Act now to ensure holiday park and campsite safety

A wireless fire safety solutions specialist is encouraging holiday park and campsite owners to use the quieter winter downtime period effectively, by reviewing fire safety ahead of peak seasons.

Fire constitutes one of the biggest risks to the total loss of a park home, with the dangers increasing significantly for sites set within natural woodland. To help stop and prevent a fire from destroying a holiday park site, investing in appropriate fire detection and alert system is important and could help save lives according to Tom Ambler, Sales Manager for leisure at Ramtech.

Preparing the site with fire safety
Tom, said, “Right now is the ideal time to review a site and prepare it for the busier spring and summer period. This should vitally include fire safety standards – as once peak season is here and the warmer weather attracts more visitors, the heat, coupled with popular campsite activities such as fires and barbecues, can be a real melting pot in terms of park accidents.”

“Preparing a site in advance of opening, by checking that the current fire safety system is working, is also advisable so that any problems can be unearthed in good time. Any faulty wiring or machinery, particularly relating to power generators for homes or common buildings, as well as arson, vandalism – these are all year round problems that site managers may have to contend with.”

Fire safety management
Currently, site owners have a legal obligation to manage fire safety under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (“the FSO”). The act applies to all non-domestic premises including certain types of parks, such as those with common areas in leisure complexes, restaurants, and guest houses.

And with park residents often mingling in these types of campsite community buildings, the threat to human life is very real, Tom added, “There have been many instances where park fires have caused huge devastation to livelihoods, with many being lucky to escape with their lives.”

Examples of lack of fire safety
“Just a few years ago, there was an incident at a leisure facility on a campsite near Newquay, which resulted in extensive damage to several communal buildings including a swimming pool, sauna, and gym.”

“More recently, over 60 homes were destroyed at a park near Malaga. Thankfully, there were no casualties on either occasion, but the financial cost here is huge – it forces site owners into a massive rebuild operation, potentially putting them out of action for a season for more.”

Innovative wireless and connected technology

To protect holiday sites, advances in innovative wireless and connected technology are making it easier for holiday park sites to meet their obligations under the FSO.

Tom said, “Technology is transforming the holiday industry in terms of fire safety. A system, like Ramtech’s WES3, places the power in site owners’ hands. It’s an EN54-25 compliant connected device, that can be deployed at various points across holiday parks on stands.”

Off-site notifications and IP55 rated
“It acts as an emergency response system, with automatic smoke and heat detectors responding to site incidents and maintaining 24/7 coverage through the CONNECT unit, otherwise known as the brains of the system.”

Discussing their use across leisure sites, Tom continued, “They are IP55 rated, which means they are suitable for outdoor areas and won’t be affected by varying weather conditions, such as excess heat. What’s more, the CONNECT system ensures off-site notifications can also be enabled, informing site owners and even alerting emergency authorities should the worse happen.”

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