fire risk assessment

It is a legal requirement to have a fire risk assessment in virtually all non-domestic properties carried out by a competent person.

The purpose of carrying out the fire risk assessment is to identify the nature of any potential fire risks which could cause harm to those who work in and visit the premises and the precautions that have been undertaken to safeguard the occupants as well as the fire and rescue services. It is important that the fire risk assessment is carried out in a practical and systematic way.

Where inadequacies are identified the assessment is there to help the owner/occupier meet their legal obligations and to provide advice where improvements are required or changes need to be made or implemented.

Recommendations arising from a fire risk assessment report will typically be prioritised and graded in terms of importance.

The factors to be taken into consideration and the process of assessing the risk from fire include;

Identification of the fire hazards
Identification of employees and other persons at risk
Identification and evaluation of current measures for controlling fire hazards
An evaluation of the current fire safety measures in place for the safe escape of employees and others
Recommendations for additional control measures to reduce the risk to an acceptable level

This assessment should be reviewed regularly to keep it up to date and particularly if:

There is a reason to suspect that it is no longer valid
There has been a significant change in organisational measures and procedures, or organisation of the work processes, the infrastructure – extensions or conversions.