What is a Fire Risk Assessment?
Fire risk assessments highlight potential risks and implement procedures to keep your employees and visitors safe. As an employer, it is your duty of care to make sure that you carry out a fire risk assessment and keep up to date with it.
A fire risk assessment is a legal requirement and if a company does not have one, it can result in costly fines for your company or even prison time.
Does My Business Need One?
In short, yes. If you are responsible for a building, for example as an employer, owner, or occupier of premises that are not a ‘single private dwelling’ or a private home, you should make sure a competent person carries out a fire risk assessment.
There is a misconception that it is only workplaces or business premises that require a fire risk assessment, however every block of flats is also included, and a fire risk assessment is required by law for these too.
Whether you run a shop or are the owner of an office building, restaurant, warehouse, or any other type of business, you should ensure you are keeping your staff and any other visitors safe from harm.
What Does a Fire Risk Assessment Involve?
Your fire risk assessor will visit the site and produce a report on the risks of a fire occurring, how it can be reduced and what to do in the event of a fire.
The assessor will look at several things, including:
- The size of the site
- The vulnerability of those on the site
- What the site is used for
- Plans in the event of a fire
- The fire-related equipment
- Measure which are taken to prevent a fire
By doing this, the assessor will know what steps your company needs to take to become fire safety compliant whether the steps are taken through management or physically. Employees will also be aware of any changes and will be trained on how to stay safe during a fire.
How Often Do I Need a Fire Risk Assessment?
The law does not state an exact frequency for undertaking a fire risk assessment. However, Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform Order states that it needs to be kept up to date and done again if there is a significant change to the environment of the premises.
The majority of changes in the workplace can seem minor, however, it is advised to review fire risk assessments annually to keep your business safe.
Once your fire risk assessment is completed, a written document will be issued which will detail the findings of any actions required.
A fire risk assessment should be renewed annually and should be redone by a professional every 4 years. For properties that are more than three stories, fire risk assessments are recommended to be reviewed on a yearly basis and redone every 3 years due to the higher risk when compared to other commercial properties.
Our Expert Consultants Can Help
By selecting the team of skilled consultants at Candy Management Consultants, you can make sure that your company receives only the best guidance. You can be confident that our consultants have an astounding 10 years of expertise in the ISO and health and safety industries.
We have assisted businesses to ensure fire safety compliance by completing a fire risk assessment in a wide range of sectors, from hospitality to manufacturing.
If you’d like to discuss your requirements in more detail, then please feel free to get in touch with our knowledgeable team. You can either give us a call on 0161 470 7929 or submit your enquiry by emailing us at info@candymc.co.uk.
To contact us outside of opening hours, you can also use our handy online contact form. Simply fill in this contact form with your basic contact details as well as your enquiry and once we’ve received your enquiry, we’ll ensure a member of our staff gets in touch shortly.