Why do you need a fire risk assessment?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places certain duties on the ‘responsible person’ for the premises, one of which is to ensure that a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is carried out; and where there are five or more staff employed, this assessment should be recorded. As of 1 October 2023, Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, setting the requirement for all fire risk assessments to be recorded, irrespective of the number of employees or whether there is a licence in force.
To provide a ‘suitable and sufficient’ assessment as required in law, sufficient detail is required to clearly establish that all relevant factors have been considered, the outcomes of those considerations, and to allow for critical review. A fire risk assessment cannot be a simple tick box approach (as offered by some cheaper assessment providers), but should show how hazards and resultant risk have been mitigated and managed to as low as reasonably practicable.
How can the FPA help you?
Given the significant changes in the legislative landscape for fire safety in relation to competency, the risks associated with not being able to demonstrate the suitability and sufficiency of your fire risk assessment are high; and the penalties severe. Using a third-party certified provider such as the FPA provides assurance that your risk assessment will be conducted by a competent assessor and will go beyond the basic tick box approach in order to meet the suitable and sufficient legislative requirement.
We can remove the stress of undertaking a fire safety risk assessment by providing a consultant who is suitably experienced in your specific industry sector. After working alongside your responsible persons, our risk assessment experts will produce a report which includes a fire risk assessment record of significant findings, a clear and concise fire risk assessment action plan detailing actions recommended, and a full fire risk assessment of hazards in the building.
We ensure recommendations are appropriate to the premises and business circumstances to effectively reduce, minimise or manage risks. Our fire risk assessment services and recommendations are developed to ensure not only the safety of employees and others who may be affected by a fire on the premises but also protection to the premises and its contents.
Why choose the FPA?
The FPA's comprehensive approach ensures your risk assessment:
- is fully compliant with legislation
- is carried out by a competent assessor with experience of buildings of varying complexity and risk
- meets the suitable and sufficient requirement by identifying hazards and describing in adequate detail how resultant risk has been managed to protect your building and its occupants
- allows for critical review
- will be accepted by authorities
- gives you peace of mind.
Since 2015, the FPA has held National Security Inspectorate (NSI) Gold Certification for the BAFE SP205 Life Safety Fire Risk Assessment Scheme which exists to deliver quality, independent evidence that providers are competent to deliver quality fire risk assessment services. Furthermore, NSI approval is the hallmark of excellence for providers of security and fire safety services and its Gold scheme is ‘designed for companies who meet the industry’s highest technical standards and maintain a commitment to continual improvement with an ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
Our highly experienced team of fire risk assessment consultants are sited uk-wide and work in a variety of sectors, such as retail, education, healthcare, hospitality food production, manufacturing, and many sleeping risk properties. We can carry out shop fire risk assessments, hotel fire risk assessments, and fire risk assessments in schools, amongst others.
Download our fire advisory services brochure.