15 Jan 2009

Fires can sink firms 'without business continuity'

The future of many firms could be at risk in the event of a fire if they do not have business continuity plans in place, it has been suggested.

Norwich Union Risk Services has said firms should be cautious about the security given to flammable liquids stored on site.

It stressed the need for business continuity plans after Fire Service data has reported an increase in the number of arson attacks.

Peterborough UK has reported that 80 per cent of firms without such a plan go bankrupt within five years of suffering a major accident, meaning companies need to protect themselves from the threat of arson.

According to Bill Hewitt, fire safety director at New Flame, companies should consider arson risk assessments and one member of staff should be appointed as a fire safety official.

The warning of fire dangers comes managed solutions and technologies such as virtualisation are being tipped to prove successive as a forms of disaster recovery.

This is because they could enable companies to store critical information 'virtually' and therefore be able to recover it in the event of a disaster, such as a fire or flood.