Fire Risk Assessment

Fire presents significant risk to businesses. It can kill or seriously injure employees or visitors and can damage or destroy buildings, equipment and stock.

Organisations operating from single premises are particularly vulnerable as loss of premises may completely disrupt their operations. Many businesses fail to continue trading following a severe fire.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The Order requires fire precautions to be put in place ‘where necessary’ to ensure that everyone on the premises, or nearby, can escape safely if there is a fire.

The main rules under the Order mean that the ‘responsible person’ 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 and provide general fire precautions to deal with any residual risk, and

• Create a plan to deal with any emergency.

• Take steps to prevent and reduce the impact of fire on the workplace and carry out a fire risk assessment of their workplace

• Identify the significant findings of the risk assessment and the details of anyone who might be especially at risk in case of fire (these must be recorded if more than five employees)

• Provide and maintain fire precautions necessary to safeguard anyone using the workplace (including visitors)

• Provide information, instruction and training to employees about the fire precautions in the workplace.

Emergency Plan

The current fire safety legislation requires that a person who employs more than 5 people and is the ‘responsible person’ for the building/premises should provide, as part of the fire safety risk assessment, an emergency plan that takes into account, the evacuation of all people who are likely to be in or use the building or premises, including disabled people. The plan should also state how it should be implemented.

As an employer you need to plan what action you and your employees should take in the event of a fire in your business.

Under the fire regulations, if you employ more than five people then you must have a written emergency plan. This should be available to your employees (and their representatives) and available for inspection by your local Fire Service. Your plan should give instructions to enable the people in your premises to know what action to take in the event of fire and make sure it can be safely evacuated.

In a small business this may be simple instructions on the fire action notice, in larger or complex premises you will need to create a more detailed emergency plan.

Your plan must provide clear instructions on:

• What action employees should take if there is a fire

• How people will be warned if there is a fire

• Calling the fire service

• Evacuating the premises if there is a fire, including arrangements for people identified as being especially at risk, such as people with disabilities, members of the public and contractors

• Where people should assemble after evacuation and how to check that everyone is accounted for

• Key escape routes

• Liaison with emergency services

• Location and use of the firefighting equipment provided

• Specific responsibilities of nominated people in case of fire

• Machine/process/power supplies shutdown

• Training your employees

Fire Extinguishers

It is a legal requirement for a business to have the correct amount of fire extinguishers.

These are available to buy outright or to hire as part of a service agreement, there is also a requirement to have these extinguishers visually inspected and also serviced annually, and this can normally be a part of a service agreement with your supplier.

To establish how many extinguishers and what type you need, you should carry out a fire risk assessment, this will let you know what you need these extinguishers

BS EN 3 is the standard new extinguishers should conform to. BS EN 3 requires that the entire body of the extinguisher be coloured red. A zone of colour of up to 5% of the external area can be used to identify the contents using the system below:

• Water has an entire body of red as standard

• Foam would have a zone colour of ‘Cream’

• Powder would have a zone colour of ‘Blue’

• CO2 would have a zone colour of ‘Black’.

The extinguishers should be suitable and sufficient for the environment where they will be stored and the different types of extinguishers are shown below.

Different Fire Extinguishers are designed to deal with different types or Class of Fire.  Not yet classified but available on the market are specialist Fire Extinguishers to deal with Rechargeable Lithium Batteries that when damaged can burn and cause serious fires.  These batteries can not be extinguished by normal fire extinguishers or indeed fire blankets due to the high temperatures and production of Oxygen during combustion.

Fire Alarms

The fire safety legislation is called the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and this statutory instrument has the effect of sweeping away all previous legislation governing the work place, places of business, places to which the public have access and multi occupied dwellings, and bring it all under this one instrument of parliament.

You must have a suitable fire-detection and warning system. This can range from a shouted warning to an electrical detection and warning system.

Whatever system you have, it must be able to warn people in all circumstances.

Fire Alarms are one of the life-saving systems required to be provided, where necessary, in premises where people are employed.

The requirement for a fire alarm system, type and component locations should be identified through the risk assessment process. A correctly designed and working fire alarm system will give enough warning to save lives and hopefully allow fire fighters enough time to limit property damage.

Periodic testing, backed up by regular user checks will ensure that the system is always protecting people and property. It is a legal requirement for these tests to be recorded.

The sensitivity of detectors on a poorly maintained or neglected fire alarm system may result in the system not going into alarm condition should a fire develop.

Regular checks are an essential part of fire alarm system maintenance.

Periodic testing of fire alarm systems is a legal requirement.

You should have a qualified service engineer as a part of your annual fire maintenance contract.

All smoke and heat detectors should be tested for functionality.

Bells and sounders need to be operated and assessed to ensure that they provide sufficient sound levels in all areas.

Fire panels, their batteries and all cable joints where accessible should be checked for integrity and functionality.

Associated Legislation

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022  - may impact employers who own / are responsible for mixed use buildings which include 2 or more residential properties.

Fire Log Book