Is a Fire Risk Assessment mandatory?
It is mandatory by law to have a written Fire Risk Assessment if your location employs five or more individuals.
In order to fulfill your obligation under the current Fire Safety Legislation, it is mandatory that you have a documented Fire Risk Assessment if your premises have five or more employees.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the conduct of a Fire Risk Assessment initially and ongoing review to guarantee that proper and sufficient fire precautions are in place.
What exactly is a Fire Safety Risk Assessment?
A Fire Safety Risk Assessment is a systematic and organized examination of your premises, activities carried out, and the probability of a fire starting and causing harm to those within and around the premises. If there are fewer than five individuals regularly in the building, then documenting the fire risk assessment is not necessary.
The objective of a Fire Safety Risk Assessment is:
YES – legally, you must perform a suitable and sufficient Fire Safety Risk Assessment for your premises if you have five or more employees (including part-time or volunteer workers). You must keep a written record of your Fire Safety Risk Assessment. However, it is always best practice to keep a written record, even if you have fewer than five employees. Keeping a written record will save time and effort when you come to review and update your Fire Safety Risk Assessment.
The 5 Key Stages of Fire Safety Risk Assessment:
1-Identify fire hazards – identify any fire hazards, including ignition sources, fuel, and work processes that may pose a fire hazard.
2-Identify people at risk – determine who, such as employees and visitors, may be at risk during a fire in the workplace or while attempting to escape.
3-Evaluate the risk – evaluate the risks from the identified hazards and decide if existing precautions are adequate. Decisions should be made on whether to remove the hazard completely if possible, or to control and manage the risks more effectively.
4-Record your findings – record your findings, detail the actions taken, and inform all employees of these actions.
5- Review and revise – regularly review the Fire Safety Risk Assessment or whenever there is a change in the workplace or work activities.
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Frequently asked questions:
A: A careful look at your premises and the people who use them, from a fire prevention perspective. It’s about understanding the potential risks, then improving your fire safety precautions to keep people safe.
A: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the Responsible Person to develop general fire precautions for their premises, including the provision of a fire risk assessment. The fire risk assessment should consider all aspects of fire within the premises and set out what should be done to keep people safe.
Fire risk assessments are not just a legal requirement, they can be time consuming, complex, often require specialist knowledge and opinion; so we understand it can be a difficult task to get right and properly maintain.
A: Companies should review their risk assessments and risk management practices once every 3 years, or: Whenever there to any significant changes to workplace processes or design. Whenever new machinery, substances or procedures are introduced.
A: Is there a requirement for a landlord fire risk assessment? Yes, legislation requires that a fire risk assessment is carried out in all areas of the landlord’s properties. This process will identify any fire hazards and who is at risk and decide if anything needs to be done to remove or reduce that risk.
A: An owner of the company is responsible for completing a fire risk assessment, too. Others who are responsible include landlords, as well as an occupier. If a person has control of the premise, then they are the ones responsible for carrying out an assessment.
A: Fire risk assessments
- 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.
