Fire Training at The Marlborough House Hotel

Aspazia and Anita (Duty Managers at the Marlborough House Hotel in Oxford)

On a very cold afternoon in January we engaged John Sear from Fire Threat to come and talk to the team at Marlborough House Hotel in Oxfordabout fire safety and to give us some practical training.  Although all businesses have to comply with the fire regulations in the country, very few small businesses will offer practical training or any informative presentation to their team. 

As guests are usually unfamiliar with the lay out of the property and its escape routes, it is likely that it will take longer for them to escape than it would in a property with which they are familiar.  Hence, the earnest is on the business to ensure their guests safety and well-being. 

Listed here are a few tips that we all learnt from our training with John Sear.

• Request guests not to bring their own electrical equipment because it has not been PAT (portable appliance testing) tested.
• Multi-socketing is extremely dangerous as it increases the load of wattage on the socket which could result in wiring catching fire.
• In a bed & breakfast where guests are not familiar with the lay out of the property it is not recommended to offer ironing facilities in the bedroom in case an iron is left on by mistake.
• Offering guests an electrical heater must be avoided.In the event a heater is left on, it will become a fire risk.
• We were advised to request that our guests do not work on their laptops on the bed. Laptops get hot and could catch fire when overheated. Each room at our guest house in Oxford has been provided with a desk and a study lamp to ensure our guests have a comfortable setting in which to work.

We therefore learnt to REMOVE the risk, REDUCE the risk and REPLACE the risk.  

We are working endlessley to ensure the safety of our guests.

Kavita Pal - 12/02/2020