The Fire Risk Assessment A
t the core of the legislation lies the Fire Risk Assessment. This is an organised appraisal of your premises to enable you to identify
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potential fi re hazards and those who might be in danger in the event of fi re and their location. You should evaluate the risks arising from the hazards and decide whether the existing fi re precautions are adequate and identify any measures that need to be taken to further remove or reduce the fi re risk. Fire authorities no longer issue fi re certifi cates and those previously in force have no legal status. However, any fi re certifi cates issued in the few yearsars before the new legislation came into force may be a good starting point for your fi re risk assessment. IfIf your premises has been designed, built and approved in accordance with Building Regulations, then the fi re precautions forming part of the structure, such as fi re doors, fi re alarms and emergency lighting, should be acceptable. However, it is critical that these and other elements of the fi re precautions are relevant to the risks and hazards. These other elements include the use of the building; the provision of fi re fi ghting equipment; the training of personnel and the management and maintenance of all fi re precautions.
are to be s. be ved If your organisation employs fi ve or more people; or
your premises are licensed; or an alterations notice is in force you must record the signifi cant fi ndings of the assessment. But it is good practice to record your signifi cant fi ndings in any case. It is very important that the person carrying out
the fi re risk assessment is competent to do it. The law requires that where employers delegate this task to employees they must take into account their capability. Legal liability may arise on the part of both the Responsible Person and the fi re risk assessor if the fi re risk assessment is inadequate and people are placed at risk of serious injury or death in the event of fi re.
Competence does not necessarily depend on the possession of specifi c qualifi cations. In small simple buildings and/or where the fi re risk is relatively low, it is possible that an employee may study the appropriate guidance document, and with access to external help and advice, conduct a satisfactory fi re risk assessment. However, for higher risk or more complex premises a higher level of knowledge and experience is required of the fi re risk assessor. In this case, a risk assessor will need to have the specifi c applied knowledge and skills of an appropriately qualifi ed specialist. Evidence of specialist training and experience, or membership of a professional body, can enable suitable competence to be demonstrated. Numerous examples of inconsistencies in fi re risk assessments have lead to widespread calls for a defi nition of competence. What is needed is a standard against which to benchmark assessors to offer safety, security, and assurance for the user. Several professional bodies operate risk assessor registers and there are certifi cation schemes in place for both individuals and
companies.The Fire Industry Association believes that the ultimate goal should be that anybody trading in the provision of fi re risk assessments should be third party certifi cated for the purpose.
6 | BEST PRACTICE GUIDE TO FIRE SAFETY
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