How do the fire safety regulations apply to my business?
If you are an employer with more than 5 employees (including part-time staff), have business premises that are visited by members of the public or are a voluntary organization , are a landlord with control over a business premises, if you own HMO properties, are self-employed with business premises, own licensed premises or have an alterations notice in force, then yes you are subject to the fire reform Act and must undertake a FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT . In short, the legislation applies to all places of work with little exception.
Who has responsibility to ensure my business premises are compliant?
The legislation places a duty of care on employers, owners and occupiers of business premises to safeguard premises, staff and members of the public from fire risk in their premises. This means that all:
· Employers
· People with control/responsibility for a workplace
· People who have a tenancy that relates to the maintenance and safety of the workplace
· People who conduct a trade or business from a business premises
· Owners of unoccupied business premises
are responsible for ensuring that their premises have been fire risk assessed and are compliant with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
What are the benefits of employing a professional to undertake our fire risk assessment?
Our trained fire risk assessors:
· Understand the relevant fire safety regulations
· Have training and experience in carrying out fire risk assessments for all sizes of business and all kinds of business properties
· Have training, knowledge and experience in the principles of fire safety
· Understand the physics of fire development and the psychology of how people behave in the event of a fire
· Have been trained to identify fire hazards, fire risks, and occupants of buildings who pose a potential special risk in the event of a fire
· Carry full Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance
· Ensure that you are compliant with fire safety legislation
· Reduce the risk of fires in your premises
· Help you to develop safeguards to protect staff and visitors to your premises
· Reduce the risk of fire to your business assets
· Ensure that in the unlikely event of a fire in your premises damage and danger are minimal to ensure your business continuity plans are robust and realistic
What happens in a fire risk assessment?
A fire risk assessor makes a thorough inspection of your premises, evaluating the building condition and age, its layout and building contents to identify potential fire hazards, ignition sources and combustible materials and means of escape in the case of fire. The assessor also notes who works in the building and where, assesses current fire safety signage, current protocols for fire prevention and management, current fire safety equipment, its condition and maintenance and existing fire safety training and drills.
What happens after the assessor has visited?
All of the information that has been gathered during the site(s) visit is analysed and used to produce the fire risk assessment report. The report is clear and easy to understand, satisfies regulatory requirements and is acceptable for insurance purposes. The report prioritizes our findings allowing you to deal with any problems, or potential problems, as quickly as possible. The report is supplied in electronic and/or printed formats and we aim to supply the report within a week of the assessment. This timeline can be reduced by request.
Does the business premises have to be closed whilst the assessor conducts their visit?
No, the assessor will need on average 3 hours in your premises but you do not have to be closed during this period. The assessor will require access to all areas of the premises and all maintenance / testing records should be made available. Ideally the person with responsibility for that building should be available at the time of the assessment however this is not always possible so information will be requested either by email, telephone or in a written format where required to complete the fire risk assessment in those circumstances.
Do I need to have a fire risk assessment every year?
No, but it is your responsibility to regularly review your fire assessment document and check that it is still valid. There are certain instances when you must do a fresh fire risk assessment and update your document, for example if:
· There have been material alterations to the premises
· There are any significant changes to the use or contents or layout of the building since the last fire risk assessment was carried out
· There is a significant change in fire risk precautions
· There is any other reason to suspect that the fire risk assessment is no longer valid
We advise our clients to schedule a yearly telephone review with one of our advisors to discuss if a full review needs to be undertaken.
If you are an employer with more than 5 employees (including part-time staff), have business premises that are visited by members of the public or are a voluntary organization , are a landlord with control over a business premises, if you own HMO properties, are self-employed with business premises, own licensed premises or have an alterations notice in force, then yes you are subject to the fire reform Act and must undertake a FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT . In short, the legislation applies to all places of work with little exception.
Who has responsibility to ensure my business premises are compliant?
The legislation places a duty of care on employers, owners and occupiers of business premises to safeguard premises, staff and members of the public from fire risk in their premises. This means that all:
· Employers
· People with control/responsibility for a workplace
· People who have a tenancy that relates to the maintenance and safety of the workplace
· People who conduct a trade or business from a business premises
· Owners of unoccupied business premises
are responsible for ensuring that their premises have been fire risk assessed and are compliant with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
What are the benefits of employing a professional to undertake our fire risk assessment?
Our trained fire risk assessors:
· Understand the relevant fire safety regulations
· Have training and experience in carrying out fire risk assessments for all sizes of business and all kinds of business properties
· Have training, knowledge and experience in the principles of fire safety
· Understand the physics of fire development and the psychology of how people behave in the event of a fire
· Have been trained to identify fire hazards, fire risks, and occupants of buildings who pose a potential special risk in the event of a fire
· Carry full Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance
· Ensure that you are compliant with fire safety legislation
· Reduce the risk of fires in your premises
· Help you to develop safeguards to protect staff and visitors to your premises
· Reduce the risk of fire to your business assets
· Ensure that in the unlikely event of a fire in your premises damage and danger are minimal to ensure your business continuity plans are robust and realistic
What happens in a fire risk assessment?
A fire risk assessor makes a thorough inspection of your premises, evaluating the building condition and age, its layout and building contents to identify potential fire hazards, ignition sources and combustible materials and means of escape in the case of fire. The assessor also notes who works in the building and where, assesses current fire safety signage, current protocols for fire prevention and management, current fire safety equipment, its condition and maintenance and existing fire safety training and drills.
What happens after the assessor has visited?
All of the information that has been gathered during the site(s) visit is analysed and used to produce the fire risk assessment report. The report is clear and easy to understand, satisfies regulatory requirements and is acceptable for insurance purposes. The report prioritizes our findings allowing you to deal with any problems, or potential problems, as quickly as possible. The report is supplied in electronic and/or printed formats and we aim to supply the report within a week of the assessment. This timeline can be reduced by request.
Does the business premises have to be closed whilst the assessor conducts their visit?
No, the assessor will need on average 3 hours in your premises but you do not have to be closed during this period. The assessor will require access to all areas of the premises and all maintenance / testing records should be made available. Ideally the person with responsibility for that building should be available at the time of the assessment however this is not always possible so information will be requested either by email, telephone or in a written format where required to complete the fire risk assessment in those circumstances.
Do I need to have a fire risk assessment every year?
No, but it is your responsibility to regularly review your fire assessment document and check that it is still valid. There are certain instances when you must do a fresh fire risk assessment and update your document, for example if:
· There have been material alterations to the premises
· There are any significant changes to the use or contents or layout of the building since the last fire risk assessment was carried out
· There is a significant change in fire risk precautions
· There is any other reason to suspect that the fire risk assessment is no longer valid
We advise our clients to schedule a yearly telephone review with one of our advisors to discuss if a full review needs to be undertaken.
