Fire Risk Assessments
What Is A Fire Risk Assessment?
The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 (RRFSO) came into effect in October 2006 replacing previous legislation and safety laws. The RRFSO states that the responsible person must make a ‘suitable and sufficient’ assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed for the purpose of identifying the measures they need to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed on them by the Order. The nature of the assessment will vary according to the type and use of the premises, the persons who use or may use the premises, and the risks associated with that use.
...A risk assessment should be reviewed regularly by the responsible person to keep it up to date, valid and to reflect any significant changes that may have taken place. The RRFSO contains a requirement to record the “prescribed information” if five or more persons are employed in order to maintain consistency with health and safety legislation. The prescribed information comprises the significant findings of the risk assessment (including the measures taken or to be taken, e.g. training and maintenance, consultation and co-ordination) and any group of persons identified as being especially at risk. Under the RRFSO, the threshold of five or more persons includes those employees who may work from or in another place away from the premises concerned, for example an employer with three shops, each of which has two staff would employ six people and thus be under a duty to record the risk assessment for each shop.
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Am I responsible?
The RRFSO applies to you if you are:
- Responsible for business premises or offices
- An employer with business premises
- Responsible for a part of a dwelling where part is solely used for business purposes
- A charity or voluntary organisation
- A contractor who has control over any premises
- Providing accommodation for paying guests
The law requires a fire risk assessment for all structures, whether they are commercial or residential, as long as they house five or more people. Included in this requirement are:
...- Buildings for commercial use;
- Businesses;
- Educational premises;
- Factories and industrial structures;
- Leisure complexes, including hotels;
- Health facilities, including care homes and hospitals;
- Airports, among others.
How do I choose a Fire Risk Assessor?
It is the responsibility of the ‘Responsible Person’ to ensure that the fire Risk assessment that is carried out on their property is ‘Suitable and Sufficient’ in accordance with the RRFSO. There are varying complexities to buildings, and this should be reflected when selecting a competent assessor to complete an FRA. All FCS assessors are third party accredited under the BAFE SP 205
Life Safety Scheme and are regularly audited to ensure that they remain current and compliant. FCS assessors complete all FRAs in line with the PAS 79 methodology which is the recognised Approved Code of Practice (ACOP). In essence, by selecting FCS who are accredited under the BAFE SP 205 Scheme, you are meeting your legislative obligations in ensuring that the completed FRA is ‘Suitable and Sufficient’.
What is BAFE SP 205?
BAFE SP205 is a third-party accreditation scheme approved by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service). The scheme has been developed by a group of industry experts to assist the Responsible Person (or Duty Holder in Scotland) to ensure that they meet the requirements for Fire Risk Assessments under the following legislation:
- Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005
- Fire (Scotland) Act 2005
- Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006
It sets specific criteria for the approved fire safety consultancy to meet in terms of the competency of its assessors in completing fire risk assessments, those delegated to validate the reports as well as the company’s management standards and work processes.
What’s next?
- Get a no obligation quote – Call, email or complete the enquiry form. It will only take 24 hours for a formal quotation to be sent electronically.
- Book an appointment – Once a date has been agreed, one of our expert assessors will be assigned to attend your property on the said date.
- Attend site – Our assessor will be onsite on the agreed date and time. The Fire Risk Assessment will be conducted with minimum disruption to your business activities.
- Report sent to client – A validated, comprehensive, suitable, and Sufficient report will be completed and distributed within five working days.
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