Fire Risk Assessment

Fire Risk Assessment

A fire risk assessment needs to be at the center of your building’s fire safety plans.

The job of the designated Responsible Person is to ensure that all relevant fire safety tasks are conducted and that any necessary action is taken in order to prevent fires from occurring and to prevent death or injury if a fire takes place.

What is a Fire Risk Assessment?

A fire risk assessment is a review undertaken of a building in order to assess its fire risk and offer recommendations to make the building safer, if necessary.

Regulations

If your block of flats or business premises normally has over 4 residents at once, then the fire risk assessment needs to be documented as a legal requirement.

The ‘Responsible Person’ must carry out a fire risk assessment of their premise, or alternatively employ the services of a competent person to carry the fire risk assessment on their behalf.

We can provide you with a competent person to carry out the fire risk assessment on your behalf.

What this involves

Controlling fire risks is an important part of managing a property. In order to be able to protect against the risks of fire, the first step is to identify these risks and this is where the fire risk assessment comes in. A legal demand for all ‘non-domestic’ premises, fire risk assessments (or FRAs) are a snapshot of how protected any given property is to ensure the safety of its occupants in the event of a fire. The FRA also identifies corrective actions and further steps to achieve an appropriate level of fire safety.

The Fire Risk Assessment must be reviewed on a regular basis. It is recommended that the following be included in the review:

Every 12 months after the original assessment is done
Every 5 years a new assessment should be conducted
If the building’s purpose has substantially changed
If the building structure, such as the layout, has changed
If there has been a considerable change in the occupants

Legislation

Regulations on Fire Safety Order

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (commonly known simply as the Fire Safety Order) introduced a legal duty for ‘the responsible person’ to take all reasonable steps to ensure that fire safety levels are appropriate at all times. The segment within the legislation focussing on fire risk assessments opens with the following:
Risk assessment

9.—(1) The responsible person must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed for the purpose of identifying the general fire precautions he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed on him by or under this Order.

This legislation applies to all non-domestic properties including commercial and public premises, such as shops, factories, warehouses and offices, but also schools, nursing homes as well as businesses providing sleeping accommodation. It also applies to sheltered housing as well as the communal areas of blocks of flats and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs); though not to the individual dwellings within the HMO.

For businesses employing five or more employees, there is a legal requirement to not only carry out a fire risk assessment, but to document the findings in writing. Fire Risk Assessments can be carried out by the organisation or business affected. There are official fire risk assessment help guides available and FRA forms can be downloaded for free from a number of sources.

Penalties

The person carrying out the assessment has to have sufficient training to make judgements about the fire risks and the solutions required. The potential punishment for failing to meet your duties in relation to fire risk assessments is a prison sentence of up to two years, as well as an unlimited fine. Therefore, if you have doubts as to your ability to carry out an FRA it is highly recommended to engage the services of a professional fire risk assessor to ensure you comply to all relevant regulations.

Areas that need to be considered in almost all fire risk assessments are fire detection systems, emergency exits and routes (including evacuation plans), firefighting equipment and the availability of information and advice to the building’s occupants.

Issues such as the specific needs of vulnerable people and the safe storage of any dangerous substances must also be considered. However, these may not always be a relevant factor for the fire risk assessment depending on the use of the building.

Please note that any changes to the occupancy or activities within premises must be reflected in the fire risk assessment, meaning the document should be reviewed regularly and updated if needed.

Help with the assessment

Competent Person

You can do the fire risk assessment yourself with the help of standard fire safety risk assessment guides.

If you don’t have the expertise or time to do the fire risk assessment yourself, you need to appoint a ‘competent person’ to help, for example a professional risk assessor.

Your local fire and rescue authority might be able to give you advice if you’re not sure your risk assessment’s been carried out properly. However, they can’t carry out risk assessments for you.

What do you need to consider?

You’ll need to consider:

1. Emergency routes and exits
2. Fire detection and warning systems
3. Fire fighting equipment
4. The removal or safe storage of dangerous substances
an emergency fire evacuation plan
5. The needs of vulnerable people, for example the elderly, young children or those with disabilities
6. Providing information to employees and other people on the premises
staff fire safety training

Who's responsible?

Assessment Advice

Who's responsible

By law, every block of flats and business is required to have an individual who is designed as the “Responsible Person” who is responsible for the building’s fire safety.

You’re responsible for fire safety in business or other non-domestic premises if you’re:

1. An employer
2. The owner
3. The landlord
4. An occupier
anyone else with control of the premises, for example a facilities manager, building manager, managing agent or risk assessor

You’re known as the ‘responsible person’. If there’s more than one responsible person, you have to work together to meet your responsibilities.

The Fire Safety Order also applies if you have paying guests, for example if you run a bed and breakfast, guesthouse or let a self-catering property.

Non-Domestic Premises

Providing a Professional Service in

Risk assessments for Non-Domestic Premises include:

1. Offices and shops
2. Factories and warehouses
3. Sleeping accommodation
4. Residential care premises
5. Educational premises
6. Small and medium places of assembly (holding 300 people or less)
7. Large places of assembly (holding more than 300 people)
theatres, cinemas and similar premises
8. Open air events and venues
9. Healthcare premises
10. Animal premises and stables
11. Transport premises and facilities
12. Purpose built blocks of flats
13. Other types of housing

Evacuation Plans

Fire safety and evacuation plans

Your plan must show how you have:

1. A clear passageway to all escape routes
2. Clearly marked escape routes that are as short and direct as possible
3. Enough exits and routes for all people to escape
emergency doors that open easily
4. Emergency lighting where needed
5. Training for all employees to know and use the escape routes
a safe meeting point for staff

Professional Fire Risk Assessor

Why use a professional

A professional fire risk assessor undergoes lots of detailed training and is fully versed in all of the most recent guidelines and legal requirements, including how they should be applied to different kinds of buildings.

Our reports are thorough but easy to comprehend, meaning the end user has a full understanding of their obligations.

We can provide you with a professional fire risk assessor and quote for the work that needs to be undertaken.

What information do we require prior to a site visit?

1. Floor plans and section drawings.
2. Address of the building or buildings.
3. Contact details of the Responsible Person.

Fire Risk Assessment For Surveyors Opening Hours

Mon 8.00am-6.00pm

Tue 8.00am-6.00pm

Wed 8.00am-6.00pm

Thur 8.00am-6.00pm

Fri 8.00am-6.00pm

Sat 8.00am-6.00pm

Sun Closed