Why do you need to carry out a risk assessment?
It’s a legal requirement for non-domestic properties to have regular risk assessments carried out. This ensures that any fire safety risks are flagged and dealt with accordingly before they have a chance to do any damage. Not only are they legally required, fire risk assessments are vital in ensuring the long-term safety of both staff and premises from potential fire damage. But whose job is it to carry out these fire risk assessments? The UK government outlines that: “You’re responsible for fire safety in business or other non-domestic premises if you’re:
an employer
the owner
the landlord
an occupier
anyone else with control of the premises, for example a facilities manager, building manager, managing agent or risk assessor”
This person is known as the ‘responsible person’. If there’s more than one responsible person, you have to work together to meet your responsibilities. If you’re the responsible person at a commercial property, it is your responsibility to:
carry out a fire risk assessment of the premises and review it regularly
tell staff or their representatives about the risks you’ve identified
put in place, and maintain, appropriate fire safety measures
plan for an emergency
provide staff information, fire safety instruction and training
What needs to be included in a fire risk assessment?
There are five key steps you need to include when carrying out the fire risk assessment:
Identify the fire hazards
Identify people at risk
Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks
Record your findings, prepare an emergency plan and provide training
Review and update the fire risk assessment regularly
How often does a fire risk assessment need to be carried out?
Whilst there is no specific law that states how often an assessment must be carried out, the government states that a site must review if there has been substantial changes since the previous assessment was carried out. Reasons for review can include, but are not limited to:
Changes to work processes e.g the introduction of new equipment
Alterations to the building
The introduction of hazardous substances
A significant increase in the number of people present
Need help with your fire risk assessments?
As the person responsible for carrying out fire risk assessments, it can be a heavy burden. Fire risk assessments take time when they’re done properly and so those responsible often find that it takes them away from the day to day running of their business. Additionally, if you have no experience in this field, it can seem like a daunting task. Plus, it’s all too easy to miss something, especially if you have a very large property or multiple sites to consider. That’s where we come in. Our fire risk assessment methodology, template and approach to fire risk has been developed, reviewed and adapted over the last 16 years in business. We can assist the Responsible Person in identifying significant findings that are clear breaches of the Fire Safety Order, with priority, risk and time scales recorded to action the findings. Our process will also identify fire risks that may be outside the scope of the Fire Safety Order but could present a property or business continuity risk. We work with businesses across all sectors. For help with your fire risk assessments, contact us at Total Fire Group.