Fire Risk Assessment: What is it?

Fire risk assessments are a legal requirement for any business premise or residential block of flats.

However, carrying out a fire risk assessment can often be overlooked depending on the landlord or property owners’ knowledge of requirements in this area. This document, required under the Regulatory Reform Order, is central to a building’s fire safety. If a fire risk assessment is not completed, not only do you risk legal action, but you also risk the safety of those using the building. 

What is a fire risk assessment?

A fire risk assessment is a written document which identifies any fire hazard in the building and highlights which people could be at risk. After this review, it is then identified which risks are to be reduced and which are to be removed.  

Whose responsibility is a fire risk assessment?

There should be a designated responsible person in every building who is in charge of ensuring fire risk assessments are accurate and up to date. Depending on the situation, this could be a manager who works at the premise, or the owner of the building itself.Some of the time, this designated person may not have the sufficient experience required to conduct their responsibilities safely. In this case, this person may want to undertake training to understand the detail of a fire risk assessment. Alternatively an external company can provide the risk assessment for them.

How does this apply to office buildings?

When completing this legal requirement in an office setting, there are slightly different requirements which should be considered. Special consideration should be given in the following areas:

• Alternative sources of ignition: faulty electrical equipment as well as lighters, matches and candles.
• Alternative fuel sources: waste products, photocopier liquid and displays.

In an office environment, additional consideration should also be given to the people most at risk. There include:

• Isolated employees such as security guards or cleaners
• Temporary workers such as seasonal workers or guests
• Those who may feel isolated through disability, language barriers or their age

How often should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?

Fire risk assessments should be reviewed regularly. If there have been no major changes to the building or to its purpose, this is classified as every 12 months since the original assessment. Then, every 5 years a new assessment should be conducted to ensure all fire safety risks are up to date.However, there are a few reasons you may need to carry out a risk assessment more frequently than this. They include:

• The building has undergone structural changes.
• If the building is now being used for a significantly different purpose.
• There are a considerably larger number of people using the building.

These are the main reasons. However you may also choose to; after a fire-related accident, damage to fire equipment or a change in substances kept on site. 

Should you carry one out yourself?

While this article and potentially any additional training gives you a good overview of what fire risk assessments are, how they’re conducted and who should be conducting them, every building or premise is different. This means that such assessments should not be treated with a one size fits all approach. Often is it more efficient and safer to hire a professional assessor to provide a fire risk assessment for your building.

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