Industrial Fire Safety – Cutting the Cost of Workplace Fires

Date: 14/05/25

Earlier this year, this blog touched on the cost of fire for British businesses. According to the Fire Industry Association, the overall cost to the UK economy is estimated to be a staggering £12 billion per year, with the manufacturing sector alone sustaining losses of over £800 million.

Unfortunately, these are only the top-line costs of failing in your industrial fire safety measures. The true cost to your business can be much greater and more far reaching than anything you can claim back from your insurance company. In fact, for many small and medium-sized companies, the cost of a workplace fire can be devastating, and could even put you out of business.

In this article, we’ll take a deeper dive into the true cost of neglecting your industrial fire safety and the long-term effects it can have on your business.

Initial costs

Obviously, there will be a whole host of initial costs to put things right after a workplace fire. These include repairing damaged premises and replacing equipment, loss of stock, raw materials and finished products, and damage to fixtures and fittings. These will normally be covered by your insurance, but it can take a long time and a lot of form filling and meetings with loss adjusters before you receive a pay-out. Even if all your initial losses are covered by your insurance, chances are your premiums will skyrocket as a result, adding significantly to your running costs.

Loss of documents and data

These days, much of our documents and data are stored digitally and backed up off site, but if this isn’t the case for your company, the loss of data could be extremely expensive. Losing key customer information will set your relationships back, while losing accounts and invoicing details will seriously disrupt your cashflow.

Loss of turnover

Unfortunately, the initial costs for fire damage are just the start. Your business will inevitably suffer a loss of trade and turnover as a result of fire. What’s more, even though you can’t operate as usual, chances are you will still have to pay for staff and other costs. Meanwhile, if you’re not trading, your existing customers and suppliers will have no choice but to find other sources for your products and services. Getting those old customers back and re-establishing relationships with suppliers will not be easy, and this can cause long lasting damage to your company.

Loss of staff

On a personal level, your staff may no longer feel safe at your workplace following a fire. Even if you’re in a position to continue to pay them while you’re shut down, there’s a strong possibility that many of your team will look elsewhere for what they see as ‘safer’ places to work. A major setback such as a fire can also cause lasting damage to staff morale as your company plans are put on pause.

The cost of industrial fire safety

Government sources estimate that the average cost of a fire for a UK business is £78,000, but as you can see from the above, in reality that cost will end up being significantly higher. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here at Sleeve It, we offer a wide range of industrial fire safety products to protect all kinds of businesses, operating in all kinds of environments. We can deliver cost-effective solutions for a fraction of the cost of a workplace fire, giving your business, and your workforce, complete peace of mind when it comes to industrial fire safety.

Consider what a fire would cost your business, then get in touch with our team to see how easily, and affordably you can install industrial fire safety products that will significantly reduce your fire risks. When you compare the two costs, the choice will be clear.

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