Helping Nottinghamshire businesses stay safe this festive season

The initiative, led by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, aimed to raise awareness of a variety of safety issues they may encounter as they expect to welcome more people into their premises over the festive period.

Licensing officers from Nottinghamshire Police visited a number of businesses in Mansfield to give advice on a number of topics, including preserving CCTV footage, door staff and even where to place Christmas decorations.

Fire colleagues also gave advice on the physical safety of the premises, including making sure there are suitable fire exits and preventing fire hazards.

Paul Horton, senior licensing officer, said: “It is always great to come together with our partners and offer this support to businesses as a partnership.

“The aim of this initiative really was to ensure businesses have the most up-to-date and best possible safety advice in the run up to Christmas.

“We spoke to businesses around making sure their CCTV is working and retrieving footage, as well as where to place Christmas decorations so this coverage isn’t affected should an incident occur which we need to investigate.

“Organising adequate door staff at busy times was also something we discussed with the premises, as well general vigilance, including taking note of how potentially vulnerable people might be getting home and organising taxis.

“Christmas is a great time for people to enjoy themselves and I think it’s fair to say that, as a collective, we are committed to taking these proactive steps to make sure businesses are in the best possible position and that the public can have a safe and enjoyable festive period if they choose to go out.”

Sophie Winterbottom, business education advocate from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This initiative was an opportunity to create wider relationships with the businesses in our communities as well as provide them with safety advice.

“The majority of businesses we visited in Mansfield were aware of the extra precautions they have to take during this period.

“If you have a business, please ensure that you are not covering fire exit signs with tinsel, overloading plug sockets with Christmas lights or blocking fire escape routes with Christmas stock.”