One of the aspects of business that can get overlooked is its safety.
In the rush of the everyday, certain aspects can, with the best will in the world, slip. Sometimes it’s a case of simply not knowing what has to be done.
So, a very significant woman in the world of Warwickshire’s business community is Gabriella Ahnger – Gabi, to her friends and colleagues - who is a department manager in Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Fire Protection Team. Here, Gabi introduces herself and her team.
We are a team of Inspecting Officers and Business Fire Safety Advisors that is tasked with the regulatory function on behalf of the fire service. This means that we have a statutory duty to enforce the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in premises to which it applies, i.e. commercial premises, other workplaces and premises open to the public.
However, this does not mean that all we do is police fire safety; our job involves so much more, all with the aim of making premises safe from fire. If you need advice on fire safety and what your obligations are, we are here to help!
I have been working in this team in one form or another for almost four years now and what a rewarding journey it has been. As a law graduate who decided not to pursue a career in legal practice, I can only describe it as a very happy coincidence that I ended up in Fire Protection.
I started in a temporary role as an administrative assistant at a time when inspector vacancies were about to be advertised. I applied, I was successful, and the more time I spent in the team, the more passionate I became about fire safety and the more motivated I became to make the team better, stronger, and more efficient in keeping our community safe.
As a result, I took the next step in my career at the start of last year when I became a team leader, and subsequently department manager earlier this year. During this time I have visited and been in contact with a wide variety of premises, but the main two questions I ask myself always remain the same. Firstly, has the fire risk been reduced to as low as reasonably practicable? Secondly, can people escape safely if there is a fire? The latter includes everything from fire alarm systems to making sure exit doors are easy to open. Whether the premises already has a good standard of safety or needs some help along the way does not matter so long as there is a genuine willingness to improve fire safety. The best results are always achieved when working together and remaining in frequent dialogue with businesses.
That is me and the team in a nutshell. You may already know about us if your premises has had a visit from one of our inspectors, or this may be new to you. Either way, we want to hear from you, and we want to get to know the businesses of Warwickshire. Find out more here or please get in touch by emailing firesafety@warwickshire.gov.uk or calling 01926 466 263.