From the war in Ukraine, the rise of inflation, the high cost of living, supply chain disruptions, to the energy supply crisis – many recent events are pressuring organisations to adopt resilience as the ‘norm’.

Staying resilient, building resilience and maintaining resilience are top priorities for organisations worldwide.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) is supporting Business Continuity Awareness Week (15 to 19 May 2023), which aims to raise the awareness of business continuity nationally.

BCAW is a campaign run annually by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) and the theme for the week is ‘Embracing the challenge of resilience’.

This year, BCAW 2023 has been designed to support professionals and organisations in raising awareness and embedding business continuity to build resilience so that they can thrive in the face of adversity.

What would happen if your business experienced a fire or other emergency?

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of businesses reported some form of concern for their business for April 2023 (source Office for National Statistics).

As an organisation you need to consider what you would do in order to prepare for an emergency that may disrupt your business. If you do not, a fire or other emergency could result in:

• Loss of reputation and/or loss of customers.
• Financial, legal and regulatory penalties
• Human resource issues
• Increased insurance premiums
• The complete failure of your business

What is Business Continuity Management?

Business Continuity Management is a process that helps manage the risks to the smooth running of an organisation, ensuring it can continue to operate and function in the event of a disruption.

It provides the strategic framework for improving the organisation’s resilience to interruption.

Reducing the threat of fire to your business can begin by having a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment  for your premises.

This is a legal duty which should be undertaken by a Responsible Person under the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Guidance on how to carry out your fire risk assessment can be found on our website under Business Safety.

If you do not already have a Business Continuity Plan, guidance is available on the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) website.