Green Hive Management have a dedicated team of fully trained skilled professionals, who have the knowledge and ability to execute all aspects of an applicable fire risk assessment for your premises. Our Fire Assessors have experience working with a vast multitude of building types.
Our specialists will first visit your site, perform a comprehensive inspection and then make suitable recommendations necessary to ensure you comply with the right fire management standards. Once we prepare the report, we will utilise our network of trusted contractors within the UK to assist with arranging required works that may be necessary for your premises.
The Green Hive Management fire risk assessment is a thorough appraisal designed to:
Each of our fire risk assessments will identify areas including:
Contact us today and let us know what fire risk assessment support you require. Our specialist team at GHM, along with our expert advice, will promptly send you a free, no-obligation quotation, tailored to your requirements.
A fire risk assessment is a review undertaken of a building in order to assess its fire risk and proposes recommendations if necessary to ensure the building is complaint and fire safe. Fire risk assessments should be the foundation of all the fire precautions within a premises. It is also essential to read and understand the guidance documents that apply to your type of premises regarding fire safety. This will ensure you have a fundamental understanding of what is required of you as the responsible person, thus enabling you to put into practise the most astute fire safety practises.
Initially for a fire risk assessment a simple single line drawing of the premises to scale, could be drawn, showing any relevant structural features and the use of the areas e.g., production, storage, office, accommodation and plant, etc. A copy of the plan will be useful should a fire occur at a premises, assisting the fire service in firefighting operations. The plan can then be used to indicate hazards and persons especially at risk. It will assist in identifying where combustibles and ignition sources may come together, or if they are in close proximity, once this is understood relevant actions can be taken. In very small premises a simple noughts and crosses system can be used; red circles for combustibles and blue crosses for heat/ignition sources.
If there are less than 5 occupants are regularly in the building, then it isn’t required for the fire risk assessment to be written down. So, it isn’t always a document. We do, however, recommend that a fire risk assessment should always be in writing, since that is the most efficient method in which findings can be communicated and is more likely to warrant recommendations made within the assessments are carried out.
The principles contained in the fire safety order is to use a risk assessment approach, which is goal based and flexible. The responsible person is liable for the risks in the workplace, therefore, to safeguard the safety of employees, the responsible person must:
Identify fire hazards and people at risk and to remove or reduce the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low as is reasonably practicable; and to determine what fire safety measures and management policies are necessary to ensure the safety of people in the building should a fire occur.
Providing the premises have been built and maintained in accordance with building regulations and is of normal risk or lower, this should be a simple matter without significant expenditure. However, if the premises are not in accordance with the building regulations, further guidance and action will be necessary, depending on the complexity, size, occupancy and consequential risks.
The responsible person can enlist the help of other persons who have the necessary experience, skills and is known as a competent person. The competent person does not have to be an industry expert to assist the RP, but they need to have sufficient experience or training in relation to the problems they are assisting with.
Note: The responsible person always remains responsible for the outcome, irrespective of the fact if assistance is enlisted. This is worth remembering, should you require help with your fire risk assessment.
When considering fire risk assessments, it is useful to understand the definition of a fire hazard. A fire hazard has two components balanced against each other, one is the possibility of a fire occurring and the other would be the magnitude of consequences should the fire occur. For example, a metal fabrication workshop has a high possibility of a fire due to the cutting and welding equipment in use. However, providing the house keeping is suitable and no combustible substances are present, then a fire is not likely to spread, so the consequence is low, therefore the risk can be considered to be normal or even low.
In the case of a cellulose paint spray booth, an occurrence is highly likely because of the products used and the equipment required for the process. The consequences are also very high because any fire would have a rapid development, consequently it would have to be considered a very high risk.
These risks can be reduced to acceptable levels by various methods including good housekeeping, specially designed electric apparatus, equipment located away from the risk and have compressed gasses used in the processes, piped to the risk from a bulk storage or centrally located position.
When evaluating the measures needed and deciding what would be acceptable to mitigate risks then the principle of ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) should be implemented. Information on this subject can be found on the HSE website.
A knowledge of the fire tetrahedron and the most common causes of fire will assist you in identifying potential fire situations. For a fire to occur it needs a source of ignition, (heat or flame) and a potential source of fuel and oxygen. If the ignition sources and fuel can be kept apart, removed, eliminated or reduced, then the risks to people and your business is minimised. In order to do this, you must first identify possible sources of ignition, fuel and oxygen (there may be different levels oxygen depending on the part of the premises and its use) in your workplace.
All workplaces will contain heat/ignition sources, some will be obvious such as cooking equipment or open flames. Others may be less apparent such as heat from chemical processes or electrical equipment.
Possible sources of ignition are:
Potential sources of fuel and unsafe situations:
The above list is by no means exhaustive and is provided merely as a guide.
You will be deemed responsible for undertaking a fire risk assessment and for the fire safety in a business or other non-domestic premises if you are:
The job of the designated responsible person is to ensure that all relevant fire safety tasks are conducted and that all necessary actions are taken in order to prevent fires from occurring and to prevent death or injury if a fire does arise. The responsible person is therefore by default, the one who needs to ensure that a valid fire risk assessment is conducted on the premises.
Small business owners are usually the responsible person for their premises unless someone else from the team is nominated. For tower blocks and blocks of flats, the responsible person is usually the managing agent or landlord, although it can be a Residents’ Association member as well.
The responsible person in blocks of flats is only responsible for common areas, like stairwells and corridors. Residences are responsible for ensuring that their own flats are safe from fire. Anyone else with control of the premises, for example, a facilities manager, property manager, building manager will become the responsible person unless otherwise stated. The Fire Safety Order also applies if you have paying guests, for example, if you run a bed and breakfast, guesthouse or let a self-catering property.
If there’s more than one responsible person, you must work in conjunction to meet your responsibilities.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO) came into effect on 1 October 2006, at which time over a 100 separate pieces of fire-related legislation have been revoked or amended. The RRFSO covers, with very few exceptions, all non-domestic premises and stands as the primary legislation for fire safety in England and Wales.
In general terms, the RRFSO reflects the duties and approach contained within The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSW) and employees’ duties under The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). However, there are significant fire specific issues that the RRFSO covers in some detail, these include:
General fire precautions
The RRFSO identifies a number of general fire precautions that all ‘responsible persons’ have an absolute duty to provide for all non-domestic premises. These general fire precautions are the measures that are taken:
The need to conduct a risk assessment
The RRFSO has as its basis for ensuring safety from fire in all non-domestic buildings, an absolute requirement for responsible persons to conduct risk assessments. As a result of the risk assessments, employers as responsible persons have a duty to do all that is reason- ably practicable to safeguard ‘relevant persons’* who may be employees and people who are not employees but who may be exposed to risk in the event of fire
Responsible person
This is the person who more than likely owns the premises or business or the person with control over the premises, business or activity. Where two or more responsible persons share responsibility (e.g., landlord/tenant, multiple occupied building or adjacent premises) the responsible persons must cooperate, share information and collaborate to provide fire safety measures. The responsible person is the main duty holder for fire safety and has, as a result, overall responsibility for:
Green Hive Management are able to support you in all these aspect’s along with providing services regarding the implementation of fire risk assessments, fire strategies and training. Our expert advice and quality training methods will ensure that your team have everything they need to be fire safe and meet the requirements for fire safety management.
The risk-assessment based regime requires employers to take action to prevent fires and protect against death and injury of employees and relevant persons, should a fire occur. This was the same duty imposed on employers by the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1999, but under the Order the duty extends beyond workplaces to include all non-domestic premises to which employees or/and relevant persons have access.
To support the Order, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have published a number of guidance documents to assist you in meeting your responsibilities. They give advice on most types of premises where the duty to undertake a fire safety risk assessment under the Order applies. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – A short guide to making your premises safe from fire gives an overview and the following eleven guides will address the following categories of premises.
Guide | Main Use |
Offices and shops | Offices and retail premises (including individual units within larger premises, e.g., shops and restaurants within shopping centres and leisure centres). |
Factories and warehouses | Factories and warehouse storage premises. |
Sleeping accommodation | All premises where the main use is to provide sleeping accommodation, e.g. hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, hostels, residential training centres, holiday accommodation and the common areas of flats, maisonettes, HMOs and sheltered housing (other than those providing care – see Residential care premises), but excluding hospitals, residential care premises, places of custody and single private dwellings |
Residential care premises | Residential care and nursing homes, common areas of sheltered housing (where care is provided) and similar premises, which are permanently staffed and where the primary use is the provision of care rather than healthcare (see Healthcare Premises). |
Educational premises | Teaching establishments ranging from pre-school through to universities, except the residential parts (see Sleeping accommodation). |
Small and medium places of assembly |
Smaller public houses, clubs, restaurants and cafes, village halls, community centres, libraries, marquees, churches and other places of worship or study accommodating up to 300 people. |
Large places of assembly | Larger premises where more than 300 people could gather, e.g. shopping centres (not the individual shops), large nightclubs and pubs, exhibition and conference centres, sports stadia, marquees, museums, libraries, churches, cathedrals and other places of worship or study. |
Theatres, cinemas and similar premises |
Theatres, cinemas, concert halls and similar premises used primarily for this purpose. |
Open air events and venues | Open air events, e.g. theme parks, zoos, music concerts, sporting events (not stadia – see Large places of assembly), fairgrounds and county fairs. |
Healthcare premises | Premises where the primary use is the provision of healthcare (including private), e.g. hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, dentists and other similar healthcare premises. |
Transport premises and facilities |
Transportation terminals and interchanges, e.g. airports, railway stations (including sub-surface), transport tunnels, ports, bus and coach stations and similar premises but excluding the means of transport (e.g. trains, buses, planes and ships). |
Animal Premises and Stables | This guide is for use at all equine establishments, stables, livery yards and other animal establishments and for all employers, proprietors, managers, occupiers and owners. |
Means of Escape for Disabled People (Supplementary Guide) | This is a supplementary guide and should be read alongside other guides in the Fire Safety Risk Assessment series. It provides additional information on accessibility and means of escape for disabled people. |
The guides have been drafted by MHCLG in co-operation with a group of key stakeholders. Each guide is in two parts; the first part will explain how to undertake a fire safety risk assessment while the second part of each guide will provide further guidance on the fire precautions. The guides are written so as to be readily understood by those who have to comply with the requirements of the Order, not just fire safety experts.
Although there is no set timescale for undertaking a new or updating an existing fire risk assessment, Green Hive Management recommends as a minimum that fire risk assessments should be updated annually or each time a significant change to the premises or organisation is made. This may include a change in layout, change in activities, or change in personnel. Your fire risk assessment should be regularly reviewed as part of your ongoing fire safety management.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states:
“Any such assessment must be reviewed by the responsible person regularly so as to keep it up to date and particularly if —
(a) there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or
(b) there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates including when the premises, special, technical and organisational measures, or organisation of the work undergo significant changes, extensions, or conversions. “
A fire risk assessment is a legal requirement for blocks of flats. This also includes houses which have been converted into two or more flats. Sometimes this could even be just an entrance lobby.
A basic fire risk assessment will inspect communal areas such as entrances, corridors, staircases, bin cupboards etc as well as examine the front doors of tenanted flats.
The local fire and rescue authority (the fire and rescue service) will enforce Fire Safety Regulations in most premises. The enforcing authority will have the power to inspect a premises to check that the responsible person is complying with its duties. It will look for evidence that the premises has carried out a suitable fire risk assessment and has acted upon the significant findings of that assessment.
They will also usually expect to see a copy of the record of the outcome of the assessment. If the enforcing authority is dissatisfied with the outcome of the fire risk assessment or the action taken, it may issue an enforcement notice that requires the premises to make certain improvements or, in extreme cases, a prohibition notice that restricts the use of all or part of the premises until improvements are made.
Failure to comply with any duty imposed by the regulations or any notice issued by the enforcing authority is an offence.
Fire and rescue service personnel may visit premises to enable crew members to gain familiarisation with them in the event that they are called to a fire in the premises. This type of visit is unlikely to include an assessment of compliance with fire safety law.
As a building occupant, you have the right to access to the fire risk assessment for the premises if you request it.
You should first contact your building’s responsible person. If you are unsure who that is, then good places to start would be the business owner, managing agent, landlord or facilities department.
If you discover that there is no valid fire risk assessment for your building, then you should ask the responsible person to have one conducted right away.