Service to help Care UK RCS stay fire safe

Company news

Dec 22, 2015

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has signed an agreement to provide fire safety advice to Colchester-based Care UK for all of its 114 care homes RCS at its sites nationwide.

Under the Primary Authority Agreement, the first ECFRS has entered into, the Service will work with the care home provider to create a fire safety framework for all of its premises in the country. The Service will also be a single point of contact for fire safety regulation and advice in the UK.

The scheme has been created to allow business to work with one fire and rescue service throughout England and Wales under the Better Business for All agenda. It helps businesses create clear and consistent fire policies across all of their sites and allows a close working relationships to develop between them and a single fire service.

Under the Agreement ECFRS will work with Care UK to assist the company in achieving a high level of fire safety compliance at all of their sites nationwide.

ACFO Paul Hill said: “We are delighted to sign this agreement with Care UK. The Primary Authority Agreement will simplify fire safety and create a clear and consistent regulatory frame work for all of their sites throughout the country.

“We already provide robust safety and regulatory advice to businesses and organisations in Essex and now we look forward to working in partnership with Care UK RCS to ensure their facilities are as safe as possible.”

Andrew Knight, Care UK’s managing director for residential care services said:  “We have always taken fire prevention and safety very seriously in our homes but, as we have grown, we’ve realised the benefits of working in partnership with one fire service to streamline our processes and ensure our auditing and compliance is 100 per cent validated. 

“We are delighted to be working closely with Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and I am sure it will further enhance our fire safety management and systems for the safety of all residents, visitors and colleagues in our homes.”

The Primary Authority Agreement was signed at a short ceremony at the Services headquarters in Kelvedon with Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Hill and Care UK MD Andrew Knight on Monday 21.