The devastating impact of arson on businesses

Of all the crimes that can take place on business premises, arson has the potential to cause the most damage. The impact of a fire can result in serious – sometimes irreparable - damage to your business premises. The knock on effect of which can result in financial losses, lost stock, damaged infrastructure and even permanent closure for your business. But how do arson attacks happen and how can they be defended against?

The impact of arson

A fairly recent example of just how badly a business can be effected is the blaze at the Barnsley warehouse of popular online clothing retailer ASOS. One of the fastest growing online retailers in the UK in recent years, ASOS prides itself on quick delivery times. A fire which broke out at their Barnsley warehouse effected several floors of their building and took over 60 fire fighters to bring under control. The damage that the fire caused meant that the business had to put the brakes on online orders for several days, losing an untold amount of money whilst they made repairs and tried to get their operations back on track.

How it happens and how it can be stopped

Arson attacks most frequently occur during the night time. While it’s absolutely vital that businesses have sprinkler systems and fire alarms installed, that should not be where your fire prevention ends. Arson attacks can often be prevented by a combination of good housekeeping and strong perimeter security.

A good place to start is to look at some of the potential risks around your property, of which there may be many. Flammable liquids and other materials that could be easily set alight should be locked away, including bins where rubbish accumulates. Windows should be secured, potentially with shutters to prevent objects being thrown through them, while letterboxes should be fitted with airtight metal containers that will limit fire damage should any lit materials be passed through.

The key way that you can prevent acts of arson on your property is to prevent the arsonist from ever being able to gain access. This is achieved through strong perimeter security equipment that deters opportunistic criminals as well as making it hard for even the most determined ones to be able to get into your property.

Why risk assessments are crucial

Every business is unique which is why a good perimeter security company will begin by performing a risk assessment.

A risk assessment highlights any potential areas of weakness and means that the solutions offered – whether gates, barriers, access control equipment or something else – are the solutions which will make a significant impact on the security of your premises.

Gateway Automation provide a range products to help businesses and individuals to secure their sites and also provide nationwide servicing and repairs to gates, barriers and other perimeter security equipment. To find out more, please call us on 01522 682255.

How secure are your security gates?

As perimeter security specialists, we have years of experience looking for flaws in the physical security of businesses. One of the most revealing methods of pinpointing weak spots is to perform a full risk assessment. This allows us to develop a 360 degree approach for a business owner who might be concerned about the threat of crime on their business. However, while a good many business owners do recognise the overwhelming challenges that crime can present, a good many more do not take the threat seriously, or equally believe that they have already got everything covered.

One of the most effective forms of perimeter security comes in the form of gates – both a physical and mental barrier to opportunistic thieves. Here at Gateway we provide three major types of gates – swing gates, sliding gates and bi-folding gates which are commonly used to ramp up on-site security. Installed correctly and properly maintained, these types of gates are one of the strongest means of restricting both pedestrian and vehicular access to your site.

However, if gates are not properly maintained then they become ineffective in preventing intruders. This is why gates should be regularly inspected in order to spot any signs of degradation or damage. Damage can easily occur from vehicles, pedestrian traffic, acts of nature or just simply weaken over time, but it is important that it is spotted quickly in order to keep your business protected. While you may believe that you can fix a problem yourself, it’s important to have a trained professional visit your site and assess the situation as DIY repairs can often exacerbate the initial damage.

Here at Gateway we offer a nationwide reactive callout service with engineer response times of 8 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours and 7 days which means that any problems can be dealt with quickly. With years of experience our professionals will get to the bottom of the problem and ensure minimum disruption to your employees and customers. We also offer maintenance contracts on our products and can source supply spares and parts for all manufacturers’ equipment.

To find out more about our servicing and repairs options, please visit http://www.gatewayautomation.co.uk/service-repair/ or contact us on 01522 682255 for a free, no-obligation quotation and feasibility survey to assess your perimeter security equipment.