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摘要

The regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, and similar legislation introduced elsewhere in the UK, may have placed more emphasis on businesses to assess and manage fire risk, but it apparently has some distance to travel before it makes a real difference to safety and security in the workplace. This view is supported by newly released statistics. On the positive side, the latest government figures show that the number of fires in workplaces and areas where people gather decreased by 11% in the 12-month period up to 31 March 2008, compared to the previous year. However, the Association of British Insurers has revealed that the cost of commercial fire damage in 2008 rose by 15% to ￡865m. This suggests that, although there were less fires overall, those that did occur had a far greater impact on businesses, their stakeholders and potentially the environment.