What to do after a fire risk assessment?

What to do after a fire risk assessment?

A fire risk assessment does exactly what it says – it looks at risks associated with fire in a premises.

The problem is that a lot of risk assessments are completed as a tick box exercise. There is a duty of care under the Regulatory Reform Fire safety order 2005 for both the risk assessment and subsequent actions.

Having the assessment does not cover you alone. The assessment will normally identify current fire risk mitigation at a premises and furthermore make recommendations for requirements

These requirements will make the premise safer through their recommendation. The measures are aimed at life protection, this means if there was a fire then the highest level of opportunity is given to get people out of the building to safety.

This can be anything from signage being installed, to the availability of fire extinguishers, it will also define the standard of fire alarm system required.

Having a risk assessment and ignoring the report is the same as not having it completed in the first instance.

All to often responsible persons will not realise that their obligations go far beyond a paper exercise.

Prioritising the actions or finding on the risk assessment is important. You can still be liable for prosecution until your premise meets the required standards identified in the fire risk assessment.

Using a competent person to complete the risk assessment is very important. The next factor to consider is the company you choose to implement the findings of the fire risk assessment. Most competent companies will have a 3^rd party accreditation.

There are more advice articles available on our website that give information about fire safety and your responsibilities.

If you would like a fire risk assessment completed or need advice following from a fire risk assessment, please contact us today.