If you join the insurance scheme now it will cost you only £50.00 to insure  yourself until 31/5/2019

Working with flames has always been tricky. Most venues shy away from wanting them anywhere near – imagine how insurance companies are!

Most people use a specific craft insurer, there aren’t many of them, so GBUK decided to find a bespoke policy especially for flameworkers.

The policy has been arranged with G.M.Imber & Sons and covers:

 It will cover you for:

Working with flames

Demoing

Teaching

What makes this policy specific for flameworking is

AE 01 – Burning and Welding Condition

It is a condition to Insurer’s liability that the following special precautions will be complied with on each occasion of any work involving the use of blow lamps, blow torches, flame guns, hot air guns, electric gas or other welding equipment, or portable grinding equipment:

(i)  All blow lamps, blow torches and flame guns or hot air guns are to be lit in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, not left unattended when lit and extinguished immediately after use;

(ii)  The area in which the work is to be carried out (including adjoining shafts or openings and the area on the other side of any wall or partition) is to be inspected to establish whether any combustible material (other than the property to be worked upon) is in danger of ignition either directly or by conduction of heat;

(iii)  Wherever practicable, all combustible material is to be removed to a distance of not less than 10 metres from the point of work and such material which cannot be removed is to be covered by overlapping sheets of non-combustible material or afforded equivalent protection;

(iv)  Suitable fire extinguishing appliances are to be kept available for immediate use at the point of work;

(v)  All  portable  grinders  are  to  be  switched  on  and  used  in  strict  accordance  with  the  manufacturer’s instructions and switched off when unattended and immediately after use;

(vi)  Wherever practicable, gas cylinders not in use are to be kept outside the building in which the work is taking place or otherwise kept at least 15 metres from the point of work;

(vii)  Immediately following completion of each period of work and during the period of not less than thirty minutes following completion of each period of work, a thorough and continuous check that there is no fire or risk of fire is to be made of the whole area in which the work is to be carried out (including adjoining shafts or openings and the area on the other side of any wall or partition).

At first glance, this section is both just what we need but seemingly impossible to comply with.                       

Wherever practicable, all combustible material is to be removed to a distance of not less than 10 metres from the point of work and such material which cannot be removed is to be covered by overlapping sheets of non-combustible material or afforded equivalent protection.

The important part […]

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