Under current fire safety legislation, you as a responsible person, must carry out, and regularly review a fire risk assessment of the premises. This will identify what you need to do to prevent fire and keep your employees and others who may be affected by your work or business safe.
Following the introduction of Section 156 of the Building Safety Act, from 1 October, 2022 changes in legislation apply. Regardless of the size or purpose of the business premises, you will be required to complete and record a fire risk assessment and fire safety arrangements in full.
Other changes in legislation are as follows:
- There are increased requirements for cooperation and coordination between RPs in multi- occupied buildings or those where the occupier and owner are not the same person.
- In residential buildings with two or more domestic premises residents must be provided with information on the risks from fire and the fire safety measures in place to keep them safe. This requirement expands upon legislation introduced earlier this year that required responsible persons to provide residents with information on emergency procedures and the importance of fire doors.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. What is a Fire Risk Assessment?
A. A fire risk assessment helps you identify all the fire hazards and risks in your premises. You can then decide whether any risks identified are acceptable or whether you need to do something to reduce or control them.
Q. Who should carry out the risk assessment?
A. The Responsible Person for any Premises is legally responsible for the completion of a Fire Risk Assessment for his/her premises. However, the Fire Safety Order allows for any competent person, appointed by the Responsible Person, to carry out an assessment. You will need to be able to demonstrate that an appropriately qualified individual completed the assessment; this can be done through a suitable training course. Additionally, there are a number of organisations willing to undertake risk assessments and you may find details in the phone book business pages. If you use 'outside' firms to conduct a risk assessment that you will be responsible for, you should satisfy yourself that they are suitably competent and qualified to conduct the risk assessment.
Q. Why do I have to revise the Fire Risk assessment? We got a company in to do that, it’s their job!
A. The Fire Risk assessment should be completed and reviewed by a qualified competent person and should be constantly monitored to assess how effectively the risk is being controlled. If you have any reason to suspect that your fire risk assessment is no longer valid or there has been a significant change in your premises that has affected your fire precautions, you will need to review your assessment. The Fire Risk Assessment should be reviewed regularly (recommended to be at least annually). Reasons for a review could include -
- Changes to work activities
- Alterations to the buildings
- Significant increase of the number of people present
- Significant changes to the stock & storage.
Q. What is a log book?
A. A log book is a method of record of the following:
- Emergency lighting tests (monthly and annually). This should be tested in accordance with BS 5266 including a monthly mains failure simulation test.
- Fire Alarm tests. This should be tested weekly using a different call point for each successive test.
- Firefighting equipment tests (annually minimum).
- Staff training / fire drills This can be recorded electronically or kept as a hard copy.
Q. Can I arrange for you to come and carry out a Fire Risk Assessment?
A. No. The fire service is there to ensure that the requirements of the Fire Safety Order are being satisfied. Fire service resources will be targeted at areas of highest risk as identified within the risk based audit strategy. At some point it is likely that you will receive a visit from a Fire Safety Officer who will audit your premises. The audit is usually prearranged by a fire safety inspector who will carry identification. During the inspection the inspector may wish to view the following documents:
- Fire risk assessment
- Fire precautions log book
- Records of staff training and drills
- Records of testing and maintenance of fire fighting equipment
- Records of testing and maintenance of all fire safety system including, fire alarms, emergency lighting, sprinkler systems and smoke ventilation systems. You may also have to provide a copy of the significant findings gathered by your fire risk assessment The duty to complete a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment falls upon the responsible person. If you are not confident, get help, but remember you are responsible for seeing it is done properly.
Q. Where is the best place to get a Fire risk assessment from?
A. The fire and rescue service do not recommend specific contractors. There are numerous businesses offering this service. It is for you as the responsible person to either complete a fire risk assessment yourself, if you are competent, or appoint a specialist contractor to complete the task. Government guidance has been specifically written to assist the responsible person carrying out a fire risk assessment in less complex premises. If however you read the guidance and feel unable to apply it you should seek advice from a competent person. More complex premises are likely to require assessment by a person with comprehensive training and experience of fire risk assessment.
Business owners and managers should check to make sure that:
- The fire risk assessment for the premises is up to date and has been acted on.
- Measures to reduce the risk of fire are in place and are working.
- Fire precautions in the building are working.
- The premises emergency plan is up to date and appropriate to ensure evacuation in case of fire without the need for assistance from fire crews.
- All staff know what to do in case of fire.
Free Templates and Tools
Risk Assessment Guides
A number of fire safety risk assessments have been produced by Communities and Local Government which will tell you what you have to do to comply with fire safety law.