A fire risk assessment is an organised and systematic look at your premises to identify potential fire risks and develop recommendations to reduce or eliminate them. This methodical process involves identifying fire hazards, evaluating fire risks, and implementing measures to mitigate harm to people and property.
Understanding the difference is crucial: a Hazard is anything with the potential to cause damage or production losses, like multiple plugs in a socket that could overload, while Risk represents the likelihood and severity of consequence from that substance, activity, or process. Beyond Fire Safety Order compliance, it’s your duty as a responsible person to prevent fire, keep people safe from injury or death, and avoid costly fines or a prison sentence under Government regulations.
Who Needs a Fire Risk Assessment
Every organisation with premises or property requires this critical safety measure. From standard business premises to non-profits and charities, the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 mandates regular fire risk assessments across diverse settings, including blocks of flats, apartment buildings, holiday lets, and even open-air venues like theme parks and zoos. The legal requirement applies to all non-domestic premises where the responsible person must schedule these evaluations.
I’ve personally assisted countless facility managers who initially questioned whether their specific building type needed assessment, only to discover the regulations apply universally. Understanding who needs this protection isn’t complicated; if you control any commercial or rental space, you’re obligated under the Fire Safety Order to maintain current assessments.
Who is Responsible for a Fire Risk Assessment
- The Responsible Person: Under the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005, the responsible person with control over the building must ensure fire risk assessment completion and that all recommendations are properly implemented throughout the premises.
- Employer or Business Owner: The employer or business owner carries primary Responsibility for fire safety legislation compliance, ensuring employees and site visitors remain informed and trained in essential fire safety procedures to prevent injury or death.
- Building Owner or Landlord: The building owner or landlord must work together with other parties when multiple responsible persons exist, coordinating appropriate fire risk assessments and maintaining control of workplace safety standards effectively.
- Facilities or Building Manager: A facilities manager or building manager often handles the duty to arrange or schedule assessments for business or non-domestic building operations, serving as the practical point of contact for implementation.
- Fire Marshals and Fire Wardens: Organizations must nominate and provide adequate Fire Marshal training to fire marshals or fire wardens who will carry out risk assessments as core fire safety duties, bridging management and operational safety needs.
- The Competent Person: While the responsible person handles scheduling checks, a competent person must actually conduct the evaluation. There’s an important distinction between who authorizes assessments and the person who completes the technical work.
Why is a Fire Risk Assessment Important
Beyond being a legal obligation, a fire risk assessment is genuinely important because it actively reduces risk of fire to your building, neighbouring buildings, and most critically, prevents injury and death. From September 2021 through September 2022, there were 13,965 fires in non-residential buildings, that is 37 fires per day. The UK Government reports that since 2010, over 215 non-residential fire-related deaths have occurred in the UK, with the vast majority of fire-related deaths in the workplace being entirely avoidable through proper implementation of robust fire training and risk mitigation procedures.
Up-to-date fire risk assessments with recommendations carried out effectively keep your building safe and employees suitably trained, ensuring fires are prevented wherever possible. There’s also a substantial financial cost to poor industrial fire safety standards—the total economic and social cost of fire in England for 2020 reached £12 billion, with approximately £3.2 billion in marginal costs representing costs incurred following fire, ultimately preventing costly damage. To complement your assessment, ensuring fire alarm installation and a reliable smoke alarm system enhances early detection and rapid response to potential hazards.
The 5 Steps of a Fire Risk Assessment
Every fire risk assessment follows five steps that remain specific to your building and type of business, creating a comprehensive fire safety risk assessment framework that ensures all potential fire risks are properly addressed.
Step 1: Identify Fire Hazards
Identify fire hazards by documenting anything that could potentially start a fire—Electrical wiring, Electrical appliances, Heaters, lighting, Processes that generate heat, Sparks, naked flames, Fuel sources, gas bottles, Flammable materials, Potential accelerants, Cigarettes, and Cooking equipment all warrant examination.
Step 2: Identify People at Risk
Identify people at risk, including employees on site, visitors, guests, and neighbours. Consider those more at risk, children, elderly people, individuals with disabilities or limited mobility, workers in a loud environment who wear ear defenders, and anyone unfamiliar with the layout who might struggle during evacuation.
Step 3: Evaluate, Remove, or Reduce Risks
Evaluate, remove, or reduce risks once potential fire risks are identified. Storing flammable material far away from sources of ignition, ensuring enough escape routes exist properly signposted, installing fire alarms and emergency lighting, and positioning correct fire extinguishers strategically all help reduce risk.
Step 4: Record, Plan, and Train
Record all findings and create a plan that reduces the risk of fire while ensuring swift evacuation. Designating a fire assembly point, conducting regular fire drills, having fire safety training for all employees, and maintaining clear evacuation routes keep everyone on site prepared for emergencies.
Step 5: Review and Update Regularly
Review and update the fire risk assessment regularly, as risks may change with changes in building operations. Identifying significant changes requiring a new fire risk assessment, more employees onsite, different equipment stored on-site, or a change in the purpose of the building all trigger mandatory reassessment.
Types of Fire Risk Assessments
- Type 1: Non-Destructive Inspection: The most basic check recognised under Fire Safety Order 2005, this non-destructive inspection looks specifically at emergency escape routes, exits, emergency preparedness, evacuation plans, and can review false ceilings without physical intrusion.
- Type 2: Destructive Testing: Known as destructive tests, type 2 assessments involve accessing certain areas of premises to check the fire rating. Specialist contractors are often required to carry out inspections and complete necessary repair works once finished.
- Type 3: Individual Room Assessment: Type 3 fire risk assessments involve checking individual rooms or flats in a block alongside common areas. The review will check the maintenance of fire alarm systems and other warning systems throughout the property.
- Type 4: Comprehensive Assessment: The most comprehensive fire safety risk assessment available, type 4 checks bring together elements of all other assessments. These checks review individual flats in block, common areas, and can involve destructive testing for maximum thoroughness.
Fire Risk Assessment Method for Engineering
- Pre-Assessment Phase: Gathering all necessary information about the building or project, including plans, materials used, occupancy details, statements of value (SOV), COPE data, electrical schematics, and more to establish a comprehensive baseline understanding.
- On-Site Inspection: Engineers and fire safety experts conduct a thorough inspection to identify potential fire hazards and evaluate the effectiveness of existing fire safety measures, examining physical conditions and operational practices throughout the premises.
- Risk Analysis Process: Utilizing engineering judgment and fire risk models, identified hazards are analyzed to determine the likelihood of occurrence and potential consequences, creating quantified risk profiles for informed decision-making and prioritization strategies.
- Implementation of Recommendations: The engineering team collaborates with stakeholders to incorporate recommended fire safety measures into design, construction, or operational processes, ensuring practical application of assessment findings for maximum protection.
- Review and Update Protocol: A fire risk assessment remains a dynamic process; the assessment is reviewed and updated regularly, especially when there are changes to the building, its use, or occupancy, maintaining relevance and effectiveness.
How Often Should a Fire Risk Assessment Be Done
Your fire risk assessment must be reviewed every 12 months or in the event of changes impacting safety. All businesses, no matter the size, need assessments recorded on paper or digital format as required by the Fire safety Order. Workplaces change regularly, building layout alterations mean new fire doors need to be installed, new products arriving on site present new fire hazards, and different equipment may require changes in electrical operations.
The responsible person should schedule fire risk assessments at least once a year, but consider organizing an inspection before opening new premises, following extensive building work or property extension, and during business growth periods with large staff intakes. For domestic settings, governmental advice suggests that low-rise blocks built in the last 20 years be reviewed every two years and retaken every four years.
Conclusion
A fire risk assessment is not just a legal requirement; it’s a vital step in protecting lives, property, and business continuity. By identifying hazards, reducing risks, and keeping assessments up to date, you create a safer environment for everyone on your premises.
Regular reviews ensure your fire safety measures stay effective as your building or operations evolve. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Contact us at K Force Security today to schedule your professional fire risk assessment and make sure your workplace stays safe, compliant, and fully protected.