The rain may be bucketing down, but it is still (believe it or not) summertime and as they do every year, in rain or shine, tourists descend upon Cornwall, the "surfing capital of Britain" to enjoy a bit of the British seaside holiday experience. Unfortunately, this year as visitors arrive in Cornwall, they are being confronted by a terrible tragedy: the Penhallow Hotel fire in Newquay. The building caught fire on the morning of 18 August leaving at least one guest dead, five injured and the whole hotel destroyed despite the one hundred fire fighters who fought the blaze.

Although you would have likely heard about this tragedy on the television or read about it in your daily newspaper, the likelihood of the same happening to you seems so remote. While fatal fires like the one that took place in Newquay are indeed rare, businesses are devastated in other ways by fire each year. According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), one in 100 businesses was affected by fire in 2005, costing a total of £2 million per day to UK businesses.

As you are probably aware, the new fire regulations which came into effect early October this year now put the onus of fire safety on business owners as opposed to fire safety officials. Fire certificates are no longer issued and the fire service is now only responsible for policing the new laws. As a business owner, you must undertake your own fire risk assessment.

Failure to undertake a proper fire risk assessment can bring the following penalties:

• Fines of up to £5,000 if the case is heard in Magistrates’ Court
• Unlimited fines if the case is heard in County Court
• Possible imprisonment of up to two years if the case is heard in County Court

It is important to undertake a proper fire risk assessment for so many reasons. First, and most importantly, because you don't want to take the risk that the worst might happen to your business and someone might be harmed by a fire on your premises. Secondly, there are the financial consequences to your business. Whilst you may be insured against fire, it can have a severe disruptive effect. Thirdly, you are required to undertake fire risk assessments by law and failure to do so can lead to the punishments listed above.

Of course, you may not know just how to undertake your risk assessment and be unsure if you are taking the right steps to help protect your business. This is where our service can help you. Use our Fire risk compliance review document to undertake your fire risk assessment to help prevent fire on your own premises.

Also covered in this month's bulletin are Problems while hiring and Problems while firing.