Fire Risk Assessment

What is a Fire Risk Assessment?

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.

Why do it?

A Fire Risk Assessment is a legal requirement.

If you are responsible for a building, for example an employer, owner or occupier of premises that are not a 'single private dwelling' (a private home), you need to make sure a suitably competent person completes a Fire Risk Assessment.

It is your duty to identify fire risks and hazards in your premises and take appropriate action.

In addition, you must make a record of the findings of your fire risk assessment.

Make sure you review your risk assessment regularly and whenever significant changes have been made that would have an impact on it.

It’s good business sense as well as a legal requirement, often businesses don’t recover after a fire, and effective fire prevention starts with properly understanding the risks.

Did you know?

If there's a fire and you haven't met your legal duties to keep people safe, you could be fined and or be handed a custodial sentence.

How to do a Fire Risk Assessment?

Broadly speaking, assessments are conducted in five key steps:

1 - Identify the fire hazards.
2 - Identify people at risk.
3 - Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks.
4 - Record your findings, prepare an emergency plan and provide training.
5 - Review and update the fire risk assessment regularly.

Who should do my Fire Risk Assessment?

It depends on how large or complex your business or organisation is.

In all instances the assessor must be competent an it’s your responsibility to ensure they are.

What is an emergency plan?

If you are a employer, owner or occupier of premises that aren't a 'single private dwelling' (a private home), it's your responsibility to keep people safe if there is a fire.

Though prevention is always best, you are also required by law to make a detailed fire emergency plan so people can keep themselves and members of the public out of danger.