.

Author: Ryan Byrne

If you are serarching for the cheapest houses, have a look at our listings.

The Price of Luxury: How Much Does It Really Cost to Live in a High-End Condo?

What makes a condo luxurious?

A luxury condominium is equipped with modern and expensive finishes. Its build quality is always superior. The house exhibits a tasteful architectural touch in every detail. Top-quality condominiums feature a residential experience that offers concierge services. They aim to give you elegance along with the practicality of living.

Costs to consider while buying a high-end condominium

Upfront cost

It is the initial cost of buying real estate. Such costs include fees related to inspection, appraisal, prepaid property tax, down payment, prepaid home insurance, earnest money, and all other closing costs. Closing costs are approximately 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price. For new construction and high-end properties, the cost can exceed 5%.

Monthly Expenses 

The prime monthly expenses include mortgage and condominium insurance payments, association dues, and property taxes. Condo maintenance fees vary from $300 to $400 on average. As luxury condominiums are more in price, the expenses are expected to be higher than traditional home units. Principal or interest payments can add another thousand to the monthly expenses. 

Amenities

There are additional costs to consider when owning a property, especially when it is expensive. Depending on the amenities included, the fees charged can wildly swing, directly impacting the maintenance cost of condos. A high-end condo property is never in shortage of amenities which can hit the charge of $1000. 

The True Cost Living In A Luxury Condo

To discover the true costs of living in a luxury condo, we conducted research throughout different cities in the US. The analysis will impart the names of five developers who are preeminent and exceptional at building luxury condominiums.

ETCO Condo

ETCO Homes serves an outstanding collection of condos in Southern California. The unique floor plans with excellent community arrangements facilitate an extensive group of buyers in Los Angeles. ETCO’s One Coast is an exclusive complex of 53 premium condo suites in Pacific Palisades. Units with 5 beds and 5 baths have two different sizes of floors. But it won’t cost further if you choose 4.8k sq.ft.

BedBathFloor Size Sq.Ft.Price
55F 11/24,8343.499M
55F 11/24,3843.95M
33F 11/23,4883.55M

Aruba Condominium

If you are looking for the right combination of expediency and splendor, Aruba Condominium comes to mind first. Daytona Beach Shore’s best indoor suit experience awaits you at Aruba Condos. You can make peace with the serene atmosphere after a day full of fun beach activities.

The Aruba Condominium is well known in Atlantic Avenue for offering spacious condos at a good price. It is not ordinarily expected to find beautiful seafront living accommodations at prices below $900K. While each of their condo units, combining 3 beds and 2 baths on a 1380 Sq.Ft. space is listed at $649.9K. Moreover, these condos have offered the lap of luxury in the name of amenities so that you do not have to payout extra bucks on taking outward service. 

Aspen Heights Condos

Austin’s luxury market skyrocketed during the pandemic. To ensure assistance toward the demand, Aspen Heights Partners create the finest places to call home in the form of fully integrated condos. The team offers unbeatable luxury through ‘The Independent’ which is a 58 -story, 370-unit condo property. The real estate is also known as Jenga Tower whose design is inspired by the bold pneuma of Austin. There are one to four bedroom units ranging from 750 to 3,000 sq.ft. in The Independent. The available units are being sold on a considerate price scale of $799K to $1.835M. 

Luxury Real Estate Sales Rose 42% During Pandemic. Source: Redfin Analysis of MLS Data

Dezer Condo

It is no secret that Dezer is one of the leading condo developers in Miami. Dezer Development is a city-based builder that covers 27 acres of seashore land in Sunny Isles Beach. The coastal neighborhood is supposed to be recreated with luxury condo buildings. With their creative housing insight, Dezer developed an 813-unit luxury condominium Trump Towers, a series of three separate towers winging 45 stories. The units are in a variety of rooms and prices.

BedBathFloor Size Sq.Ft.Price
221,4631.199M
231,9351.9M
33F 11/22,5581.995M

Bishard Condo

Virginia Beach is the land of high-end townhomes and condominiums. The blossomy coast has been served with quality condos by Bishard Homes for more than two decades. Bishard offers luxury in its thoughtful architectural style incorporating Coastal and Southern Living. They cater to people of all income levels. If you choose the luxury home series, the price will hover between $900K and $2M.

Is living in a luxury condo worth the cost?

When you desire luxury, you should not be so solicitous about the cost. It is usual for a buyer to outlay a stream of cash flow when the property comes with all fulfillments. As you spend the money, a wide range of amenities arrive at your doorstep. A condo on the higher end of the spectrum provides you security of life, elegant community, easy maintenance, great location, modern vibe, in a word, total comfort.

Five Essential Steps for Anyone Starting Their Own Home Improvement Company

It might not be too crazy to say that there’s never been a better time to start a home improvement business in the UK. Well, yes, it’s true that anyone thinking about starting their own company right now is going to be a bit concerned. Everyone is worried about how much they’re spending because the cost of living keeps going up and up. And that means that all businesses are having to work harder than ever to hit their targets. And it’s worth noting that there have been some chaotic changes in basically every market you can name over the last couple of years. That includes the property market.

But lots of people are thinking about doing up their homes instead of moving into a new one precisely because the property market has been so turbulent. While home improvement has generally been a pretty steady industry, there’s good reason to think that it might see a bit of a boom in the months ahead. So yes, this could be exactly the right time to get your business up and running.

Identify Your Niche

Niching down might seem like a risky step to take when you haven’t even gotten started yet. Why would you want to limit your options when there are so many different areas of home improvement that you could explore? Well, the first thing to remember is that it’s always better to do one thing exceptionally well than it is to do a lot of things to a mediocre standard. The second is that you should remember that most people will be looking to do one job at a time, and there’s a good chance that they will be searching online for that specific thing. It will also help to build your reputation if you can start getting feedback online, which takes us to the next point.

Build Your Web Presence

Word of mouth is going to be invaluable if you’re starting a home improvement business. It’s great if you can start getting some referrals from happy customers. But you’re more likely to find that customers are heading online and doing “near me” searches. You’re going to need a website that makes a great first impression and shows people that you’re the real deal. You’ll also need to think about the best ways that you can demonstrate your expertise on your site. Google is always hard at work refining its algorithm. One of the things it prioritises is user experience, which means that your written content doesn’t just need to be full of relevant keywords, it also needs to be helpful. You could put together some video content and image galleries to show off the quality of your work. And while you’re at it, why not think about setting up some social media profiles? They’re not all going to be relevant (you may not need TikTok just yet), but you might be surprised by the number of customers you get from these accounts.

Remember To Put Safety First

Let’s not beat around the bush: safety should be a major priority. It’s not good enough to tell yourself that you’re a sensible person and that you wouldn’t create any unnecessary risk. When you go to work on another property, you are taking responsibility for everyone on the site. That doesn’t just mean you, that also means the people who are working for you, and it may include the property owners. You’ll need to ensure that you take every possible step to minimise the risk of injury, and you’ll also need to think about whether you and/or your employees need to do any additional learning. For example, most people are aware that asbestos is unsafe to be around. But do you know exactly what steps you and your colleagues will need to take if you work somewhere with asbestos on site? If you’re looking to boost your asbestos awareness, then get in touch with the team at NATAS. Their award-winning health and safety courses and training will help you to keep your risks to an absolute minimum.

Know Who Your Customers Are

Your niche and skills are obviously two of the most important factors, but you must not overlook your target audience. It’s important to be realistic about the type of work that will be most in demand in your location and among the kinds of people who are likely to be looking to do some home improvement. For example, given last year’s historic heatwave, a lot of UK homeowners will be thinking about how they can keep cool this summer. And with energy prices continuing to soar, they will also be thinking ahead to the winter and planning to insulate their properties more effectively. Given the current cost of living issues, you may find that repairs and renovations are in higher demand than extensions, for example. So, set aside some time for some good research. What kind of jobs are you going to be pitching for a few years down the line? If the answer is different to what you expected, it might be time to add some skills to your set.

Go Sustainable

Speaking of record-breaking heatwaves, everyone needs to be thinking a lot harder about how sustainable their businesses are. There will be a lot of pressure to show that you are taking climate change seriously from local authorities, not to mention potential clients and customers. You might find that you get a big boost if you can show that you’ve got a green strategy in place. So, think about using an electric vehicle, and look for recycled materials for your projects. Research greener alternatives that you can recommend to your clients that will keep their carbon footprints low as well as keep their energy bills down. This issue is only going to become more and more important over the next few years. You can save a lot of time and effort by thinking about it from day one.

Author: Ryan Byrne

If you are serarching for the cheapest houses, have a look at our listings.