fire risk assessments

RitchieLambor can provide Fire Risk Assessments for any type of property to comply with fire safety legislation such as The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and fire safety in the workplace.

Legislation

The Fire Safety Reform (England) Order 2005 came into force in October 2006, placing greater emphasis on fire risk assessment and management within your company. www.communities.gov.uk/fire/firesafety/firesafetylaw

Risk Assessments are required on all commercial properties and communal areas of shared residential buildings (e.g. the communal areas of flats) in order to comply with this legislation. Under the FSO, the ‘responsible person’ (ie the owner or manager of a business or premises) must carry out a fire safety risk assessment and implement and maintain a fire management plan.

Why use us?

RitchieLambor offer a full Fire Risk Assessment to take the stress and responsibility away from you. The assessment is carried out by our experienced and qualified fire officers & professional fire risk assessors. The report with recommendations can usually be provided electronically within five working days of the assessment taking place.

What is included in our Fire Risk Assessment?

•Assessment of property age and condition.
•Maintenance of Fire Equipment such as Fire Extinguishers.
•Fire hazards including sources of ignition and flammable materials.
•People at risk of fire such as outside contractors.
•Means of escape, including fire exits, protection of escape routes, structural integrity and external exit routes.
•Emergency lighting including maintenance and records.
•Signs and notices
•Fire alarm and fire warning arrangements, including fire and smoke detection
•A Fire Risk Control Plan providing recommendations to rectify any deficiencies found during our assessment including a priority order for completion and guideline budget costs.

This is summary of Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (crown copyright)
The full leaflet is available here www.communities.gov.uk/documents/fire/pdf/144647.pdf

What is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005?

The Government is committed to regulating only where necessary and in a way that is more suited to the needs of modern business.That is why the order was made, under the Regulatory ReformAct 2001. It replaces most fire safety legislation with one simple
order. It means that any person who has some level of control in premises must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fire.

Achieving fire safety is often a matter of common sense, but you will have to make sure that you set aside enough time to work through the necessary steps. In more complicated premises or those with many people at risk, such as care homes, hospitals
or large cinemas, you may need more expert help.

Where does the order apply?

The order applies to virtually all premises and covers nearly every type of building, structure and open space.For example, it applies to:
• offices and shops;
• premises that provide care, including care homes
and hospitals;
• community halls, places of worship and other
community premises;
• the shared areas of properties several
households live in (housing laws may also apply);
• pubs, clubs and restaurants;
• schools and sports centres;
• tents and marquees;
• hotels and hostels; and
• factories and warehouses.
It does not apply to:
• people’s private homes, including individual flats in a block or house.

What are the main rules under the order?

You must:
• carry out a fire-risk assessment identifying any possible dangers and risks;
• consider who may be especially at risk;
• get rid of or reduce the risk from fire as far as is reasonably possible and provide general fire precautions to deal with any possible risk left;
• take other measures to make sure there is protection if flammable or explosive materials are used or stored;
• create a plan to deal with any emergency and, in most cases, keep a record of your findings; and
• review your findings when necessary.                                                       

Who is responsible for meeting the order?

Under the order, anyone who has control of premises or anyone who has a degree of control over certain areas or systems may be a ‘responsible person’. For example, it could be:

• the employer for those parts of premises staff may go to;
• the managing agent or owner for shared parts of premises
or shared fire safety equipment such as fire-warning systems or sprinklers;
• the occupier, such as self-employed people or voluntary organisations if they have any control; or
• any other person who has some control over a part of the premises.

Although in many premises the responsible person will be obvious, there may be times when a number of people have some responsibility.

How do I meet the order?

If you are the responsible person, you must make sure you
carry out a fire-risk assessment although you can pass this task to some other competent person. However, you will still be responsible, in law, for meeting the order.

The responsible person, either on their own or with any other responsible person, must as far as is reasonably practical make sure that everyone on the premises, or nearby, can
escape safely if there is a fire.   

This is different from previous legislation in that you must consider everyone who might be on your premises, whether they are employees,visitors or members of the public, for
example, at an open-air entertainment venue. You should pay particular attention to people who may have a disability or anyone who may need special help.

The order says that you must manage any fire-risk in your premises. Fire authorities no longer issue fire certificates and those previously in force will have no legal status.
You must still carry out a fire-risk assessment but any fire certificates you have may be useful as a good starting point. If your premises have been designed and built in line with
modern building regulations (and are being used in line with those regulations), your structural fire precautions should be acceptable. You will still need to carry out a fire-risk assessment and make sure that you keep up all fire precautions and maintenance routines. (crown copyright 2005)

RitchieLambor Ltd