A typically asked question by property managers, building owners and those liable for handling fire safety is– can I do my own fire risk assessment?
In this article, we’re going to clarify why it is feasible– but may not always be the appropriate conclusion to make. Who are we? Fire Risk Assessment
The short answer is ‘Without a doubt – you can conduct your own fire risk assessment’, there is virtually nothing stopping you from Googling an online template for a fire risk assessment and filling out the fields to describe your structure, what you do, and any risks you can identify from the limited understanding you have. If in doubt get in touch Pyro Fire
You might even do your own research, perhaps even attend a fire safety training course. This may have been acceptable prior to 2005, as the fire service used to check out your property and carry out an audit to deliver you with a fire certificate. Having said that, since then, the criteria and law for fire safety became much more strict and things changed substantially.
The law for fire safety – The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which was effectively introduced in 2006– was created to change fire safety in England & Wales, to introduce the requirement for a suitable and adequate fire risk assessment to be carried out for all non-domestic premises.
The words ‘suitable and sufficient’ when used in law, were definitely brought under examination, but the definition has since been made very clear:
A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment can only be carried out by a competent professional.
‘Competent’ can be defined as someone with enough training, qualifications, experience and attitude. A competent person needs to have received specific training in relation to fire risk analyses, they must have some form of qualification to back that up, experience in assessing your type of property, and the proper attitude to ensure they’re able to communicate the results effectively. All of the above can be achieved for your fire risk assessment by using outside inspectors.
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