subject: Fire Risk Assessment For UK Business Owners - The Business Case For Professional Assessment [print this page] Fire Risk Assessment For UK Business Owners - The Business Case For Professional Assessment
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 means that it is now compulsory for all UK businesses to conduct a fire risk assessment of all premises and all parts of premises.
This order consolidates and supersedes all previous fire safety regulations, meaning fire certificates are no longer issued (except in certain high risk establishments) or accepted as proof of fire safety compliance. The primary aim of the order is to simplify the system and make it easier for businesses to understand what is expected of them by placing the emphasis on fire prevention through risk assessment.
But who should carry out the assessment?
The new legislation is self-regulatory which means that it is solely the responsibility of the person responsible for the business premises to ensure that a fire risk and safety assessment is in place and that reasonable steps have been taken to reduce or remove risk.
There are very few exceptions to this legislation and you must ensure that your premises have a fully comprehensive and up-to-date fire risk assessment in place if you:
are an employer (with business premises)
are responsible for a business premises
have a business based in a licensed property
are a contractor with control over a business premises
are self-employed
As these regulations are self-regulatory it is possible to conduct a fire risk assessment of your own business premises. To do so you must manage an assessment process that takes into consideration a wide-range of factors such as:
fire safety policy
fire procedures
fire drills
means of escape
emergency lighting
fire alarms and extinguishers
fire doors
fire evacuations
signs and notices
training courses
This can be a daunting and time-consuming process if you have no training in fire safety assessment or if your business is based around large or numerous properties. The legislation recognizes that businesses have constraints on time and resources and that not every business would include a member of staff with the skills to undertake a fire risk assessment. As such, the legislation states that it is permissible for a business to engage a suitable outside professional agency or person to undertake the fire risk assessment on their behalf, and to prepare the necessary documentation to show that the business is compliant with UK legislation.
There are obvious advantages in using a trained fire risk assessor:
they have training and experience in carrying out assessments for all sizes of business and all kinds of business properties
they have training, knowledge and experience in the principles of fire safety
they understand the physics of fire development and the psychology of how people behave when fire breaks out
they have been trained to identify fire hazards, fire risks, and buildings and occupants of buildings who pose special risk in the event of a fire
By employing the services of a trained assessor a business is ensuring that they have in place a comprehensive and exhaustive fire risk assessment, which makes it compliant with UK legislation. But as well as this a trained assessor will also be able to substantially reduce the risk of fire to the business premises and business assets, develop safeguards to protect both staff and visitors to the business premises and ensure that in the unlikely event of fire, damage and danger are minimal.
A recent study indicated 80% of businesses that have a major fire go bankrupt within one year - therefore the expertise of a trained assessor could ensure that your business is not one of them.
