Arson is currently responsible for around 44 per cent of all commercial fires in the UK.
With the high incidence of arson related fires, it is not surprising the latest industry figures show that property damage and business losses is currently costing UK businesses around œ570m per annum. In addition, 40pc of businesses that suffer arson attacks never recover in the same location. So say BT redcare, the UK continuous remote monitoring and intelligent information services firm. Visit www.redcare.bt.com
Mentor Business Systems Ltd turned to BT redcare, to ensure it did not fall victim to arson. Founded in 1985 by Keith and Dorothy Hatfield, Mentor Business Systems is based in West Yorkshire. With customers across the UK and Ireland, Mentor specialises in computer systems for the security and fire industry including TurboCAAMS, Alarm Receiving Centre alarm monitoring software and CASH for windows ? a service management system.
What they say
Dorothy Hatfield said: ?Having worked within the security and fire industry for the past 15 years, we are well aware of the issues faced by UK businesses. That is why, when we moved to our new premises at the end of 1995, our top priority was to invest in a security and fire alarm system that gave us peace of mind. We therefore installed BT redcare, a system we have total confidence in.” BT redcare is a fire signalling network provider in the UK and the only network to be continuously monitored (as recommended by BS 5839-1). BT redcare continuously monitors the link between an installed alarm system and an alarm receiving centre, 24-365. If an alarm is generated, a signal is transmitted over the BT line and forwarded on to the emergency services within seconds. BT redcare can send an alarm even if the line is busy or has been cut or damaged. Mrs Hatfield added: ?One Saturday evening, Keith and I were relaxing in the garden at home when the phone rang. It was the alarm monitoring centre, informing us that the alarm at the office had been triggered. The offices are only a few minutes from home so we dashed there only to find flames and thick black smoke coming from the middle of the building. The fire brigade was alerted and arrived within minutes.” The offices are converted from a row of five terraced cottages with a covered access lane running through the middle of the ground floor, and the upstairs offices running over the top. The fire was deliberately started in a rubbish bin in the access lane, with the aid of petrol and old carpet.
Frazzle detected
“In the confines of the lane, the through draught forced the flames straight up into the upper floor of the building, catching on its way the electrical and telephone cables, which melted to a frazzle. Because we had BT redcare, this was detected immediately and an alarm generated automatically,” continued Mrs Hatfield. As a result of BT redcare?s service, the speed of detection ensured that the damage was contained and kept to a minimum. Mrs Hatfield concluded: “The fire itself did not spread to the office furniture or equipment, and business resumed within a couple of days. Without the BT redcare alarm signal, it would have been a different story. We stood watching the fire brigade save our building, the business we had worked 15 years to build and the jobs of our team. A mindless incident of arson could very well have cost us our livelihood. Our sincere thanks go to BT redcare as we have much to be grateful for.”
