Believe it or not, there is no law that specifies exactly how often a building must have a fire risk assessment.

The only legislation applicable declares that the appointed person accountable for the safety assessment of the building must undertake a fire safety review ‘regularly’ to ensure it is up to date.

Whilst there is no determined law that states how often an assessment must be carried out. The government states that a site must review if there has been substantial changes since the previous assessment was carried out. Reasons for review can include, but are not limited to:

• Changes to work processes e.g the introduction of new equipment
• Alterations to the building
• The introduction of hazardous substances
• A significant increase in the number of people present

Alternatively, if there has been any indication the current risk assessment is now invalid, for example, in the case of a fire somewhere on the premises. This can also warrant a review.

The legislation goes on to say: “Do not amend your assessment for every trivial change, but if a change introduces new hazards you should consider them and, if significant, do whatever you need to do to keep the risks under control. In any case you should keep your assessment under review to make sure that the precautions are still working effectively.”

How often should I review for my premises?

In most businesses, it has become the norm to review the fire risk assessment every year. This should analyse your whether your fire risk assessment highlights all the potential fire hazards.

As per the government legislation, it is important to be aware of any changes made to the premises that could impact the risk level.

It is also imperative that any assessment carried out must be done by undertaken by an individual or group that has the mandatory expertise to conduct an efficient, suitable assessment.

If you do complete your own assessment internally and notice no major issues, it may be worth having a third party to conduct an updated risk assessment in order to utilise additional expertise.

If you have any queries about fire risk assessments or are interested in hearing more about how we can help your business, get in touch today.