Fire Risk Assessment

Carrying Out Fire Risk Assessments

Fire Risk Assessment Help And Advice

A new law was implemented in 2006 that all businesses whether self-employed or large corporations should be aware of. The Regulatory Reform Order or Fire Safety Order came into effect and replaced a lot of older health and safety regulations. This new legislation has done away with the need to have a fire certificate but you must now carry out a fire risk assessment and understand the other fire safety regulations that you need to comply with.

The people who are responsible for the new law are any employer, business owner or manager who is responsible for premises, self-employed people who have a business premise, and anyone else who owns or is responsible for a place of work. Voluntary organisations and charities are also affected by this new law, which places a much greater duty of care on the shoulders of employers.

What You Must Do To Comply With The Changes

Under the new Safety Order you are obliged to have a fire risk assessment carried out for your premises. You must arrange for a responsible person to carry this out. You can do it yourself without much trouble if you are a small business or self-employed and your workplace is fairly uncomplicated. If your premises that you carry out your business in are large, or if you use dangerous or flammable substances, you may want to hire an outside professional to do your fire risk assessment.

Large businesses often hire specialist fire safety consultants to do their fire risk assessments, often along with other health and safety work that the employer does not have the time or expertise to carry out in house. Fire consultants are usually ex fire service professionals who know what the premises need to be fire safe and understand exactly how to interpret the legislation. They will tell you how to protect your employees and can even devise emergency plans for the employees to follow. They will tell you if you need to add exits, signs or lighting for fire safety, or indeed take any other measures. Once the plan is in place it is up to you to follow it.

In case you are wondering, you cannot use the fire and rescue authorities to do your fire risk assessment as their role is limited to enforcement. They can give you advice but you must do it yourself or hire fire consultants.

Measures You Need To Have In Place

The fire safety order does not specify how many fire escapes or fire exits you must have. It does not tell you what type of fire alarms to use or where to put them. You are responsible for working out what is required through the process of your fire risk assessment. You must make sure your employees are adequately protected in the event of a fire. There must be a fire plan in place and all your employees must be aware of it. They must know what to do in the event of a fire and therefore be properly trained. The fire and rescue authorities are the ones who will check your premises to make sure that it is protected. If you do not have sufficient fire safety implemented they can take you to court or issue enforcement orders.

Articles Of Interest:

Fire Safety Order And What It Means

Carrying Out Fire Risk Assessments

Fire Risk Assessment Help And Advice