Fire Risk Assessment Consultancy
Under the Fire Safety Order 2005, every workplace, business, school or premises (few exceptions apply) where they employ five or more must have a designated ‘Responsible Person’ who must arrange for a written ‘Fire Risk Assessment’ that identifies any potential fire hazards and risks and must also identify the controls measures 1 to illuminate or reduce risk. The Responsible Person will be someone who has control over your premises, or even over some areas or systems.
The objective of the Fire Safety Order 2005 is to reduce death, injury and damage caused by fire by placing the responsibility for fire safety on the employer or Responsible Person for that workplace, building or premises.
Are you the Responsible Person? If so, you must ensure that precautions 2 are implemented to ensure the safety of all persons by:
· Appointing one or more Competent Person(s) 3 to assist with the delivery of the assessment.
· Record the significant findings of the assessment.
· Consult employees on Fire Safety matters and provide them with information, instruction and training.
· The assessment should also consider those at special risk, such as disabled persons
· Each assessment needs to be reviewed regularly and when any significant changes to the building or work activity occur.
1 Controls Measures are either: Preventing Fires (Safe Place) and Protection from Fire (Safe People)
2 This list is not exhaustive
3 A Competent Person(s) could be an employee or a contractor. Competence is demonstrated through sufficient training, experience and knowledge of fire hazards, risks and control measures.
Our reputation is built on invaluable experience within the fire sector by providing the most professional and cost effective solution for our customers; we do this by employing an experienced team of competent fire safety and health and safety professionals.
Our pricing schedule is competitive; and is dependant of the size and complexity of your site. Fire risk assessments are carried out by a Member of the Institution of Fire Engineers who will walk round and appraise your site. Discussions with appropriate employees and auditing of your records will complete the on-site review.
A Bound Report is later presented that will include, a brief summary, an explanation of the Fire Risk Assessment process, recommendations forming an action plan, and a list of findings that may include positive and negative comments. A pictorial evidentiary report, where appropriate will also be provided.
For your comprehensive Fire Risk Assessment: Call now on 0845 0770079 for a competitive quotation or email; info@tpfire.co.uk
Responsible Person
Responsibility for complying with the Fire Safety Order 2005 (FSO) rests with the ‘responsible person’. In a workplace, this is the employer and any other person who may have control of any part of the premises, e.g. the manager or owner. In all other premises the person or people in control of the premises will be responsible. If there is more than one responsible person in any type of premises (e.g. a multi-occupied complex), all must take all reasonable steps to co-operate and co-ordinate with each other.
If you are the responsible person you must carry out a Fire Risk Assessment that must focus on the safety of all ‘relevant persons’. It should pay particular attention to those at special risk, such as disabled people; those who you know have special needs and children, and must include consideration of any dangerous substance liable to be on the premises. Your fire risk assessment will help you identify risks that can be removed or reduced and decide the nature and extent of the general fire precautions you need to take.
There are some other fire safety duties you need to comply with:
· You must appoint one or more competent persons, depending on the size and use of your premises, to carry out any of the preventive and protective measures required by the FSO (you can nominate yourself for this purpose). A competent person is someone with enough training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to be able to implement these measures properly.
· You must provide your employees with clear and relevant information on the risks to them identified by the fire risk assessment, about the measures you have taken to prevent fires, and how these measures will protect them if a fire breaks out.
· You must consult your employees (or their elected representatives) about nominating people to carry out particular roles in connection with fire safety and about proposals for improving the fire precautions.
· You must, before you employ a child, provide a parent with clear and relevant information on the risks to that child identified by the risk assessment, the measures you have put in place to prevent/protect them from fire and inform any other responsible person of any risks to that child arising from their undertaking.
· You must inform non-employees, such as temporary or contract workers, of the relevant risks to them, and provide them with information about who are the nominated competent persons, and about the fire safety procedures for the premises.
· You must co-operate and co-ordinate with other responsible persons who also have premises in the building, inform them of any significant risks you find, and how you will seek to reduce/control those risks which might affect the safety of their employees.
· You must provide the employer of any person from an outside organization who is working in your premises (e.g. agency providing temporary staff) with clear and relevant information on the risks to those employees and the preventive and protective measures taken. You must also provide those employees with appropriate instructions and relevant information about the risks to them.
· If you are not the employer but have any control of premises which contain more than one workplace, you are also responsible for ensuring that the requirements of the FSO are complied with in those parts over which you have control.
· You must consider the presence of any dangerous substances and the risk this presents to relevant persons from fire.
· You must establish a suitable means of contacting the emergency services and provide them with any relevant information about dangerous substances.
· You must provide appropriate information, instruction and training to your employees, during their normal working hours, about the fire precautions in your workplace, when they start working for you, and from time to time throughout the period they work for you.
· You must ensure that the premises and any equipment provided in connection with firefighting, fire detection and warning, or emergency routes and exits are covered by a suitable system of maintenance, and are maintained by a competent person in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
· Your employees must co-operate with you to ensure the workplace is safe from fire and its effects, and must not do anything that will place themselves or other people at risk.
The above is not exhaustive but outlines some of the main requirements of the Fire Safety Order 2005
A fire risk assessment helps to identify all the fire hazards, risks and controls in your premises. It identifies whether any risks are adequately controlled or whether further controls are required to reduce or control.
A fire risk assessment should be carried out by someone who is competent with sufficient training, understanding and experience or knowledge of fire safety. There are five steps to carrying out a fire risk assessment:
▪ Step 1 of 5 - Identifying the fire hazards - For fire to occur there must be a source of ignition, fuel and oxygen. If all three are present and are in close proximity, then the fire risk could increase as a result. In the average premises fire hazards will fall into the first two sources, while the oxygen will be present in the air in the surrounding space.
▪ Step 2 of 5 - Identifying people at risk - If there is a fire, the utmost threat is from the spread of the fire, heat and smoke throughout the property. If this occurs, the foremost risk to people is from smoke and other toxic fumes, heat and reduction in oxygen, which can rapidly hamper people escaping. All people that may be present in a property must be identified.
▪ Step 3 of 5 - Evaluating the risks - Once hazards and people at risk have been identified; an assessment of the effect of any hazards, taking account of any existing control measures must be made. Once this has been done, a decision if any additional control measures or an improvement on existing controls measures must be made to reduce and minimise harm and damage to an acceptable level.
▪ Step 4 of 5 - Recording your findings – A written record of the significant findings of your risk assessment and details of any people that are at particular risk must be made where a License under an Enactment is in force, an Alterations Notice under the Fire Safety Order requires it and/or there are five or more employees.
▪ Step 5 of 5 - Reviewing and revising the risk assessment - Fire risk assessment is a continuous process and as such must be monitored and audited. Control measures should be maintained to ensure they are still working effectively. Introduction of any changes into your property from the initial fire risk assessment may result in new hazards or risk. For this reason it is necessary to review the assessment on a regular basis.
For your Fire Risk Assessment: Call now on 0845 0770079 for a competitive quotation.
E-mail: info@tpfire.co.uk | sales@tpfire.co.uk
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