What does a fire risk assessment need to cover?
There are 5 main steps to carrying out a fire risk assessment:
Identify the fire hazards
First you need to identify any fire hazards in your workplace. This could include things like electrical sockets, equipment used for cooking or heating, and any combustible materials stored on site. The first step is being aware of them and how they might have the potential to cause a fire.
Identify people at risk
Next you need to identify if there are people specifically at risk. For example, do you employ any vulnerable or elderly people or those with mobility needs such as wheelchair users?
Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks
Once you’ve identified potential hazards it’s time to evaluate them. This means considering how likely they are to cause or exacerbate a fire. If the risk is high they should be removed or modified to reduce the risk.
Record your findings, prepare an emergency plan and provide training
You must keep a written record of your fire risk assessment. Your emergency plan should show that you have:
a clear passageway to all escape routes
clearly marked escape routes that are as short and direct as possible
enough exits and routes for all people to escape
emergency doors that open easily
emergency lighting where needed
training for all employees to know and use the escape routes
a safe meeting point for staff
Review and update the your risk assessment regularly
There’s no law that dictates exactly when a fire risk assessment needs to be reviewed but the government says you should conduct a new fire risk assessment if there have been changes to the work environment. For example:
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
What sort of things should be reviewed?
Things you should take into consideration when carrying out your fire risk assessment include:
emergency routes and exits
fire detection and warning systems
fire fighting equipment
the removal or safe storage of dangerous substances
an emergency fire evacuation plan
the needs of vulnerable people, for example the elderly, young children or those with disabilities
providing information to employees and other people on the premises
staff fire safety training
Fire risk assessment software
At Total Fire Group, we’ve got years of experience helping businesses across all sectors with their fire risk assessments and it’s because of this that we’ve developed our very own fire risk assessment software to make the whole process that much smoother. Our state of the art risk assessment software, Aurora is a bespoke software system which was born of the need to manage multiple FRA actions effectively and is helping businesses across the UK complete their fire risk assessments in a more efficient and accurate way. If this sounds like something that would benefit you, get in touch. We can even organise a free demo at your convenience.