Reported on Thu, 09 Mar 2006

UK businesses have been warned of the dangers that fire can pose to their premises and profits, but a business loan could help to rectify the damage.

Research conducted by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) found that fire caused £790 million worth of damage to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) last year, which averages over £2 million every day.

On top of this, losses incurred through interruptions caused by fires totalled £220 million, the highest amount for almost a decade.

Jane Milne of the ABI said: "Too many firms are seeing their profits literally going up in smoke.

"Fire is increasingly putting jobs and services at risk, threatening the existence of some small businesses."

Ms Milne explained that SMEs should do all they could to ensure that the likelihood of fire is reduced, including creating risk assessment schemes, delegating responsibility to staff and tightening up security of their premises to deter arsonists.

"The disruption caused to a firm can be devastating unless good fire safety and business continuity plans are in place," she concluded.

A business loan could represent one way for enterprises to get through difficult periods caused by fire damage and could also be used to pay for expensive but necessary security measures.

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