Fire Risk Assessment
What is a Fire Risk Assessment?
A fire risk assessment is a process of identifying and assessing the fire hazards in a building or property. It provides guidance on how to manage and reduce the risk of fire with the aim of helping to prevent fires from occurring which can help to save lives in the event of a fire.
For example, a fire risk assessment might identify an electrical fire hazard in a certain area. The assessor may then recommend the installation of a suitable firefighting appliance, such as a CO2 fire extinguisher, and training for staff members on how to use the extinguisher. In an instance where a fire was to break out in this area, the fire extinguisher when correctly operated by the trained staff members may provide a means to tackle the fire in its early stages, reducing the overall impact of the fire, preventing risk to occupants and reducing damage to the property.
Fire risk assessments can be compared to MOTs on cars. A specialist completes the MOT and advises the owner of any issues found that should be addressed to improve the safety of the vehicle. A fire risk assessment can be described as a similar process. Our qualified assessors will assess your property and in their report will advise you of any action you should take to reduce the risk of fire.
A Fire Risk Assessment covers a range of areas including
• Fire detection and warning system
• Means of escape
• Provision of fire-fighting equipment
• Planning for an emergency and training
• Fire risk factors and people at risk
• Maintenance and testing of fire safety equipment
What are the benefits of a Fire Risk Assessment?
✅ Improve safety within your buildings
✅ Achieve and maintain compliance with fire safety regulations
✅ Reduce the risk of litigation
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service conducted a survey and found after a disaster such as fire:
🚫 25% of Businesses never reopen.
🚫 80% of companies who don’t recover in a month are likely to go out of business.
🚫 75% of businesses without business continuity plans fail within 3 years.
Be Compliant: Get a Fire Risk Assessment
Is A Fire Risk Assessment A Legal Requirement?
Compliance is mandatory if you fit in any of the below categories:
- An employer or self-employed with business premises
- A landlord responsible for business premises
- A landlord of a house of multiple occupancy (HMO)
- Premises providing accommodation for paying guests
- Premises open to the public and consumers
- Charities, churches, and voluntary organisations
- Educational building, nurseries, schools, colleges
- Medical facilities and care homes
- Contractors responsible for all or parts of buildings
- Residential property with communal or shared area
This list is not definitive/exhaustive, therefore if you are unsure if you require a Fire Risk assessment, please contact us for help/advice or your local fire/council authority, will also be able to advise.
Our Fire Risk Assessment Process
Fire safety is an ongoing requirement. While there is no legislated frequency for conducting these assessments, they should ideally be conducted on an annual basis, or more frequently if there has been a significant change in the environment.
Adhering to this timeline ensures an easy demonstration of compliance in the case of a visit from HSE, and also ensures early identification of any potential risks in order for them to be addressed and rectified to prevent an unsafe environment.
Our Fire Safety Risk Assessment process results in a comprehensive document that provides you with:
1 – The identification of fire hazards and persons at risk
2 – An evaluation of these risks to assess which can be reduced, controlled or eradicated
3 – A detailed recording and explanation of our findings.
Other Services
Fire Extinguishers
Fire Extinguishers are essential to protect the integrity of your site and the safety of your employees and visitors. We provide a comprehensive range of Fire Extinguishers to respond to the specific needs of your site. Fully compliant with BS 5306, all Extinguishers are British Standard Kite Marked to ensure quality.
Fire Marshall Training
Having a designated, qualified person with hands-on experience of using a fire extinguisher is a life-saving investment. Fire marshal training is more detailed than general fire safety awareness training. Your fire marshals will have specific responsibilities to ensure the safety of others in the event of an emergency. Therefore their training needs to be more in-depth.
FAQs
Our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) section is designed to help you with your Fire Risk Assessment queries, however, please feel free to contact us if you would like more detailed information or your question is not listed.
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What is a Fire Risk Assessment?
A fire risk assessment is a methodical examination of a building or premises to identify and evaluate potential fire risks. It aims to minimise the likelihood and severity of a fire by implementing appropriate fire safety measures.
A fire risk assessment aims to Identify fire hazards; identify people at risk; Evaluate, Remove or Reduce Risks; Record Findings; and recommend a date for review.
What properties require a Fire Risk Assessment?
6.—(1) This Order does not apply in relation to —
(a)domestic premises, except to the extent mentioned in article 31(10);
(b)an offshore installation within the meaning of regulation 3 of the Offshore Installation and Pipeline Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995(1);
(c)a ship, in respect of the normal ship-board activities of a ship’s crew which are carried out solely by the crew under the direction of the master;
(d)fields, woods or other land forming part of an agricultural or forestry undertaking but which is not inside a building and is situated away from the undertaking’s main buildings;
(e)an aircraft, locomotive or rolling stock, trailer or semi-trailer used as a means of transport or a vehicle for which a licence is in force under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994(2) or a vehicle exempted from duty under that Act;
(f)a mine within the meaning of section 180 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954(3), other than any building on the surface at a mine;
(g)a borehole site to which the Borehole Sites and Operations Regulations 1995(4) apply.
What types of property can Ignite Safety Limited. complete fire risk assessments for?
Ignite Safety Limited are able to assess any property which falls under the remit of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. From small apartment buildings to large shopping centres, and everything in between which includes
- Apartment buildings.
- Bars.
- Colleges.
- Community centres or clubs.
- Doctors’ surgeries.
- Factories.
- Flats / Blocks of flats.
- House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO).
- Industrial Units.
- Leisure Centre.
- Nursery.
- Office.
- Places of worship.
- Public house.
- Restaurants.
- Schools.
- Shops or Retail Stores.
- Supported living centres.
- Village halls.
- Warehouses.
- Workshops.
As you can see from the list above, we really can assess any property type or size. If you do not see your property type listed above, please still reach out to us.
What benefit does the Fire Risk Assessment provide?
Fire Risk Assessments allow you to understand the potential fire risk in property and therefore act accordingly to reduce that risk.
Fires can be devastating to any business or property and the reports are designed to offer step by step guidance enabling you to help prevent the potential risk.
What does the Fire Risk Assessor do during their visit?
The Fire Risk Assessor will introduce themself and will ask to meet the Responsible Person for the premises. The Responsible Person should be familiar with the access, layout and operation of the premises in normal day to day running. The Fire Risk Assessor will then talk through the relevant aspects of their visit and the available information sources open to the Responsible Person. These sources will include documentation, emergency procedures and safety records, along with insurance and special requirements for the safe running of the premises.
The object of the assessment is to produce a consultative report which can be used going forward to assess Fire Risk in a concise format.
The Fire Risk Assessor will conclude the visit with a discussion about any non-compliances or improvements that could be made, including answering any questions the Responsible Person may have about the visit.
After the visit, the report will be compiled and issued to you.
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How long does a Fire Risk Assessment visit take?
This really depends on the size and type of property, it can range from an hour even up to a week in some large buildings.
The time it takes to complete your specific assessment will be discussed during the quotation and booking stage.
Does the completion of a Fire Risk Assessment disrupt my business?
A Fire Risk Assessment can take place whilst the property is in full occupation and causes little disruption. Ideally, the property will be in use during the assessment allowing the Fire Risk Assessor to understand how the building is utilised on a normal day.
Disruption is minimal however the Fire Risk Assessor will require access to all relevant areas of the building and will need to spend some time with the Responsible Person reviewing documentation and discussing the property.
How frequently should Fire Risk Assessments be reviewed?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states assessments should be reviewed as follows:
” Risk assessment (Article 9)
(3) Any such assessment must be reviewed by the Responsible Person regularly so as to keep it up to date and particularly if—
- (a) there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or
- (b) there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates including when the premises, special, technical and organisational measures, or organisation of the work undergo significant changes, extensions, or conversions,”
The key word in this article is “regularly” as there is no exact definition as to when the assessment should be reviewed (excluding suspecting it is no longer valid or there has been a change to the building).
It is widely accepted and actually recommended by the Chief Fire Officers that reports should be reviewed annually to meet the “regularly” section of the legislation.
As part of the report, our Fire Risk Assessor will make the recommendation for when the report should be reviewed. This could be a shorter or longer period of time depending on the risk found in the property. For example, if the property is found to be high risk and intolerable the recommendation for review could be less than a year.
To make it easier for the Responsible Person, shortly before your recommended review date is due one of our team will be in contact to offer you our services for the review.
What happens if I do not comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005?
The enforcing authority has the power to inspect premises to check for safety & compliance with the legislation. They will ask to see a copy of the current Fire Risk Assessment and confirm all Fire Safety Legislation has been complied to.
Failure to comply would be a breach of the law and enforcing authorities have the power to:
- Inspect buildings
- Enforce the Responsible Person to arrange a Fire Risk Assessment if one is not already in place
- Serve Enforcement Notice which will require the Responsible Person to take steps to remedy the non-compliances within a set time frame.
- Serve a Prohibition Notice which could be the partial or entire closure of a property.
- Prosecute
Who is the Responsible Person in relation to the Fire Risk Assessment?
As defined in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Article 3:
In this order “Responsible Person” means:
- A: In relation to a workplace, the employer, if the workplace is to any extent under their control;
- B: in relation to any premises not falling within paragraph (a)
- (i) the person who has control of the premises (as occupier or otherwise) in connection with the carrying on by him of a trade, business or other undertaking (for profit or not); or
- (ii) the owner, where the person in control of the premises does not have control in connection with the carrying on by that person of a trade, business or other undertaking.
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Do I require a written Fire Risk Assessment report?
All Responsible Persons must now record their fire safety arrangements.
- Fire safety arrangements are how you manage the fire safety in your building. These can be anything from procedures you need to have written down to policies you have in place.
All Responsible Persons must now record the identity of the individual employed, or contracted by them, to undertake or review any or all of the fire risk assessment. This includes:
- Their full name
- Their organisation name, if applicable
If you appoint someone to help undertake or review your fire risk assessment they must be competent. By that we mean that must have sufficient training and experience or knowledge.
Who enforces the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005?
The local Fire and Rescue authority enforce the order in most premises. The exceptions are:
- Crown-occupied/owner properties
- Crown Fire inspectors enforce in these properties.
- Premises with armed forces establishments
- Defence Fire and Rescue service enforce in these properties.
- Certain specialist premises including construction sites, nuclear installations and ships
- HSE Enforces in these properties
How are Fire Risk Assessments written, structured and provided?
Our reports are written to a standard called PAS-79. This methodology is intended to provide a structured approach to a fire risk assessment.
Our reports are structured in a defined order, where the findings are listed (with photo evidence where necessary) and at the end of the report an action plan details the necessary steps you need to take to comply with the relevant legislation and standards.
The reports are issued via email in Word or PDF format following the visits. Hard copies are available, on request, for an additional fee to cover printing and postage costs.
What is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order was introduced in October 2006 and repealed all previous fire safety legislation including the Fire Precautions Act 1971. Fire Certificates, which were formally issued under the Fire Precautions Act 1971, no longer have legal status and fire risk assessments must now be carried out for virtually all non-domestic premises.
The Order applies to England and Wales.
It covers general fire precautions and other fire safety duties, which are needed to protect ‘relevant persons’ in case of fire in and around most ‘premises’. The Order requires fire precautions to be put in place ‘where necessary’ and to the extent that it is reasonable and practicable in the circumstances of the case.
Responsibility for complying with the Fire Safety Order rests with the ‘Responsible Person’. The Responsible Person cannot devolve their personal responsibilities to a consultant or employee.
What is the process of a Fire Risk Assessment?
One of our highly qualified Fire Risk Assessors will attend the property to carry out a comprehensive assessment in accordance with the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Following a discussion with the Responsible Person, a review of all related paperwork and walk of the property the Assessor will then compile his report. The report will be provided in an electronic format and will list the findings with photo evidence, the fire risk and finish with an Action Plan advising you the steps you should take to comply with fire safety legislation.
Broadly speaking a Fire Risk Assessment is conducted utilising 5 key steps:
- Identify the Fire Hazards
- Identify the People at Risk.
- Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks.
- Record findings, prepare an emergency plan and provide training.
- Review and update the Fire Risk Assessment regularly.
The process of completing the report (Steps 1 and 2) is where our qualified Assessor will visit the property to locate the hazards, detail the people potentially at risk and provide their findings in the written report provided.
The hazards found vary from property to property, as it is dependent on the properties use, condition, furnishing, systems and how the building is used. But items such as compartmentation, Fire Systems (fire alarms, emergency lighting, fire extinguishers), electrical installations, portable appliances, gas safety, fire doors, lightning protection and furniture are all reviewed, just to name a few.
The report is then issued to the Responsible Person who is then able to review the findings and take the necessary recommended steps to help reduce the hazards and risk to people found.
For example, our Assessor may highlight a potential fire risk from portable appliances. The report would then recommend that Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) is completed on a regular basis to help ensure the items are in working order which therefore reduces this potential risk. The Responsible Person can then arrange the testing (Step 3) and log that it has been completed in the action plan of the assessment whilst training members of the property to ensure they are using the appliances correctly. (Step 4).
Then by ensuring testing is kept up to date on an ongoing basis and regularly reviewing the report, this adheres to (Step 5).