DC Fire - Fire Risk Assesment

Guidance for Employers

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations place a responsibility upon the ?employer' to carry out a fire risk assessment and subsequently to minimise the risk or provide safeguards appropriate to the risk by acting upon the ?significant findings' of that assessment. The ?significant findings' should be recorded if five or more persons are employed.

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The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 (as amended) make provision for fire-fighting and fire detection, emergency routes and exits, maintenance of the workplace and safety devices insofar as they relate to fire precautions.

This article aims to provide ?employers' with the necessary information to carry out the fire risk assessment to determine the ?significant findings'. The fire risk assessment should be holistic and dynamic, recognising that the building use and occupancy is not static. The following key areas should be addressed :-

* The potential for a fire to start (ie ignition sources - this includes identifying and eliminating / reducing practices or items which may start the fire)
* The potential for the fire to subsequently spread (ie fire loading - look at the disposition of combustible materials in relation to ignition sources, are doors operating effectively? Is there a general lack of fire separation?)
* Is the fire able to be detected in the early stages so that persons are able to make a rapid escape? (particular attention should be paid to unoccupied areas)
* Are staff trained to a competent standard and are they aware of their responsibility in the event of a fire?
* Are all persons in the premises able to make their escape and are they aware of escape routes available to them?

In addition to the above points the employer should consider the mobility of persons who resort to the premises and under what conditions? What provision has been made for disabled employees? Persons with hearing or vision impairment ? Do members of the general public enter the premises and if so does the fire risk assessment address their needs - mothers with very young children? What provision has been made for the Fire Service to attend?

The risk assessment should be carried out by the person who is most familiar with the premises (or part of the premises) and the business carried on therein; they are therefore best placed to resolve difficult areas and to maintain / review the standard of fire safety that is most appropriate for their premises.

It is important to bear in mind that when the fire risk assessment has been completed it is not the end of the process. It is the start of a dynamic process to deal with fire safety matters on a day to day basis. It should be constantly under review and updated, especially where the risk has been affected by alterations or changes to the premises/occupancy.

To further assist you in meeting statutory responsibilities the Home Office has produced a booklet entitled "Fire Safety - An Employers Guide" which is available at Ł9.95 from The Stationery Office (ISBN 0-11-341229-0).

A major change in fire legislation has taken place, which has brought all fire related legislation into a single fire safety order. This new order (enforced by the Fire Authority) will apply to all premises where persons resort, with the exception of single private dwellings, and will place the responsibility for fire safety with the person responsible for the premises. This new legislation will apply the same risk assessment principles as the existing Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations and fire certificates will no longer be issued, and is likely to come into force in October 2006.

Until then, an application for a fire certificate shall be required for the following types of premises should any of the following criteria apply;

Hotels and Boarding Houses

Sleeping accommodation is provided in the premises for more than six persons, being staff or guests, or;

some sleeping accommodation is provided in the premises for staff or guests on any floor above the first floor or below the ground floor of the building.

Factories, Offices, Shops and Railway premises

More than twenty persons are at work at any one time within the premises*, or;

more than ten persons are at work at any one time elsewhere than on the ground floor of the premises*, or;

in the case of factory premises only - explosive or highly flammable materials are stored or used in or under the building or part of the building.

* The premises may form part of a larger building in which case the total number of persons may need to be aggregated.